The Blackwell Ghost 8

The Blackwell series has been really good, for the most part. While I enjoyed the paranormal aspects of previous, I far prefer the new, grounded in "reality" approach. The shift away from the paranormal was needed. It had run its course. Having an actual killer is genuinely creepy, far more so than flipped tables, open cabinets, and ghosts banging on doors.

The only problem I have is that there's never a sense that Turner is in actual danger. He said so himself. The guy doesn't want to hurt him. It would add to the scares if the killer actually DID want to harm Turner. I'd like to see Turner get sick of being timid and tell this guy enough is enough. Bring it on.

I'm invested again. Hopefully 9 will come sooner than 8 did. Sitting on another year long "to be continued" would be a bummer.

The first movie was intersting and engaging, I liked it enough to buy part 2. Then 3, 4,5,6,7 and now 8.

They're obviously made on a shoestring budget, but the storyline moves right along. The movies end and I want more.

These are clever installments that keep twisting and turning. Original enough to get you hooked.

There's nothing fancy, no extravagant effects, but these movies don't need it. Our protagonist, Turner Clay, has a twangy nasal voice that I find endearing; not annoying. I want to hear what he finds next.

Each installment introduces something new. Part 8 is very different than what got us going in part 1. We're in some strange serial killer with a manifesto territory now and it seems perfectly normal and true to the continuity of our storyline.

Don't skip to part 8. Start at 1 and watch them in order.

It's pretty hard to believe that an entire police force has no idea how to analyze audio, and oblivious to the fact that to do was only a logical step, so for some reason, that really got under my skin.

And above that, perhaps they struggled to find the killer is because they do all their police work via telephone, with no actual "investigation" taking place. Dude's like, "I got a letter and a finger in the mail." And the response from the detective is basically like, "Cool." This has always been a sticky point for me, but the last two films it started to become overbearing and pretty incredulous, not to mention the sharing of evidence in what is probably an active case.

And I agree with another reviewer: why are all the phone conversations so horribly distorted? It does not add to the reality, only creates unnecessary distractions.

Pity though, because I did find them to be interesting and intriguing films, especially the Lightfoot arc.

So, what can we take from Part 8?

1. Everyone in America has a really bad phone line that sounds like they're speaking from 1982.

2. The police have no idea how to analyse media and rely on genius amateur movie makers to do it for them.

3. Those selfsame amateur movie makers don't have to share any information with the police unless they reeeaaally want to.

4. The Blackwell Ghost has nothing to do with ghosts. It's a typical series focussing on the American paranoia of home invasions and 0 to do with anything supernatural.

5. Tracking Devices are big, have infinite battery life and connect to your local network as "Vehicle Tracker".

6. The director/actor of this series is so narcissistic, and believe themselves so much better than the police and everyone else, that they'll probably turn out to be a Real killer one day.

7. Sometimes, each sentence requires a different camera angle, so prepare to suffer from dizzy spells.

8. This franchise should've stopped 5 films ago.

The first few movies were really quite good, and though you knew it was fiction, it incorporated enough real-life stuff and was filmed in a style that created an illusion of it being a documentary rather than a scripted movie.

The illusion has weakened with each instalment (I'd say from 1-4 are good, 5 is mediocre at best, and each one after that gets worse and worse), with number 7 getting to the point of being barely watchable - badly keyed green screens, "in the moment" reaction shots that were very obviously set up from the camera position (and the poor chroma keying), and "effects" that are far from special, e.g. He fires a pistol where the muzzle flash is very obviously added on in post, there's no recoil, the action doesn't cycle, and no cartridge is ejected. It's just starting to feel lazy at this point. It feels like something cooked up by a group of amateurs in an internet forum.

Despite this, I'd say these movies are all worth watching the first 4, and if you want to understand why you needn't bother after that point, watch the 5th instalment. The 7th was really bad, the 8th is somehow worse. Any doubt that this was a movie as opposed to a documentary is completely destroyed. If you've watched the other 7, you may feel as though you may as well watch this one, I'd recommend using your time more productively, perhaps by putting wooden toothpicks under your toenails and kicking a wall as hard as you can.

At this point I feel like I've started watching a TV show, and it's a few seasons in, and it's got really terrible, but I keep watching anyway because I've sunk so much into watching up to this point. It's really a shame, because I found the first few movies to be captivating and enjoyable. Now it just feels like content on YouTube generated by a user with no experience in script writing, directing, or maintaining a cohesive and compelling plot.

I think I've reached a breaking point, and I won't be watching Blackwell Ghost 9 if and when it comes out. Sometimes, you just have to cut bait and admit to yourself that you're wasting time on something that's no longer entertaining or enjoyable in any way.