Reviewed by Nostalgic Reviewer
The Review
We've seen dozens of shows on television about investigating paranormal phenomena. Many of these shows start off by a crew of investigators going to a location and interviewing the owners, caretakers, or witnesses to get an idea about the history as well as hotspots for haunting. Once all the necessary information has been gathered, the crew is left alone at night on location to investigate and gather evidence. The crew usually ask spirits questions and record them on digital recorders. Visual evidence is gathered via infrared or nightvision cameras or in some cases, full spectrum cameras as the ones used by Ghost Hunters International and Ghost Adventures. The investigation can turn out to be either boring, mysterious, or exciting or a mix between the three. When dawn breaks, the investigation stops and evidence is presented to the owners or caretakers of the sight to get their opinion.
The Good
Ghost Adventures Crew follows the same format but for some reason they stand out from the rest. The show started as more of a personal quest to find out more about the after life as Zak Bagans explains the incident that started it all during the opening credits. Before Travel Channel acquired the rights to air the show in 2008, they've been investigating as far as 2004 under 4Reel Productions, LLC. Their style appears to be the closest to a raw investigation. Add the fact that in most of their investigations, there's only three of them doing the investigation in a location where they are locked in for an entire evening. The show stars investigators Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin.
Their group is known to taunt evil spirits to trigger a response. Of course, diabolical beings from the other side would be too rude (if being diabolical isn't rude enough) to not respond to their demands. This can lead to possessions and physical injuries. Such as the ones that happened in Moon River Brewing Company and Preston Castle Episode (Season 2 Episode 1), respectively. The show is also great for certain moments that incite comedic relief as well as shock. During interviews, Aaron tends to trip over things and during the investigation he is sent to hotspots to investigate alone. When he has an encounter with the supernatural his reactions are just funny to look at. Of all three men, he seems to be the biggest believer even though he's the most laid back member of the group during investigations. Zak's reactions seem to be exaggerated at times especially during interviews with owners of the location.
There are also moments when Zak Bagans taunts to a point that one would think he'd scare ghosts away but when a ghost does respond, he can get shocked and scared and then recover to ask for some more reactions. Nick Groff comes out to be the calm dude who doesn't easily panic when compared to Aaron. Yet, he seems to be okay and has his own share of encounters on the show. This crew is really a mixed bag of different personalities. Not everyone taunts and not everyone is silent. There's a personality present for every situation.
When it comes to pieces of evidence, they have the best visual evidence so far and I hope they can capture more but that's up to the ghosts already. EVPs are a bit questionable sometimes specifically the low quality ones but orbs and apparitions look legit.
The Bad
There isn't much bad stuff to be said about this show except for the format. After some time it gets old. Maybe some changes to the format would be nice. They might also want to tone down the background music since I would like to hear disembodied voices as they would and it makes the show even more raw. I just wonder why up to this point they never go full gear with their investigations. Sure there are moments when they use multiple instruments at the same time. But having everything from digital recorders to full spectrum cameras will increase their chances of capturing evidence. My only guess to why they can't have everything is because there's only three of them so there isn't enough people to operate all the equipment.
When it comes to locations they can try out other locations such as those found in the wilderness. Dilapidated structures sure are hotspots but maybe trying to investigate more in outdoor locations may allow them to encounter something different other than the usual ghost.
The Style and Feel They Should Use
Their first Ghost Adventures documentary filmed in 2004 under 4Reel Productions, LLC has the best feel for the show. It's not listed on IMDB but it can be found on youtube. The style and feel they used for this documentary is what I believe they should follow. Compared to all other similar TV shows, they have the best style but if they revert to this style this will definitely make them stand out. Their style now, along with the other shows, just feels clean-too clean for a documentary film. It's so professionally done that it can give the impression that the show is just like any other regular show produced in Hollywood.
Overall Impression
My overall impression for the show is positive. If they can find a way to revert to their roots then they can really cement their legacy as the best paranormal investigation crew. As far as locations are concerned, the world is their limit and there are still thousands out there for potential episodes. Using as much equipment at the same time to gather evidence will also maximize their chances of catching proof of the after life so this is definitely something they should try out. We can only hope the show goes on.
~End of Review~
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