Trail to Terror
Because I almost never watch this kind of show, and certainly not to completion, I had never heard about a series called Destination Terror. This documentary is kinda like the pilot for that series. I think the main reason I don’t watch these kinds of shows is I don’t trust the filmmakers. It’s not because I don’t believe in the paranormal, because I grew up in two haunted houses and saw an honest to goodness apparition during my thirties in a house I lived in. I truly feel that a person cannot believe until they have personally experienced a haunt. But, I’m a movie person. I know the tricks, and as a professional cynic, I have little trust.
So I stumbled on this documentary where a young man, his sister and two of his friends go on a modern day hero quest. They travel by day in an RV to five places that are supposed to be very haunted, talk to a couple of locals about the place, wander around after dark then randomly pick (out of a jar or a cup or a bucket…) one of four places to sleep alone for the night. That means they’re all in different rooms or hallways, in the dark, with a camera running to catch anything that happens.
Their travels take them through the Midwest to the east coast, visiting older, abandoned institutional buildings where powerless, nonconforming or mentally unstable people were abused. The theory is that the abused people, treated evilly by other humans in life, stayed behind after their death and created a palpably evil or at least emotionally stressing place for the living. Pretty heavy stuff, huh?
First up is a place built in the 1850s in Illinois called the Ashmore Estates, which was a “poor farm” for a hundred years. After a good ten minutes of juvenile playing around for the camera, with a lot of, “Ooooh, man, I’m gonna like pee my pants!” talk, they walk inside and after bedding down hear a few random noises. They also have a close shot of a wolf spider, which would make me quit right that moment. Not that I would have been there in the first place. Everyone is unnerved and tired as they drive from southern Illinois to northeastern Indiana. Winchester’s Randolph County Infirmary, a “work farm” isn’t quite as old, and they are a little more scared the second night because the sounds are a little louder. Going east again, they pull up in New Castle, Pennsylvania and the Hill View Manor home for the aging. The place is bigger, newer still, and is a place supposedly thousands of people died over the years. This is where the filmmaker’s sister begins to lose it a little, and where the film begins to veer toward showing them being super wigged out. Next is Radford, Virginia’s St. Alban’s Sanitorium, up on a hill overlooking the town and very secluded. There is the obligatory indigenous American backstory, with a Civil War battle spice thrown in. I was not amused at the locals obviously screwing with the filmmakers by making battle noises and pow wow chanting out of sight down the hill. It really pulled me out of the moment. But then, the sister has a really, REALLY bad night in the sub-basement and leaves for home in the morning. With only one place to go, the boys travel to Spring City, Pennsylvania and the Pennhurst State School and Hospital. This one is super secluded and makes the documentarian cry before they even bed down. The place is huge compared to the others and runs them out pretty soon after beddie time.
The filmmaker, Dakota Laden, has a good feel for creating horror movies. His camera work, choice of setting, angles and lighting and sound effects really begin to work after a while. The acting isn’t bad, either. Don’t forget, I’m a cynic. There is good organization and solid backstory research adding weight to the nights of terror, and I may have appreciated that the most. He and his crew are absolutely in places I wouldn’t want to be in the daylight, much less alone at night. Judging from the number of graffiti, a lot of other people roam those corridors between filming. I was really surprised to notice that I was by golly enjoying myself watching this. It’s like a well-made horror movie with a fun premise and sympathetic leads.
The bad moment came when they showed a leisure chair with a “seatbelt” attached, and I was reminded of my poor aunt, who was probably bi-polar and spent years abused in places just like this. I remembered my dad finding her strapped to a chair once and actually seeing something like that was horrible. I felt like the filmmakers were appropriately sober while in the buildings, which in the end helped me enjoy their experience.
I will probably watch at least a few episodes of Destination Terror, based on this documentary/pilot. One of the places is, I think, a famous axe murder house in Iowa, but almost all the settings are some kind of institution. They have a bit of sameness, so I feel like a few viewings will be enough. If you’re susceptible to Paranormal Activity movies, by all means watch this. It’s well made, and it kept this professional curmudgeon entertained for an hour and a half.
Triggers: creepy situations
Available on: HBO/Max, discovery+
LINKS:
CFR: In Addition
Another “well huh” reaction from me.
I don’t know if I will ever watch this as well, I think these types of shows/movies are sensationalized.
If you have a paranormal experience, it is hard to explain to others. It is even harder to quantify. We don’t know yet how to document the paranormal.
Remember in the past when doctors thought germs did not transmit disease? Why would they? There had never been a way to see the little creatures for thousands of years. Suddenly people can see them but that doesn’t mean that everyone will be able to understand them. I feel the same way about ghosts/supernatural entities.
There may come a time when we will be able to document and see them. Until that time, well, I certainly will not doubt anyone who has had an experience. Like Cranky, I too have had experiences.
Huh. Maybe Cranky and I should go to a haunted place and film ourselves. During the day. With lots of sunlight. Because if I am going to document, I am not going to sensationalize.
What say you, Cranky?
Chick Flicking Reviews 