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Released by: Image Entertainment
Released by: June 1, 2010.
Director: Various
Cast: Andy Andrews, Brian Hrnois
Year: 2010
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The Series:
When Jason and Grant formed TAPS - The Atlantic Paranormal Society - and brought their exploits to TV, Ghost Hunters became a huge hit for SyFy. The show followed 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. The success of that series lead to a spin off entitled Ghost Hunters International, which followed an all new team of paranormal investigators who, unlike the original group, travel the world trying to figure out what's haunted and what's not. The core team is made up of four specialists - Rodd Demarest, Dustin Pari, Barry Fitzgerald and Brandy Green - though they are joined by others from time to time. The premise is pretty much the same as the one used in the American series.
The series has been airing on Sci-Fi/SyFy since January of 2008 and this three disc collection from Image Entertainment collects the first eleven episodes of the series' first season. Here's a look at what you'll find inside:
DISC ONE:
Chillingham Castle: This premiere episode takes the team to Chillingham, England to investigate some strange occurrences at an old castle.
Evil Unearthed: This time around the team goes to Italy to investigate an old Abbey before heading to Wales to explore Nanteos Mansion.
Whispers From Beyond: The Ragged School in Edinburgh, Scotland is the first stop in this episode, followed by a trip to Leicster, England where the team checks out Belgrave Hall.
Haunted Village: The Black Horse Inn and The Screaming Woods located in Pluckley, England are the stops for this episode, which features some really fascinating history and activity.
DISC TWO:
Fortress Of Fear: The group head east to Romania to investigate a creepy old citadel that is rumored to be haunted.
Headless Haunting: The first stop on this episode is Orava Castle in Slovakia, followed by a quick trip to Germany where the team checks out Reichenstein Castle.
Frankenstein's Castle: Josh Gates of Destination Truth shows up in this episode in which the team explores a castle literally named Frankenstein Castle in Darmstadt, Germany.
Larnach Castle: The team boards a plane and heads way across the pond to New Zealand to investigate Larnach Castle in the town of Dunedin.
DISC THREE:
Devil Dogs: Continuing their trek through New Zealand, the team investigates a haunted opera house in Wellington before heading back to Europe where they check out Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, England.
Castle Of The Damned: An investigation in Tallamore, Ireland gets some interesting results during a stint in Charleville Castle before checking out the aged Samlesbury Hall in Samlesbury, England.
Shattered Spirit: The last episode in the set sends the crew to Denbighshire in North Wales to explore Bodelwyddan Castle.
The international locations make the series stand out from the American-based show and given that so much of the world is just that much older in terms of society and population growth than the United States it makes sense that there'd be more opportunity for interesting investigations to take place. Most of the show is based in Europe and the series provides a bit of travelogue footage as the investigators explore the various locations throughout the series.
This is one of those shows that skeptics will have no problems picking apart, as it's really just nigh-impossible to prove or disprove how much of what the show is legitimate or not. That said, it makes for interesting and sometimes very spooky viewing. The crew does go to some very interesting locations and each episode provides a mini-history lesson of what happened. The 'reveals' at the end are always interesting and while the show is, at this point, pretty formulaic in how it plays out and how it is structured, the appeal of just maybe seeing evidence of the supernatural never really gets old. Approach the series as you would any other 'reality show' and know that parts of it are probably altered for the camera if not flat out staged, but enjoy the entertainment value that it provides and if you learn something, consider it a bonus.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The episodes in this set are presented in 1.33.1 fullframe. The series is shot on video and sometimes with infrared cameras and under less than ideal lighting conditions but for the most part, everything comes through looking pretty good. There's some video noise in a few spots but that's part and parcel with the format and the way that this series has been shot. Overall there aren't any serious issues with the transfer in terms of mpeg compression artifacts, edge enhancement, or damage to the elements used for the presentation. It doesn't look perfect, nor will it ever, but it is definitely watchable.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is on par, in terms of presentation quality, with the video in that the way that it was recorded and the conditions under which it was recorded have affected the audio quality. Thankfully, again like the video, the dialogue comes through clean and clear and the added background music never really drowns anything out or hurts anything much at all. There aren't any problems in terms of hiss or distortion and while there are some fluctuations with the levels, for the most part this track is fine.
Extras are slight in this set but on the third disc you'll find a collection of sixteen deleted scenes. Most of this material was cut for reason and doesn't really change the quality of any of the episodes, but often times bits of it are quite interesting, and there are some fairly frightening segments included here that maybe should have been included in the broadcast versions of the respective episodes that they were snipped from. Aside from that, there's not much here save for some very simple menus and episode selection.
The Final Word:
Ghost Hunters International gives an international flair to the hit SyFy series. It doesn't deviate from the formula that made the original series so popular all that much but the different investigators and their personalities definitely differentiate it from the American originator. Image's DVD set looks and sounds pretty decent and while it's light on extras, there's still a lot of content here to enjoy.