Immersive experiences powered by popular films and TV shows have surged in recent years – from small-scale Sex and the City pop-ups recreating Carrie Bradshaw’s flat, to Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City exhibition, and an entire warehouse filled with challenges from Squid Game. Just when it felt like the format had peaked, Dexter: The Experience takes things to an entirely new level.
Inspired by the upcoming new series Dexter: Resurrection, this venture blends theatre, quizzes, meticulously recreated film sets (with props you can touch), puzzles, escape-room dynamics, and more. The journey begins before you even step inside the Shoreditch venue: a huge hand-painted Dexter mural stretches across a nearby railway bridge, setting the tone for what lies ahead.
Dark passengers
Inside, visitors are taken on a 40-minute journey through a labyrinth of scenes and settings – with a maximum of 14 guests per session, later split into two competing teams. Guided by an exclusive voiceover from Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan himself, participants become the show’s infamous “dark passengers,” immersed in a fast-paced series of interactive challenges.
Drawing on familiar themes from the show, fans might find themselves analysing blood spatter at Miami Metro Forensics, piecing together evidence, or attempting to escape the Empire Hotel from the new season. From the whir of chainsaws to a disorienting corridor of red paddles, the attention to detail is genuinely impressive.
A bloody good time
Despite the dark subject matter, most of the challenges are more playful than terrifying. You’ll likely catch yourself smiling as Dexter’s father offers eerie advice, or while assembling a mannequin – a nod to the chilling Ice Truck Killer.
One zone is dedicated to rather disturbing photo opportunities: pose in the Trinity Killer’s infamous bathtub or inside Dexter’s signature plastic-wrapped kill room. The final section transforms into a forensics puzzle, where only die-hard fans will correctly identify killers based on blood-pattern evidence.
Killer cocktails
When the investigating ends, visitors are invited into the Miami-themed bar – an experience in its own right. Cocktails and mocktails are brilliantly themed including The Doomsday Killer, topped with a chocolate knife dripping “blood,” The Bay Harbor Butcher, featuring an edible Dexter logo, and the Nurse Mary, delivered via syringe over cubed ice.
There’s merch available too, and on your way back you can check Banksy’s “Designated Graffiti Area.” This is not related to Dexter but adds quirkiness to the experience.
The only downside is that it’s only on for 4 days, and with huge demand selling out almost immediately, it should have been on for longer. But like a great episode of television, Dexter: The Experience flies by – but leaves behind surprisingly vivid, and oddly joyful, memories. Now it’s time to start watching Dexter: Resurrection.
More information about Dexter: The Experience can be found here.
Image credits: © Dexter: The Experience, Paramount+
