Tweet
Released by: Image Entertainment
Released on: October 2, 2012.
Director: Various
Cast: Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Dave Tango
Year: 2012
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson are two guys who spend their days working for Roto-Rooter installing toilets and fixing pipes, and at night head out all around the East Coast (and now further, venturing west to California in this sixth season and south towards Georgia for a fair bit this time around as well) of these here United States either proving or, just as frequently, disproving evidence of paranormal activity. This unlikely hit has done good things for SyFy, proving to be one of their longest lasting and more popular original series, which just goes to show that there are a lot of people out there with an interest in this type of material. There have been a couple of spin-offs so far (Ghost Hunters International and Ghost Hunters Academy) and more than a few rip offs on other channels, but the original is still the most popular thanks to its interesting mix of supernatural sleuthing and the regular (and very likeable) cast members who make up the investigative team.
At any rate, Jason and Grant formed TAPS - The Atlantic Paranormal Society - a group that specializes in using high tech equipment, with a deft blend of common sense, experience, education and speculation to figure out what some people consider to be actual hauntings. Once again, Ghost Hunters Season Seven Part Two gives them a chance to, with cameras rolling, do their thing and the results as interesting as usual. Grant and Jason aren't the only members of the team, however. There's a heavily tattooed ex-cop named Steve who helps out with the cameras, a technical expert named Dave Tango, and a few other experts out to lend a helping hand.
The series has been airing on Sci-Fi/SyFy for the better part of a half a decade at this point, but Jason and Grant still manage to find a lot of interesting places to investigate. Not every investigation produces chillingly eerie results, which is what makes this series more believable the countless other ghost shows that have swarmed the airwaves in its wake. This second half of the show's sixth season, however, has some pretty good episodes. Here's a look:
DISC ONE:
Dark Shadows - Newport, RI - Seaview Terrace
Ghostly Evidence - Townsend, MA - Townsend Historical Society/Mechanicsville, MD - Summerseat Farm
Ghost Of Carnegie - Homestead, PA - Carnegie Library/Homestead Police Station
Harvesting Murder - Waipahu, HI - Hawaii's Plantation Village/Lenox, MA - Ventfort Hall
DISC TWO:
Wells Of Horror - Napanoch, NY - Shanley Hotel/Youngstown, NY - Old Fort Niagara
Roasts And Ghosts - New York City, NY - New York Friars' Club/Rochester, NY - Main Street Armory
Stage Fright - Niagara Falls, NY - The Rapids Theatre
Murdered Matron - Staten Island, NY - Sailors' Snug Harbor
DISC THREE:
The Bloodiest 47 Acres - Jefferson City, MO - Missouri State Penitentiary
Voices Of Pain - Louisville, KY - Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Distillery Of Spirits - Frankfort, KY - Buffalo Trace Distillery/Wilder, KY - Bobby Mackey's Music World
Membership Denied - Hartford, CT - Hartford Elks Lodge #19/Morse Mill, MO - Morse Mill Hotel
Christmas Spirit - Bethlehem, PA - Sun Inn and Hanoverville Roadhouse
Overall, fans know what to expect here while those not impressed with the series won't find anything new to convince them to change their minds. The series is interesting though edited a little too heavily, and with more focus on the investigation rather than the results of the investigations. This is fine as it is probably what most viewers want out of the show but for those looking for a little more 'proof' it can sometimes be frustrating. On top of that, the use of the 'guest investigator's is flat out corny and completely unnecessary - while I suppose it could be seen as a fun variation on the tried and true formula, it comes across as a ratings grab and adds nothing to the show's attempts at legitimacy. Where the show succeeds is in its case of likeable team members and in its entertainment factor. Like every other reality TV show on the planet, we have no way of knowing what happens behind the camera to staging is possible, but if you can get past that and suspend your disbelief, you can have a lot of good spooky fun with this series.
Some of the stand out moments from this collection includes a visit to the location used for the exteriors in the Dark Shadows TV series in Rhode Island. If the investigation isn't as interesting as some of the others, the location is great and of historical importance to fans of that show. The Carnegie Library investigation yields some interesting results including some rather eerie EVP recordings, while the trip to old Fort Niagara is fairly fascinating as it's a great location that those of us who grew up in the area might remember from our childhoods (present company included - there may be some personal bias showing there). The Stage Fright episode shot in Niagara Falls New York is one of the creepier ones in the set as again the team captures some interesting inexplicable evidence. It's also interesting to see what the crew capture on their trek out to Staten Island and one their visit to the Missouri prison location. There may be more debunking than 'evidence' this time around as a whole, but that's also part of what makes the show interesting: obviously not everything they encounter is a ghost or some sort of supernatural occurrence, but there are some compelling moments here, enough so that this collection is worth a watch for fans of the show even if it won't dissuade the nonbelievers any more than past collections have.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Each of the episodes that make up this set is presented in their original 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen aspect. If you've seen the show on SyFy in HD then you more or less know what to expect here. The transfers look good as far as standard definition offerings are concerned, showing okay detail and some minor compression but the night vision footage still looks like night vision footage. This isn't the type of series that you buy for video quality, but overall color reproduction is fine and black levels are good.
The audio for this release is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. There are no alternate language tracks nor are there any subtitles, which is a shame as a lot of the investigation footage features the cast members whispering at times and they'd have come in handy for that reason. Regardless, most of the dialogue is pretty clear and there's some goof left to right channel separation up front.
A fourth disc in the set contains a load of deleted scenes, a few from pretty much each episode in the set. Fans will probably be familiar with the episodes themselves as the series is broadcast pretty frequently on The Discovery Channel but the deleted scenes, some of which is fairly interesting, is exclusive to this set and never before seen, making it of interest to fans of the show.
The Final Word:
The series isn't treading any new ground this time out, in fact, some of these locations have been visited not only on competing ghost shows but on Ghost Hunters itself. With that said, the formula is tried but true. If you've enjoyed the seasons that have come before and, like a lot of viewers, can't get enough of this type of show, then it stands to reason that you'll enjoy this latest batch as well.
