True Haunting
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Anytime I see "Authentic Paranormal Tales" in a film's description, I raise an eyebrow. Am I going to sit through 2 hours of Ghost Hunters where every shadow, pipe creak and cold spot is a tunnel to Hell? No thanks.
I was drawn to Netflix's Documentary series TRUE HAUNTING due to its pedigree.
Executive Producer James Wan has been behind some of my favorite horror of the past decade, including (as a Producer) Lee Cronin's The Mummy and The Conjuring films. OK, you've got my attention.
Maybe it's the five episode format, but the scares never reach much of a pitch in the two "true-life" hauntings that are depicted here.
The first three episodes are called "Eerie Hall" and are devoted to a college runner whose dorm room seems to house a very evil roommate. It's 1984 and Freshman Chris de Cesare is barely unpacked when he starts hearing voices and feeling an evil presence in his room. Toga parties be damned, this thing even follows him into the shower. Nothing worse than a ghost perv.
But he also feels it when he's running. And BOY, does he run.
A lot. Over and over. Over the hills and through the woods. Again and again.
Note to self. Running isn't scary, no matter how much spooky music you layer over it.
The three episodes wander through that experience and feature an amateur cast portraying the real-life subjects. The only creepy feelings are the ensuing dread that you've been sucked into one of those third rate "Dateline" knockoffs where really bad actors reenact the "actual happenings".
At one point, perhaps knowing that viewers might be questioning sticking with this dreck, Wan even inserts budget rate actors as Lorraine and Ed Warren from "The Conjuring" films. Oye. It smells and tastes desperate.
By the time Chris's Dad ends up sleeping in his dorm room and feeling like there's something in that very dark closet, I'm not sure if I was anxious or just anxious for it to be over.
The last two episodes are better, (not a Herculean hurdle) even though you've seen the story a million times before.
A young family moves into a beautiful Victorian house that's way too cheap, from a realtor all to anxious to sell it. ( Smells like Amityville around here.....)
"The House that Murdered Me" at least conjures up some scares, but virtually nothing you haven't seen before.
Bumps in the night? Check.
An ancient history of death and abuse in the house? Check.
Flashbacks to an old time with folks holding candles hiding from someone? Check.
The most interesting, I hesitate to say "Best" part of the series is the fact that we see new filmed interviews with the actual people depicted in the chapters. When it works, it works. A few seem genuinely haunted to this day.
This landed on Netflix right before Halloween in 2025. I imagine it found a receptive audience looking for new horror content.
However, if you're looking for entertaining or scary horror, you wont find any here, just a bargain basement, meandering tale that feels way cheaper and longer than it is.
The scariest thing would be if there was actually a second season of this watered down, third rate Poltergeist.
Hey, everything can't be a winner.
We'll chalk this up as a rare James Wan miss and move on to the real scares.
This goofy, unscary schlock gets a D.
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