I must say I am indebted to NIGHTMARE UPSTAIRS for bringing some variety to my Season 5 viewing experience. I saw two 1's (BLOOD VISIONS; DARK DREAMS), two 5's (NIGHTMARE IN BRIDGEMENT; ANGELS & DEMONS); and a "7" (ALLEN HOUSE), but up until now I had not known the experience of a "3." If you want to know what a "3-rated" episode of A Haunting feels like, just slip in a copy of THIS one.
Between mansion of Monticello and the spacious 3 bedroom home in Wynne, Arkansas is fast becoming the hub of paranormal activity. Look out Connecticut! This is also the second case this season to push a new explanation for hauntings that otherwise cannot be explained on the basis of the home's past -- the "portal." As described by the investigator, a confluence of natural conditions may weaken the otherwise impermeable boundary between the world we know and "some other dimension." This was also a problem for the Markham-based family in Season 4's WHERE EVIL LURKS, Arkansas should offer residents "gateway to hell" license plates.
The VanLandingham Family were probably quite disturbed by some of the events New Dominion failed to effectively portray. If this were any other season, the entity impersonating the sister would have been orders of magnitude creepier. It did not help that the writer of the episode thinks we need our hand held and felt the need to beat a dead horse over the head (pardon the metaphor-mixing). Not one word was needed to drive home that the girl brushing her hair was not her sister -- or for that matter, a girl -- at all. But on top of the protracted exchange with the REAL sister downstairs, the writer has Tony Call explain it to us TWICE. We get it! Don't bleed the creepy vibe right out of it! Way to ruin the moment! (Okay, okay, now I'm just imitating the writer). If this had been THE HAUNTING OF SUMMERWIND, Tony Call would not have stopped at "the erie growl of bears sent shivers up his spine." He would have went on like some people you avoid because they can't shut up ... "Ray was frightened by the sound. And for good reason. There are no bears in these woods." And then perhaps later in the episode, perhaps when Ray ran into the kitchen where he heard gunshots, the episode would have flashed back to Ray taking refuge in the RV and Tony would have added " ... but there could have been no one in the kitchen. Just like there could have been no bears in the woods." And as with the previous episode, my wife and I laughed more than we should have. When the entity channeled through the investigator, the episode did not depict that properly. At first we were led to believe the voice was disembodied. And what a voice! We were in stitches. We also laughed when the black shadow scampered across the bedroom door directly in front of us. Between the digital appearance and shape, it looked like something you'd find on an old episode of Scooby Doo than a 21st century docudrama: "Scooby Doo and The Ghost of the Cable Guy Who Converted My Analog." And why does the room blink like a discotheque whenever a ghost appears? I don't like this convention at all. I realize the special effects artist is unable to render a ghost (the ghosts look too computer-generated) but this additional cue is over the top. No wonder I feel the need to pop a Dramamine before every episode. Note to visual effects department -- just ask yourself what a ghost might REALLY look like -- and that will take you where you need to go.
The other drawback to Season 5 is that the program is too ADHD. I know I've said this before, but that was in reference to the transition effects and the effects used during the climactic cleansings. The writing is also ADHD in the sense that the program is way too verbal -- too talky. It's OK to have some quiet and some stillness every now and then. No need to bombard us with interview clips. The interviews are invaluable but once the subjects run out of meaningful or amusing things to say, it's amazing how quickly your eyes well up with tears at the sound of their voice.
As my wife astutely pointed out, we've felt like chumps throughout this whole season. Bad enough the episodes are poor, but the TV ads are worse than anything I've seen aired after 3 AM on the old USA Network. The only things worse than that ad for Buck Naked Underwear are the ads for other DESTINATION America programming. BBQ Pitmasters. Moonshiners. Can't wait. A Haunting might be the only program marketed to people with greater than 16 teeth.
And why do the producers insist on leading off with a clip from the episode's climactic prayer or cleansing? I'm pretty sure it adds nothing. I'm VERY sure it steals from the suspense. But what the hell, right? They undermine atmosphere and plausibility with visual effects. They undermine credibility with poor writing and acting. They break up the flow with excessive clips from interviews bled dry too late into the episode. Why not kill the suspense too?
