Amazing Spookers story told on screen
Behind the masks is the story of family. Two families, actually.
The Watsons, who from a maize maze in Marton built Auckland theme park Spookers into one of the city’s top tourist destinations.
And the wider family — that is the staff who work there.
The behind-the-scenes story is told in Spookers, the documentary film which is being shown this weekend as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival.
The film, which has already gained recognition at various film festivals around the world, was the idea of producer Suzanne Walker who heard from friends about the attraction based at the old Kingseat Psychiatric Hospital in Auckland.
But the story goes back to the Marton in the 1990s.
Beth Watson and the now Rangitikei mayor Andy Watson started with the Amazing Maze ’n Maize at Westoe farm in 1999 and Cornevil, a haunted maze, a year later.
“I believe it was the first haunted corn maze in the world,” Beth Watson said.
“Andy used to scare the staff we had in the family maze,” Watson said. “Then we thought, well, let’s see if people would pay for this.”
The idea came to Mrs Watson after she went back to study tourism following a period of illness.
The business ended up being franchised around New Zealand before the Watsons opened Spookers in 2005.
A few years later the Marton operation finished when the lease of Westoe ended.
The film is directed by Florian Habicht and features photos of the early staff in Marton and interviews with the Watsons.
Spookers gets about 70,000 visitors a year and has a permanent and casual staff of about 250.
“It follows our journey but it also follows a lot of the staff members and the sort of juxtaposition of Kingseat being the psychiatric hospital in the 1960s and 1970s,” Watson said.
“It sort of follows some of our staff who have some personal demons themselves and how Spookers has sort of helped them through some mental illnesses.”
Watson said she was pleased with how the film turned out.
“It’s really awkward seeing yourself and of course once you agree to do it you sort of sign everything away and you have no rights as to what goes in.”
Watson isn’t exactly sure how they made a successful business out of scaring people, but they did.
“I guess they put themselves out of their comfort zone,” she said.
“A lot of people actually bring first dates to Spookers. It sort of breaks the ice and they can grab each other’s hand without it being awkward.”
The film had its world premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and has been picked up by festivals around the world.
The Watsons’ daughter Julia Tukiri is now managing director of Spookers and Mr Watson has taken a step back since becoming Rangitikei mayor in 2013.
It screens at the New Zealand International Film Festival on Saturday and Wednesday in Auckland and could be out on general release later in the year.