Demon House is a 2018 horror documentary about a paranormal investigator who documents the most authenticated case of possession in American history.
The idea that a paranormal world exists and somehow haunts homes and causes others to be possessed by evil has led to many firmly believing that we are not alone, despite not a single truly verifiable shred of evidence to prove it real. Peddlers of pseudo-science who make claims of inherent abilities to see such demons and ghosts or at least seek them out have long kept many on a hook, including in modern times where the television landscape is dotted with all kinds of ‘professional’ ghost hunters who travel about the world trying to document specters. Now comes Zak Bagans‘ Demon House, a documentary of the famed host of the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures series who thinks he’s found the jackpot in a creepy old house in Indiana that has gained some notoriety for some strange incidents, delivering this made-for-TV-esque by-the-book thriller that just doesn’t work like is should and misses a great opportunity to delve into the psychology behind it.
When reports of problems in a small home in Gary, Indiana start to make the news, including children inside becoming possessed and clergymen performing exorcisms, it ignites some less than authentic journalism to boost ratings by trying to give it some legitimacy, or maybe poke some fun. We all love a good ghost story after all. The local sheriff is wary of the place, families have moved out and even the realtors won’t go in. In swoops Bagans, who outright buys the house and sets up a camera crew to follow him as he steps inside to investigate, claiming he’s already had nightmares that seem to foretell what lies inside. He then spends the movie talking with previous tenants and towns folks, collecting more and more terrifying stories of evil in the house and having many questionable encounters.
READ MORE: Review of the Horror Film The Terrible Two
I suppose I should admit that I understand the power of belief and many people are completely confident that these sorts of things really happen. I would not want to use this review as a platform to belittle good people who aren’t on the side of science and maybe even find some of this entertaining. The film is populated with people who seem to genuinely believe or feel affected by these events. What I will say is I think that shows like Ghost Adventures and the like are empty sensationalism that prey on these people and viewers with staged and manipulated episodes that offer no evidence to their claims but visual and camera effects punctuated by zealous re-enactments. So it is with Demon House, which is basically an extended episode of Bagans’ show, and while plenty of what is seen surely raises questions, the film relies entirely on dramatics to sell the tale, failing to move anyone who has even an ounce of skepticism and lacking any real depth for the people involved who would make for excellent subjects in much better documentary.
Things do happen, and whether you accept them as real, staged, or somewhere in the middle, it really doesn’t matter. Bagans is, unfortunately, a bland host whose deadpan delivery offers no momentum in watching any of it. With too many poorly-produced re-enactments that have children howling and rolling their eyes to the cues of scary music, it’s painfully hard to take any of it seriously, especially as Bagans goes deeper, looking for that real supernatural moment. I’m sure most who tune in to this will be fans of the series and as such may find it an engaging watch. Certainly, for those that do accept this as authentic will get a few jolts, the film effective at times in earning some punch. There’s just nothing here that ever convinces, it being another entry in the paranormal horror genre that wholly underwhelms and serving as a documentary, misses its chance to makes this meaningful.