Paranormal Investigations Turns a Ghost Hunting TV Show Into a Nightmare

Plot and What to Expect

If you’ve ever watched one of those paranormal reality shows where a team spends the night inside a supposedly haunted building, Paranormal Investigations asks a simple question: what if one of those investigations actually went horribly wrong?

The found footage horror movie is presented as the missing season premiere of a successful ghost hunting TV series – instead of watching a polished television episode, you’re seeing the footage that was recovered after the entire cast and crew disappeared without a trace during filming.

The story takes place inside the Hennesy House, a remote home in North Carolina with a dark reputation, where over the years, the property has been linked to murders, disappearances and countless stories of unexplained activity, and locals avoid it completely, giving it the nickname “Hell House,” but that only makes it more attractive to a television crew looking for bigger ratings and more dramatic footage.

Like most ghost hunting teams, they arrive convinced they’re in control – they unload cameras, set up equipment and joke with each other while getting ready for another investigation – everyone expects a few strange noises, some creepy shadows and enough scares to make good television.

Of course, that’s not what happens.

The movie is made up of footage from the show’s cameras, security systems and behind-the-scenes recordings, where the film builds tension by showing how quickly a planned television production turns into a desperate fight to survive.

Jamie Bernadette leads the cast alongside David J. Rivera, Tatiana Robledo, Logan Stem, Nick Oprea, John Witt and Terry Schappert, and horror fans will probably recognise Bernadette from films including I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu, 4/20 Massacre and The 6th Friend, and for Tatiana Robledo and Nick Oprea, Paranormal Investigations marks their feature film debut.

Writer and director Raymond Wallace drew inspiration from his own background working in news and documentary production, where during that time, he became interested in how people behave differently when a camera is pointed at them, and how far someone might go to capture dramatic footage.

Wallace says the film isn’t just about ghosts though, it’s also about our obsession with watching real events unfold through a screen, and as he explains, the story asks how much people really want to see, when someone should stop filming and what responsibility audiences have when they’re watching events that become increasingly disturbing.

To help make everything feel believable, the production also used several different camera styles, including infrared and thermal cameras like those often seen on real paranormal TV shows, and the cast were also given room to react naturally during scenes.

Wallace has spent more than 20 years working as a director, cinematographer and editor on a variety of film and television projects, and the production also includes executive producer Sam Cortez, composer Neil Lee Griffin and special make-up effects artist Evie Gallagher, whose practical effects help bring the film’s more violent moments to life.

The film is currently preparing for release on July 24th.

Paranormal Investigations Trailer
Paranormal Investigations on IMDB