Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Evidence of a Haunting (2010)

Styled after the typical crop of recent ghost hunting shows, The Supernatural Phenomenon Research Society (SPRS) investigate reports on paranormal activity.  The group covers three cases, has show meetings and POV footage of the investigations.  Plus there is a long throwaway scene of them socializing in a bar on their night off.

The first case involves child possession.  The problem with this is that no one has topped Linda Blair since the Exorcist.  But a plus is that the child's headboard is a picket fence, so it's extremely convenient to tie down the possessed child.

The next case of a father with two young daughters who are plagued by a spirit in their house is easily resolved. The children have recently acquired what investigators call the most dangerous type of Ouija board, a hand carved one.  The only way to rid yourself of this Ouija spirit is to mail it to someone else and once they play it, the ghost is theirs.  Really?  I'm not up on the ways of the Ouija but it sounds like a long shot.

If you feel it's wrong to send the cursed thing to some unsuspecting soul, then the only other way to get rid of it is to chop it into seven pieces and burn it.  I kept expecting some sort of resistance, but they disposed of it quickly and I found myself thinking, what? That's it?


Their big case, which takes up half the film, is an investigation into tunnels under a University.  Over the years many people have gone into the tunnels, gotten lost, starved to death, or were never seen again.

The group goes into lock down to start their investigation.  They hear strange sounds and have contact with the ghost of a small boy.  They also come up with the theory that the tunnels are holding cells for hell controlled by the son of Satan bwahahaha!  Okay, sure. And unlike ghost hunting shows, things do not end up as well for our intrepid team of explorers.

They use the ultra sketchy ghost box which modulates am/fm frequencies.  I find this thing to be utterly ridiculous as a ghost hunting tool.  If it's picking up different radio frequencies, you're just hearing words off the radio.

And yes, cameraman Tor's full name is Tor Johnson, a nod to the actor of Ed Wood movie fame.  But unlike the cool Tor, this one wears an annoying hat at a jaunty angle, making me want to knock the damn thing off his head.  Also Shelly looks like a cross between Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Jessica Parker.  You can decide for yourself if that is a good thing.


How convenient that her head board is a picket fence.
But maybe they shouldn't have given her so much rope. 
Pretending it's the horror version of Friends 
Someone please slap that carefully placed hat off his head. 


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