The documentary film, Season of Screams, which explores the legacy of Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual Halloween Haunt was re-released this month and is now available to stream for free, thank’s to the film’s director, via YouTube.
Directed by David Love, the feature-length documentary takes an in-depth look at the history of Knott’s Scary Farm going all the way back to its origins in 1973. Filmed during the 2002 and 2003 haunt seasons, the documentary features interviews with many of the folks behind the iconic haunt both past and present.
Released in 2004, Season of Screams was first available on DVD at Knott’s Berry Farm during the 32nd annual Knott’s Scary Farm season. The film is no longer in print and used copies now go for upwards of $99 online. Now, those of us who may have missed the initial release have the opportunity to watch the film in its entirety along with the DVD bonus features, courtesy of Love.
“My very good friend and colleague Ted Dougherty suggested that maybe we could re-release Season of Screams on YouTube to bring some fun entertainment to folks during the pandemic quarantine,” said Love in a Facebook post announcing the documentary’s return. “I thought it was a great idea so I dug through all of my old hard drives and dusted off the old video files and compiled everything to be ready and optimized for YouTube.”
Uploaded on June 15, the video is two and a half hours long. The bonus features play after the film credits and include walkthroughs of some often forgotten Knott’s Scary Farm mazes, the Wolfman Jack Show from the 1977 Knott’s Scary Farm season, and a tribute to Knott’s Scary Farm makeup department head Melanie Anne Smith, who passed away during the production of Season of Screams. A collection of photos that were featured on the original DVD has also been uploaded to a Facebook gallery, which you can see here.
You can watch Season of Screams here.
