“Conjuring” into “real” new on Netflix: it couldn’t get any more ridiculous!

+++ Opinion +++

Husband and wife Ed and Lorraine Warren were among the most famous (self-proclaimed) demonologists in the world. Last but not least, the huge success of the “Conjuring” series, whose stories are based on the sensational cases of the Warrens and even make them the main characters, has brought the couple great fame outside the US as well. And that’s exactly what Netflix wants to take advantage of with the new “documentary” series “28 Days Haunted”.

The premise of the project is a theory of the Warrens, which states that one must expose oneself to the forces of the afterlife in complete isolation for 28 days in order to break through the veil to the world of the dead. – so far, so crazy. Since Ed and Lorraine Warren were no longer able to compare and verify this assumption themselves with other ghost researchers* in their field, Netflix is ​​now taking over – thank you for that! For an accompanying experiment, the streaming service has teamed up with the Warrens organization NESPR (New England Society For Psychic Research), whose mission is to investigate paranormal events. You can now experience the absolutely outrageous result in the six episodes of “28 Days Haunted”.

This has been haunted for 28 days

In 28 Days Haunted, three small teams of researchers move for a month to some of the most infamous haunted houses in the US in three different locations to contact dead souls and test the Warren theory. – And that without contact with the outside world, the examined 28-day cycle would only apply if you are completely isolated.

Fortunately, the ghosts don’t seem to mind the many cameras the houses are equipped with, allowing NESPR chief Tony Spera (the Warrens’ son-in-law) and paranormal expert Aaron Sagers to keep an eye on everything. After the subjects were overwhelmed with spiritual feelings on arrival, it took a while – what a surprise! – not long before the supernatural events begin to pile up in all the houses. Ultimately, of course, the 28-day theory will be successfully tested at all three locations (Oops, “spoilers”!). All wrapped up in a Hollywood ready dramaturgy that serves just about every cliche from the ghost movie moth box. According to Aaron Sagers, this is the first step in a revolution in their field, although he seriously describes it as a “research method”. Maybe Netflix should just stick a tinfoil hat directly on their logo.

a farce

I won’t deny that the existence of ghosts and demons is as likely to me as a new romantic comedy starring Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. But even for less skeptical viewers, it would be absolutely horrifying if someone were deadly serious and without any ironic refraction or healthy skepticism to present psychic phenomena as facts and to sell their alleged evidence as science using sometimes crazy devices (keyword: god helmet!). In 28 Days Haunted, every moment expected (or rather hoped!) that one of the participants would burst out laughing or eventually realize that this was all just one big joke. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen.

BUT: Of course everyone can and should believe what they want. I have absolutely no problem with anyone being convinced of the existence of higher powers. But even — or rather — “28 Days Haunted” is a single amateurish brutality that makes me incomprehensible how Netflix managed to monetize it. The series is aimed precisely at those viewers who are open to paranormal phenomena to exploit their beliefs and unleash a ghostly bear on them.

Also problematic for ghost friends

Ed and Lorraine Warren are not easy personalities anyway. Not only once did the two face charges of fraud, after all, none of their alleged evidence of paranormal phenomena could withstand an intensive examination. The fact that fictional (!) horror movies are being made is one thing (especially if they’re as scary and entertaining as the first two “Conjuring” movies). However, to get around the corner on this basis with a documentary series that claims to depict real events is a bit perverse.

Because even if you try to approach the whole project impartially, there can be no question of a “scientific” approach, which is repeatedly claimed by those responsible. Not only is the entire effort being led by an organization the Warrens themselves founded. The NESPR, along with the series creators, has also refurbished the haunted houses (and – beware, speculation – maybe not just the cameras). Independent objective observation would certainly look different, but of course it wouldn’t have the same sensational effect either.

Netflix is ​​exposing itself

No wonder Netflix warns at the beginning of the series with an overlay not to repeat the experiment, after all, not much would come of it. And the fact that one of the ghost hunters, after being medically examined for a supposedly demonic near-heart attack, only reported back with the words “Don’t ask, some things you don’t talk about” also speaks volumes. We bet on constipation! But the tip of the supernatural iceberg is the very last shot in the sixth episode, essentially exposing the series and Netflix for good.

After one of the teams of investigators pretends to be the great savior of tormented souls in a cemetery, the female half of the duo explains with relief that they were able to drive out a demon after all. However, her male partner then seriously beckons with a devilish sideways glance at the camera that this might not be the case – mind you in a (threaded) documentary and not in a cheap horror film!

At the latest at this point, Netflix doesn’t seem to be putting too much effort into somehow hiding the fact that the documentary territory has long been left behind. It is not the first time that the streaming provider shot the ghost bird with a series about supposedly real horror experiences. Many of the supposedly real accounts in “Haunted: Unbelievable Eyewitness Accounts” have subsequently been exposed as fake, but that hasn’t stopped Netflix from producing two more seasons and even a spin-off.

Something similar could happen to us with “28 Days Haunted”, as the finale, including the aforementioned documentary-atypical cliffhanger, already threatens. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Netflix hasn’t lost hope after all and is sending a streaming exorcist on this offspring of serial hell to wrap it up ASAP.