For theme parks, Halloween represents one of the busiest times of the year. And no park operator takes Halloween thrills and chills to a higher level than Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
This year, Six Flags is upping its Halloween game by releasing its first-ever short film called 'Tick. Tick. Tick.' The five-minute horror film, created and produced by the company’s new creative agency, TMA, will run digitally on YouTube and the social media channels for five parks (Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Valleyfair and Canada’s Wonderland). It targets teens and young adults, the heaviest visitors to theme parks during the Halloween season. The goal is to drive purchases of each park’s Gold season passes, offering unlimited visits and other benefits to passholders.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The new film features a malevolent clown terrorising four housemates. Much of the cast and crew, including the agency’s chief creative officer and the director, brought deep experience in horror filmmaking to this project, which builds on the participating parks’ seasonal 'Fear is Waiting' message. Only this time, that message carries more urgency: 'Don’t keep fear waiting.'
The film will be supported by teasers, which will appear on Meta and YouTube in each of the parks’ respective markets.
“A visit to Six Flags is always an immersive experience - but at Halloween, participating parks turn that dial to 11,” said Harris Wilkinson, TMA’s chief creative officer. “This film brings the tension and terror of the in-park experience home, and reminds fans not to keep fear waiting.”
Added Stella Smith, VP of advertising and creative services at Six Flags Entertainment Co, “Halloween is having a huge cultural moment, and for us, the time was ripe to up the ante on how we engage with consumers and immerse them into our unique Halloween experience. TMA had the idea to release our first-ever short film, and we can’t wait to see how our fans respond.”
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is North America’s largest regional amusement-resort operator with 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Work debuts this week and will run through the end of October.