Six Flags Entertainment Corp is raising the fear levels with a brand new horror short film showcasing their annual Halloween attractions and events at participating parks.

Last year, Six Flags debuted a long-form ad, “Tick.Tick.Tick.”, starring a clown who terrorized a group of housemates before luring them to Six Flags with Gold Passes. Its message was clear: “Don’t Keep Fear Waiting.”  

This year, the theme parks are back with a bigger, scarier, nearly 8-minute horror film created by horror aficionados for visitors to the park who love their scares. Titled “Come Out and Play,” the short introduces Smiley, an eerie soul in search of friendly faces to invite along a journey through terror.

The film was created by TMA, Six Flags’ creative agency partner and the agency behind last year’s acclaimed “Tick.Tick.Tick” longform ad. TMA’s Chief Creative Officer Harris Wilkinson, who wrote this year’s film and co-directed with John Suits of Natural Selection, said, “This is branded entertainment with one goal in mind: to make Six Flags THE Halloween destination. That’s why we shot it entirely within Six Flags parks. By showing off the mazes, the rides, and the scare zones, we give people a sense of the seasonal terror that awaits. And we anchored it with one simple invitation: ‘ Come Out and Play.'”

“Halloween is a huge cultural moment that just keeps growing,“ said Christian Dieckmann, Chief Commercial Officer at Six Flags. “For us, the time was right to raise the stakes – bigger, better, and scarier. Just as we are ‘serious about fun‘ throughout the year, we are also serious about fear when it comes to Halloween. We dare viewers to ‘Come Out and Play.’“

During the Halloween season, many Six Flags parks transform at night into landscapes of haunted mazes, immersive scare zones filled with costumed creatures, live performances, and themed food and drinks. While most of the park is open, including major rides that operate in the dark, the mazes and scare zones are the main attractions for guests 13 and older. 

Head to SixFlags.com for more details on the theme parks’ annual Fright Fest Halloween event, which leans into IP-themed haunt attractions this year, including “Stranger Things“ and The Conjuring Universe.