The Blackwell Ghost 8

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 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.

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.

I respect what Turner Clay (which appears to be an alias) has been trying to achieve with these films. There's not much else out there like this nowadays - essentially a longform web series like Marble Hornets, with some cheeky social media tricks that have hilariously convinced a lot of folks that this is a real documentary.

All the more impressive is that it's essentially a one man show.

His acting is great, the cinematography and editing is great, he writes all the music for the series, the ghost hunting of the early series was unique and compelling, and the Zodiac killer-style narrative he's designed is ambitious, albeit not at all unique and less compelling.

That said, it's becoming more and more obvious that this project is "steady work." The universe he's built is starting to collapse in on itself. The releases keep coming, but the quality has been on a steady decline since we went from a humble truth seeking ghost hunter, to witnessing his deceased wife playing piano from the afterlife, to now singlehandedly solving an active serial killer case that the police and FBI "don't feel like investigating" with the help of said ghosts.

The series appears to be losing audience interest with each installment as well, judging by Amazon review numbers.

I think he's keenly aware of this, which is why he's pivoting to a new ghost story, but it would probably benefit him to drop the pretense, maybe even rename the project to something fitting of an anthology, and earnestly engage with the audience about the content he's making like every other filmmaker on the planet.

Why did he have to take something that was interesting and in the last couple additions to the series add all these overdone shots and dramatic music and move away from the indie project he started with? I enjoyed the simplicity of the early parts but I think it's leaving that format behind which frankly sucks. It's now a weird SAW ripoff or a riddler wannabe involved in a ghostless ghost story. Unfortunate. What happened to a guy investigating clues he finds in a haunted house? Now it's an Easter egg hunt involving what he thinks is a serial killer with no intention to harm him. Terrified. No urge at the end to continue watching. Sorry.