Monster Inside: America's Most Extreme Haunted House

It's easy to brush aside people's kinks for masochism as insignificant, though it is a growing segment of the world's population. This stuff is now, more relevant than ever, as in many cases, the payoff isn't always sexual arousal but a broader, more intense high. Having experienced at least a couple of haunted house attractions myself (including the one at Dubai Mall), this documentary seemed right up my alley, and to a large extent, it is. I wasn't exactly prepared for some of the graphic imagery, but it sure did its job of spooking me, even just by viewing it from a third-person perspective.

Russ McKamey, the owner and manager of this supposedly extreme survival-horror attraction called McKamey Manor (that comes with a 40-page waiver), started the venture for reasons of entertainment. That it gradually turned into a sort of sadistic game for Russ was probably the larger intent behind all of it. We wouldn't always get to know both sides, but Russ comes across as someone who'd go to any extent to hold up his "extreme" claims, including possibly destroying people psychologically (and physically). As I mentioned in the beginning, it also makes sense to understand why people voluntarily sign up for these attractions when they fully know that they'll experience terror, pain, and stress. In that regard, we get to hear from a few experts in the field of psychology.

I fully understand why Russ didn't participate in the documentary, as it's not portraying him in the best light.. and for valid reasons. While I don't want to completely side with the victims here, I felt they were emotionally on the weaker side somewhat, and Russ may have taken advantage of that. He's got a penchant for being the "dominator", and that's discernible in every video of his. Also, to see that there are hundreds (or thousands) of people waiting to participate in Russ' extreme experience, I'm sure at least a few of them would be thinking twice after seeing this piece.

I didn't really learn anything new from the documentary, I was expecting a web of lies to be exposed on Russ, or for it to have more appalling footage that would make other people aware of how crazy things can get there. It seemed bland for the content you were working with, it could've been more shocking to draw a bigger audience which would probably have the ratings here a little bit higher too.

I was really hoping they were going to focus on the fact that Russ is obsessed with filming everything and where is the most extreme footage going to? How is he funding all this? I feel like we all know the answer to these questions and were hoping the documentary would provide proof of it.

I had never heard of McKamey Manor even as an avid horror movie fan because the idea of being tortured in a "personal horror experience" sounds absolutely vile to me, as I'm sure it does to most normal people. My idea of a good horror experience is actually being in a real haunted house, not being beat up by some wanna-be serial killer.

Russ McKamey is your run-of-the-mill, garden variety sociopath. You kind of have to be messed up in the head or a special kind of stupid to not see it on its face. I didn't give this documentary high ratings despite the public service that it performs, because so much of the information is like....well, duh. If that guy offered me a piece of candy on a public street in broad daylight I'd be running for the hills. He even looks like some conservative weirdo that participates in domestic violence on the regular.

The most interesting thing about this documentary are the mental health professionals who explain what kind of mental disorders or childhood traumatic experience would make people vulnerable to this kind of dysfunctional recreation. I found that enlightening, at least.

Anyone saying this story is "one sided" needs professional help. Seriously, I don't care to hear the excuses of this abusive sicko.

This movie is VERY insightful to the true horror and torture that happens at McKamey Manor. It shows just how horrible of a human being Russ truly is and I hope people watch it before they consider attending this so called "haunt". This Is NOT a haunted house. This is a torture chamber. This is a place where if one of the "actors" is having a bad day, they can essentially torture you to death. You sign a waiver basically saying if you die, they are NOT responsible. Once again, do NOT attend this "Haunted House" , It is NOT HAUNTED HOUSE ! I will share a yearly reminder on facebook that this is not a haunted house just in case any of my friends are interested in going.

I know this is an odd thing to get hung up on, but the title is misleading and what they keep calling it is misleading. This isn't a "haunt" or a haunted house, at all. It's a torture house, or a torture session. It has absolutely nothing to do with haunting or traditional Halloween things. I don't see how this is an "extreme haunted house" anything. I'm a vet and they didn't call boot camp an extreme haunt. Just odd terminology.

It's an interesting and kind of messed up documentary. It sad to see the effects of it on the people that have actually done it. The psychological effects are rough. It is good to hear about this from people that actually are involved or have been through it. I think they are nuts but to each their own. I hope the people that it showed at the end that still seek this stuff out get some professional help rather than more torture.