I’ve been on the hunt for a good ghost story, so I decided to give Episode Thirteen a try after seeing it all over Instagram. Let’s talk about my thoughts on this one. They’re a little all over the place.
Synopsis
Fade to Black is the newest hit ghost hunting reality TV show. Led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin, it delivers weekly hauntings investigated by a dedicated team of ghost hunting experts. Episode Thirteen takes them to every ghost hunter’s holy grail: the Paranormal Research Foundation. This brooding, derelict mansion holds secrets and clues about bizarre experiments that took place there in the 1970s. It’s also famously haunted, and the team hopes their scientific techniques and high tech gear will prove it. But as the house begins to reveal itself to them, proof of an afterlife might not be everything Matt dreamed of. A story told in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, and correspondence, this is the story of Episode Thirteen–and how everything went terribly, horribly wrong.
My Thoughts on Episode Thirteen
Episode Thirteen had a lot of promise. I was really excited that it was told through found media. It’s a fun way to tell a paranormal story. I knew something bad had happened, but I didn’t know what just yet. That really builds a lot of tension. However, a lot of the found media focused on the drama between characters. And while that came in to play in one little part toward the end it still felt like wasted time. I would have liked more paranormal activity.
Plus, I didn’t like any of the characters. They all annoyed me for various reasons. I couldn’t find even one to pull for.
Once it got to the paranormal part of things it did get pretty creepy. The imagery was startling. I still think about the portrayal of the first entity they discovered. But I really would have liked to see more of that. Toward the end it did become very creepy. The atmosphere felt oppressive and threatening, but it did take a turn that I didn’t completely love. It was quite weird and disjointed in a way that I just couldn’t relate to. While I liked parts of Episode Thirteen it didn’t completely capture me in the way that I had hoped.
My Rating: 3/5
