Inside Spookers: My night as one of the living dead

Ahead of Florian Habicht's Spookers documentary coming to the NZ International Film Festival, Siena Yates went behind the scenes to see what life is like scaring the hell out of some strangers.

Driving out to the old Kingseat Hospital in the dark and the rain, I can't help but feel like the first victim in a horror film.

Making my way across the parking-lot fog, it's silent except for the sound of rain on my umbrella and the distant screams and shouts from inside the former psychiatric hospital.

Turns out Spookers is terrifying even when it's not supposed to be.

Inside, the halls are already crawling with creatures and ghouls and the sounds of rattling chains, creepy whispers and laughter.

Spookers manager Julia Tukiri introduces me to my mentor for the night, Ben King, and I'm escorted to the actors' area where people are in varying states of undress, running around laughing in their gory makeup. Somewhere, Miley Cyrus is playing.

All the actors create their own characters and do their own special effects makeup. Ben makes me up as a burnt and bloody "little girl" and I'm given a bloodied night gown and a creepy doll with black eyes, followed by my brief for the night.

Luckily, I'm just the distraction. I just have to stand there and look creepy long enough for Ben to get the drop on the customers; as a team, we will "scare the shit out of" strangers.

It's not as easy as people think. The atmosphere and the makeup does most of the job for us, but so many Spookers customers are there to prove they can hack it. They're the fun ones; the ones who, when they do finally crack, are the most satisfying.

Reporter Siena Yates went behind the scenes at Spookers. Photo / Spookers NZ

While I'm haunting the dormitory room with Ben, one group takes to crawling through the attraction as if being low to the ground will make them invisible. Another just sprints through every room yelling "don't touch us", and others shuffle through clinging to each other desperately.

And yes, being on the other side is as hilarious as you'd think.

But more interestingly, it's a massive release. I'd been told as much by the actors, many of whom battle with mental health issues, learning disabilities, and struggle with confidence and self esteem.

At first, it makes no sense because, for the customers, Spookers is a cesspit of anxiety and fear. But when I'm chasing a bunch of strangers and screaming at the top of my lungs the way none of us ever get to do in the real world, I see it.

It's oddly liberating and it's a damn good time.

"It's definitely a place I couldn't ever see myself leaving," Ben says. "It's just too much fun."

The Spookers monsters play a game of rugby together in the Spookers documentary. Photo / Greta Anderson

He's been at Spookers for two years. Others have been there for more than a decade. It's a job, but it's also much more than that.

"I've met lifelong friends here ... it's definitely a unique job, but I wouldn't change it for the world that's for sure," Ben says.

"It's like a second home. A lot of people here have become really good friends and we're comfortable here - you kind of have to be comfortable to act the way we do when we're on set."

Actors have fallen in love, dated, married and had children together. One woman is one of three generations in her family to work at Spookers.

These are the real stories behind New Zealand's biggest horror attraction, and they're the stories uncovered in an upcoming documentary by director Florian Habicht, simply titled: Spookers.

Director Florian Habicht with two of the monsters from Spookers. Photo / Greta Anderson

Habicht, who is behind highly acclaimed films like Pulp, Love Story, and Woodenhead, was sent by Australian production company Madman to make a documentary about Spookers which, some years ago was tipped to be branching out with Aussie locations.

But when Habicht met the people and heard the stories, it became a whole different beast.

"I got there and was like, 'Oh my God, this is amazing' - just the energy of the place, it was like on the Muppet Show when everyone's putting on their makeup," Habicht says, laughing.

The documentary, premiering at the NZ International Film Festival in July, focuses on a handful of actors and their stories and struggles, and how being at Spookers helps them deal with it all.

What's life really like at Spookers? We decided to find out. Photo / Greta Anderson

"No one knew what to expect. People thought they were going to see a straight horror film and it's more about mental health and the history of Kingseat as it is about Spookers, so lots of people are surprised," Habicht says.

"But people are really moved by those stories, they admire those people for being super honest and open."

At the debrief at the end of the night, the Spookers team plans the Oscares - their own version of the Oscars - and the next group outing. Later, compliments are dished out with snacks and treats, someone is awarded best actor for the night, and someone else spins a prize wheel, earning himself a pat on the back from everyone close enough to give him one.

Like me, Habicht doesn't think of Spookers in terms of scares or gore, instead summing it up with a quote from one of his film subjects.

"I said in the beginning; 'Is it your guys' dream to be in Hollywood?' And they were like, 'Nah man, this is Hollywood."

What: Spookers, a documentary that goes inside the South Auckland freak factory
Where: Coming to the NZ International Film Festival
When: The full NZIFF schedule is released on Monday.
More information: Visit www.nziff.co.nz