DAY TWENTY-ONE - American Ghost Hunter (horror movie challenge - 31 days of horror)

DAY TWENTY-ONE – AMERICAN GHOST HUNTER (2010)

I’ve waited years to see this documentary. I’m a massive fan of Ryan Buell and the Paranormal State team and obviously that’s how I became introduced to Chad Calek. Now, I’m not a huge fan of him, mainly because I originally purchased this movie and gave him my money, to which I received no DVD and was belittled by him when I tried to get a refund for no product (still haven’t received that refund, or the DVD which was originally promised to be shipped in 24 hours…two years ago). This movie kind of just cemented that fact that this guy is kind of a moron. But I love all things paranormal so I did enjoy the documentary in a sense.

Chad Calek has a past filled with hauntings and family problems. He believes that his family has been tormented by a demon for a long time. He makes some pretty big jumps in the documentary saying that his family is somehow connected to the famous Villisca Axe Murders because apparently they happened on the same date as his mom’s birthday or something? He travels, with his friend Ryan Buell, back to his home town to see his mom and dad and discover what’s really going on.

When he arrives he finds that his mother is still seemingly possessed by this demon and that his brother is now being haunted as well.

My problems with this documentary are that it is very clear his mother is dealing with mental issues. She reveals that she was sexually abused by a priest when she was a child. So it doesn’t take a professional to put two and two together. She was abused by a priest, probably in the catholic religion simply because of the demon fascination, she then represses these memories and in her older age when these memories start surfacing again, she can’t handle it, and chooses to believe instead that she is being possessed by a demon. 

So it feels kind of dirty to watch this because Chad is convinced it’s a demon, Ryan is convinced it’s a demon, Lorraine Warren (my sweet Queen) is convinced, and the husband is just putting his hand on her head and praying. This woman needs therapy, not an exorcism.

The brother’s hauntings don’t make any sense either. And that’s because once all of this over, and the mom is in therapy and the brother is working out and eating healthier and taking care of himself, magically all the hauntings stop. Because they probably didn’t exist in the first place. Sometimes it’s easier for us to believe in ghosts than to deal with our own problems.

BUT – aside from all that, which leaves basically nothing, the most intriguing part of this documentary is when they go visit the Villisca Axe Murder house and do an investigation. They catch some very interesting evidence and show some clips from other investigators that includes a ball rolling across a floor and then veering sharply to the left. It’s very interesting and I enjoyed that part of the film the most.

Was it worth the wait? No. As a paranormal documentary is it any good? Not really. But as a huge paranormal fan, I didn’t feel like I wasted my time watching it, and I got to enjoy some ghostly evidence.

4/10