I suspect that like a good number of you, my first exposure to THE ENFIELD POLTERGEIST came via James Wan and his film THE CONJURING 2 which told the tale of the true haunting but with liberal fictionalzation for the sake of the film. I knew nothing of the actual events – until now.
APPLE TV + has taken a deep dive into the paranormal activity that occurred there in their new four-part docu-series THE ENFIELD POLTERGEIST and they’ve done so in a most unique way. Back in 1977, a paranormal investigator by the name of Maurice Grosse recorded over 200 hours of tapes, practically moving in with the family and archiving all the chilling, terrifying activity that was occurring. This series takes those recordings and recreates the happenings. What you hear are the actual events – what you see are actors lip-syncing to the tapes.
It’s fascinating, thought-provoking, and yes, terrifying.
The series is broken into four, roughly one-hour segments. Episode one, titled The Happenings. Episode Two: Forces Unknown, Episode Three: This Thing, and The final episode titled Entanglement.
As I mentioned – the purpose of this series is to bring the terrifying events chronicled on Grosse’s tapes to life and to do this the team built amazing set pieces and took great pains to make sure no detail was overlooked. Each episode starts with a quick behind-the-scenes look at how they constructed and executed the settings for what we are about to hear – and watch reenacted. Throughout the segments, we also get to see the actual people involved – via still pictures and in some cases video interviews that occurred at the time. We also get current interviews with some of the investigators, family members, and other assorted folks who were around at the time.
But make no mistake – the star of this show are those tapes.
What Grosse managed to record is – breathtaking. What this documentary manages to bring to light is something that all those interested in paranormal research should go out of their way to view. It’s honestly very difficult not to believe in the paranormal after experiencing this story.
As the series progresses it continues to chronicle not just the events occurring at the home but also the media coverage, the onslaught of other researchers, and the effect all this had on the family involved particularly Janet – around whom most of the activity seems to focus.
For my money – this is without a doubt the most in-depth, intelligent, and thought-provoking look at actual paranormal activity I have ever seen. The tapes coupled with the archival photographs, the interviews with family, and neighbors, and the fantastic reenactments – well, I’m not sure I have ever seen anything like it – and I applaud all involved with this production for presenting Mr. Grosse’s achievements in the manner they were intended – in the name of science.
I could go on and on but honestly – what I want is for you to watch, and listen for yourself. THE ENFIELD POLTERGEIST is available now on APPLE TV + and needs to be added to your must see list immediately.
