The Blackwell Ghost 8

I binged watched all of these recently and I gotta say I'm not a fan of the direction of the films since 5. I much preferred the amateur found footage type of filming in the early films, they were much more intriguing and felt real and terrifying at times.

Now it's gone all hollywood and daft with its cinematic shots and over the top serial killer story, it really feels like a B movie instead of a cleverly done indy film which is what I liked about it in the first place.

Shame really because I like Turner Clay, he's got good charisma and is entertaining to watch.

I hope the series goes back to its roots I really do.

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.

In this, the eighth of the series wherein Turner Clay, likeable husband and father turned widower, answers the enigmatic questions in the search for a serial killer that the cops apparently can't even grapple with, we are further entertained. Yes, he somehow kept me watching again, damn likeable father. This time he finds clues and figures ciphers and, as usual, keeps it all interesting. He matches wooden discs to their destination. However! I'm not getting the scares that the first installments were so good at. The detective story is good but, after all, I'm here for the horror. The horror needs a comeback in this series.

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.

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.