The Enfield Poltergeist

Averagely well-made mini-series, but awfully slow, semi interesting and uninteresting at the same time, played good enough by the actors or who you deem potent, possible and feasible as actors, events that are not seen, events that don't make sense, absolutely no thrill, no sense of urgency at all, with just generic, depressed faces all along.

It is phlegmatic in the most British way. Won't watch another Poltergeist production on the subject for a while.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Development: 7.5
• Realism: 6
• Entertainment: 2
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 5
• Logic: 1
• Flow: 3.5
• Documentary/horror: 3.5
• Ending: 3.

Well made documentary by apple tv. I've seen other docs and shows about the Enfield haunting but this one is excellent and you get interviews from people who were there. The series uses Grosse's original audio tapes, and actors recreate scenes that were documented over a two-year period. Creator Jerry Rothwell supplements these with archival footage and interviews from journalists, paranormal experts and the family.

There is an inordinate amount of information to get through - as Grosse once proudly told the BBC: "This may be the best case of the century, and as far as documentation goes, it might be the best case of all time." Plus, there are dozens of agendas to wade through. The media wants a salacious story. The family want to help and to be seen as wholesome and honest. The paranormal investigators want to make a significant scientific breakthrough in their field.

Thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end, and the scientific approach taken was just amazing. Very agnostic perspective. This documentary is for those interested in evidence and who want to look at the paranormal phenomenon through a more scientific lens. It's scary because it's about poltergeist, but it doesn't give off the vibe that it's meant to be a "spooky" documentary to watch for Halloween. It's a thoroughly informative and intellectual documentary. I couldn't stop watching! There aren't many documentaries out there that take the paranormal phenomenon seriously or that have such compelling evidence. I just can't give enough praise for this.

A rating in this site that's less than an 8 is just not reflecting the value that this documentary provides to those who are truly into parapsychology, ESP, and high strangeness.

The story will be well enough known to people of a certain age, so I won't go over it again.

This.....for the first time ever, is a telling of the tale that rips itself free of the awful Conjuring sticky fingers, the hugely entertaining (but fanciful) Timothy Spall interpretation of 2015, and all of the other "point and laugh" contemporary ridicule pieces of the late 70s and early 80s.

The meticulous set builds for the interior of the home, the superb decision to lip sync to Maurice Grosse's original tapes, and the non sensationalist, non judgemental space and breadth given to this who were there to tell their stories added up to a fresh (and refreshing) take on a story that had become perilously close to being lost forever.

For once, the terms "for information" or "for enlightenment" can stand on slightly higher ground than the lazy default "for entertainment only" that has allowed content makers to throw whatever they like into the telling of any given story.

A heartfelt "thank you" to everyone in the making of this docudrama. It's heartening to know that there's still film makers out there willing to resist the addition of sensationalist fiction to gild an already fully formed lily.

...This is how to make a documentary.

The Enfield Poltergeist, arguably, checks all the required boxes with regard to making a documentary.

There are no bombastic statements to be had here. Instead there is ample research into "a case". There is an eloquently balanced presentation of various facts and hypotheses where "all sides" are allowed to; not only present their views on a series of happenings, but also explain the rationale behind their conclusions.

For some documentaries the primary objective is to present a conclusion, for some it is to objectively present facts - as to enable the viewer to form their own opinions.

The Enfield Poltergeist, most definitely falls into the latter - and it makes a stellar job of it. This is most refreshing in a time when documentaries of latter have had a tendency to present hypotheses as facts.

So there you have it, the story is told, the facts presented, now it's your prerogative to draw any conclusion you wish - and also respect anybody who's opinion may differ from yours.