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Released by: A&E Home Video
Released on: July 14th, 2015
Director: N/A
Cast: N/A
Year: 1996-2008
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The Movie
If you've watched History Channel, Investigation Discovery or the SyFy Network for any amount of time, then the odds probably pretty good that you've seen some sort of "documentary" program similar to Poltergeists: Real Life Hauntings.
You know the kind: ridiculously explainable stories of the paranormal, supernatural or unknown combined with even more ridiculously staged reenactments designed to scare the gullible or entertain the bored, depending upon which side of the fence you fall. Well, this two disc collection from A&E Home Video combines a bunch of similar programs for over five hours of hokum for the entire family!
Poltergeist activity actually isn't the sole subject matter on hand here, as Real Life Hauntings presents six different episodes, each dealing with a separate entity. Ghosts, witches, voodoo and The Devil all make appearances here on the set, with the general set up of each episode running together quite similarly, starting things off with a basic explanation of the subject's history before diving into witness accounts, testimony and those ever-popular reenactments.
Don't go into this set with any hopes or expectations for answering the unknown, however, for most of the situations presented here are either poorly discussed by the writers/witnesses or just plain chicanery, as evidenced by the segment Exorcism-Driving Out the Devil, which sets up an obviously faked satanic possession by the noted charlatan preacher Bob Larson, who practices such behavior as "exorcism via Skype" for a hefty financial donation. Larson has also engaged in multiple debates with death metal band Deicide and their infamous frontman Glen Benton which are hilarious: look them up!
Situations like these leave a bad taste in the mouth of yours truly, not necessarily because the segments presented here aren't entertaining-they have their place, when in the right frame of mind-but because the possibility is out there that someone might not see the humor in these sorts of programs, and take what little investigation is presented here as actual fact. There's nothing frightening to see here, folks; just the same sort of cheap looking, faux documentary programming caught most often in the middle of the night for a lark. Take that for what it is.
Video/Audio/Extras
Lionsgate presents Poltergeists: Real Life Hauntings in its original full frame television aspect ratio, and things look just about where they should be for this type of thing, no better and no worse. The sound levels are of an equally comparable quality, right about to what you'd be experiencing watching it at home. There are no extras, whatsoever, making this a bare bones collection.
The Final Word
Personally speaking, I'd bury this sort of television down at the bottom of the Loch alongside Nessie, but if this type of trash is your bag, baby, then dive on in: at least these two discs are cheesy enough to be somewhat entertaining if devoured with a large pizza and some beer.
