Director of “Saw” Films Creates His Own Haunt in Kansas City

If you live in the Kansas City area or are planning to do a tour of America’s haunts this year you may want to check out one created by Darren Lynn Bousman who directed Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV. He also directed the 2022 Spiral which takes place in the Saw universe. 

Bousman has once again joined forces with Kansas City’s Exiled to create, “a one-of-a-kind fusion of terror and immersive storytelling — giving people a living, breathing emotional experience.”

According to a press release the director has a warning for those brave enough to visit his creation called Crooked Rose Woods —- an outdoor haunted house nestled in the sinister shadows of Bonner Springs, Kansas, just 25 minutes west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. 

“Those looking for traditional scares, be warned, this insidious event breathes, reacts, and transforms with your every interaction,” says Bousman.

“I was raised in Kansas City, and every Halloween, my father and I would venture into the West Bottoms. It was there that my fascination with horror and the macabre was born. But as I grew older, I craved something more than the usual shocks and jump-scares. I wanted an experience that would truly terrify me. And now, I’m thrilled to bring that to my hometown,” recalls Bousman.

After Bousman and his family experienced the thrill of Exiled: Trail of Terror in 2023, he reached out to Dan Scott, the company’s Managing Partner, with an innovative idea. “After meeting Darren and hearing his ideas, we knew we had to collaborate and bring this unique concept to life,” Scott said. 

Bousman and the Exiled team are keeping their plans under wraps about what haunt-goers can expect, but they offer a tantalizing clue. “This will be unlike any haunt Kansas City has ever seen,” Bousman contends. “This experience will be more than just a bunch of scare actors in a corn maze. It will be a living, breathing thing, and it will be too late when you realize what I mean by that.” 

The spectral gates of Exiled: Crooked Rose Woods will open from September 13 through November 2. The creators encourage the brave to get involved early via their website located HERE.  “The more involved you allow yourself to get in our world, the scarier it will be,” Rooms added.

Jen Scott, Managing Partner of Exiled, also issued a chilling message in a press release: “The doors open in September, but the haunting begins now. Dare to be part of the legend that will haunt Kansas City forever. Prepare to lose yourself in Exiled: Crooked Rose Woods. Survival isn’t guaranteed — nor is it the point.”

Tickets will range from $59-$199 and go on sale August 20.  For more information, visit Exiled online.