The Unbinding

Ok, I can see from other reviews that this documentary was a labor of love for many and tells a story that is clearly very important to its community. I totally respect that.

I think that you get from it what you bring to it. It invites you to go along for a journey. It doesn't force anything on you, and you have to pay attention.

If you like intentional, slow-burn stuff, especially the original Wicker Man with Christopher Lee, this is potentially up your alley. You can sit back and try to find the cracks in the facade and play the "Wait, how much of this do they actually believe?" game and still have a really good time with this film, but keeping your cynicism at bay for an hour or two gives the best experience.

If you are tired of seeing the same old story/format over and over and over again, give this a try. It's rare to find something that is truly different and it's genuinely hard to categorize. Let this one in.

This was a documentary that I put on and treated like a podcast at work. The title sounded interesting. This was also listed on Letterboxd as one of the higher rated horror/documentaries that was on a streaming service that I had. This also being from 2023 intrigued me. That information was enough to check this out.

We are following a married couple, Greg and Dana Newkirk. They grew up together where they were doing their own 'ghost hunting' and filming it. What was interesting there is that Greg grew up religious and then married a practicing witch. Something also interesting here is that I saw a handful of reviews online comparing them to Ed and Lorraine Warren. I can see that since they collect haunted items and also help people. To my knowledge, the Newkirks have fleeced people as of yet.

Now that I've introduced them, the major part of this documentary is them coming into possession of a strange statue from the Catskill Mountains. They found the user on Reddit who was seeking them for him and his friend who took the item. They claimed that it was haunting them. The statue was then sent to the Newkirks, who then go about trying to find out what they can about its origins and what could be lingering about it.

What I'll then say is that this is well-made. It kept my interest throughout to figure out what they would come up with. There are a few different methods that do seem to have scientific backing as well as ensuring that they're not influencing the results. Do I believe that this statue was haunted and causing disturbances? No, I do not. I do believe these people could have experienced things that they cannot explain. How this is constructed worked as well as it made me uncomfortable and I enjoyed that. It does feel like a longer and better production value than episodes of Ghost Hunter shows. I did find the couple we follow likeable. It was entertaining. I will say to watch this to make your own determination as to what you think is happening here.

This was on Tubi, so you can watch it for free with ads.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

"Open up your mind and let everything come through." 13th Floor Elevators

Ok. Maybe not a documentary in the true sense.

But I think these folks, and many others, believe in the paranormal, spirits and spirituality. I mean, what is religion anyway?

I thought the filming was done fairly well. No shaking of the camera. If it had been a Blair Witch attempt, I would not have spent 5 minutes on it.

I also felt the cast did a good job of explaining what they were doing without hyperbolic emotions.

Obviously, not everyone will like or care about this story, but, it's interesting for sure.

Give it a try.

This is not a horror film, nor can it be categorized as part of the typical paranormal reality tv genre, rather it is an investigation into a series of mysterious (and creepy) events surrounding a strange figurine, and the search for answers.

The Newkirks' approach to this investigation is a deep dive into folklore, mythology, religion and witchcraft, combined with their insatiable curiosity, respect, and humor. The atmospheric cinematography, soundtrack, and audio mix draw the viewer into the Newkirk's world.

Their investigation spans several years, and the film relies on recreations from time to time to illustrate the teams' personal experiences, but the look and feel - moody, dark and eerie - is consistent throughout.

Watching this film leaves the viewer with a desire for more opportunities to travel into the Newkirks' world in search of answers - or at least insight - into the unexplainable.

I enjoyed it. I was hesitant after reading the negative reviews, but I'm glad I watched it. In some ways, this is a typical ghost hunting "documentary" - meaning, of course there's no evidence. Some reviewers seemed surprised there's no irrefutable proof of ghosts here. There never is - there's no scientific peer reviewed journal about to publish a paper on ghosts. You can't prove gods or ghosts are real, that's the root of people's fascination, and kind of the whole point.

What isn't typical about the Newkirks' approach is that they're not afraid to get into the weird complexities. I can't stand typical ghost hunting shows but this is much deeper. They dive into the psychological muck, take their time getting the emotional experience and tone right. They research everything and show how gooey myth and folklore are. It's cool to watch them piece together their research and experiences - no matter what I personally believe. Yea it's their cognitive bias but so is every single religious or supernatural experience. Regardless, I followed their logic. They touch on magic and the collective unconscious and tie it all together. They might have the goofy tools other ghost hunters have, but they use them in unique ways, and that's only the surface of what they do.

Even if this is all staged, it's still a good story. It's impossible to say what they actually believe, so I can't speculate on their intentions, but it was cool to learn about a goddess I didn't know about before. And I really like what Strand said about how studying the paranormal is like studying yourself. It's true. I think they manage to touch on something ancient that is a key part of the human experience we don't often get to connect with.

I didn't come out of this believing in ghosts or gods. What I got out of this was entertainment and I learned something new. And I did get a little spooked!