With all of the Halloween entertainment out there these days it’s understandable if you missed the 2023 documentary Monster Inside until now. This latest Hulu original, released on October 12, is basically a hit piece on Russ McKamey the owner of the ultra-violent holiday haunt McKamey Manor.
It chronicles McKamey’s rise to infamy as an extreme version of a circus leader who instead of creating entertainment for the whole family, created one of the most excessive Halloween haunts in the United States.
Survivors of his attraction say it contains everything from physical torment to psychological torture, things that can only be done after signing a legal waiver, a document that doesn’t even cover death; it’s a pretty serious agreement. There is even a warning that teeth may be extracted according to one former participant.
The doc portrays McKamey as some kind of Jigsaw from the Saw movies, only he isn’t seeking vigilante karma, he is actually enjoying torturing people just for fun. Even though that sounds evil, there wouldn’t even be a Manor if there weren’t participants; there is a waitlist. What makes a person want to do the seven-hour experience in the first place? It is a complicated answer.
Thanks to a therapist on the show, we learn that some people who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are looking to appease their desires for adrenaline. Others are horror fans who want the survivor clout. Others, still, want what they call “deviant leisure.” Either way, some ultimately regret the experience and warn potential guests against it.
Monster Inside deals with a lot of mental illness and how McKamey may or may not be exploiting that willingly. It also delves into how being tortured can severely affect someone’s mental state even after the experience is over.
The documentary was released during Halloween which seems appropriate for the season, but once the holiday is over you kind of have to look at it differently. As the documentary suggests McKamey is a sociopath hellbent on torturing his willing victims legally. A lot of the past participants think he is a criminal. But that is for you to decide.
Monster Inside is now streaming on Hulu.
