For It Is Man's Number: turner clay

Showing posts with label turner clay. Show all posts

Friday, 29 October 2021

The Blackwell Ghost 5 (2020)

The fifth, and final (at this time), instalment in The Blackwell Ghost movie series, and maybe writer-director-star Turner Clay needs to move on to a whole new project now. Because this is the worst one of them all.

The slim plot has Clay returning to the property that he also visited during the past couple of movies. A message is found that helps to decipher a note/map, and the noises have been continuing, perhaps trying to get Clay to turn his attention to a specific space. That’s all there is to this, it’s another puzzle piece being slotted into place, and the very end of the movie only feels one half step further along than the beginning of the movie.

It’s even harder to discuss this movie than it was to discuss any of the previous instalments, because Clay now feels as if he is dragging his feet. The first third, roughly, actually covers the story that was already told at the very end of the last movie, and the repeated rhythm of the plotting feels tired and overstretched.

Clay remains the biggest strength of these movies, his personality a good mix of the curious, the stubborn, and the foolhardy. He’s a good person to spend some time with, he creates some decent atmosphere and potential scares with a varied selection of small tricks and details, and he makes himself a vital part of the story without making it too irritating or narcissistic (although, obviously, being a writer-director-star surely comes about from a mix of necessity and narcissism).

Despite being the biggest strength, however, Clay is also, as the creative force driving this series, the biggest weakness. Because my interest in this plot started to wane during the last movie, and I don’t think I once cared about where things might be going this time around. Although no one film feels overlong, we’ve now reached the point where this particular narrative strand has overstayed its welcome.

I would still recommend that anyone invested in the series should check this out. I don’t think it will remain the final instalment in the series, and I know I will keep watching whatever Clay delivers next, but it’s a relatively low price, in terms of your money and your time, to support someone who, bad or good, at least tries to craft an interesting and spooky tale with very limited resources.

And there are still one or two moments that will have viewers tensing up during a first viewing, even if there’s no big payoff here.

4/10

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Tuesday, 26 October 2021

The Blackwell Ghost 4 (2020)

Turner Clay returns with yet another instalment in his ghost-hunting adventure, returning to the property that he stayed in last time, and the fourth movie is where the downward slide begins. It now feels far too drawn out, with the new gimmicks still feeling far too familiar and tired.

What you have this time around is more background to the main case now being investigated by Clay, and details about a coded message sent to the police. Viewers are also told that Clay is having some difficulties, having spent too much money on his travels to contact spirits. The extra aspect this time around is a converted “speak and spell” device that Clay hopes will allow for more direct communication.

I am not sure how nice or harsh to be here. There isn’t anything presented here that is any better or worse than what we’ve had before, and there’s a very good scare at the end. You also get a properly satisfying sequence that seems to provide some solid answers and tie together some of the spooky occurrences. But they feel very much like Clay now splicing together footage that he held back from the last time around. The differences aren’t different enough, the development of the tension and scares don’t offer enough reward for the way in which viewers have their patience tested.

On the plus side, Clay remains a pleasant host, showing his mood deteriorating without ever becoming an outright asshole. And the format continues to work a lot better than it would if he had tried to present this as “found footage” without as much context. The big problem here is that the central mystery doesn’t hold our interest as strongly as Clay seems to think it will. It’s an extension of a tangent that makes the series name less and less relevant.

As dismissive as it may seem, I would say that those who have enjoyed the first three movies should at least stick things out for now. Clay deserves your time and financial contribution, if not for this particular instalment then at least for getting this far with limited resources and a good dollop of inventiveness. He has put a lot more effort into his work than so many others who would grab a phone camera and have a friend make some loud noises off-camera.

5/10

Friday, 22 October 2021

The Blackwell Ghost 3 (2019)

Moving away from the storyline explored in the first two movies, Turner Clay extends his movie series with a visit to a house that once contained a serial killer, James Lightfoot. It’s all to do with a woman that he has been seeing in his dreams, a woman who was a victim of the killer, and Clay believes he is now more than prepared to try and contact any restless spirit.

It’s quite hard to imagine writing a full review for each instalment in this movie series (and I have now seen four of them in total) because a lot of the basic elements are actually the same, usually with one main gimmick added (here it is small wooden tiles with letters printed on them). Credit where credit is due, however, Clay definitely manages to subtly escalate events on a journey that manages to both look amateurish and half-baked and also very well planned.

There’s more activity happening here, more obvious signs of something being in the house with our lead, but it’s not at all ridiculous. Once again, the most implausible part of this movie is how long Clay sticks around after things start getting very scary. You would not catch me being so brave. Then again, the motivation that Clay has is twofold, with the way he wants to document events and his burning curiosity for what he views as a good mystery.

As the one main character onscreen for most of the runtime, Clay continues to be good company. His reactions are believable, his acting convinced throughout, and the documentary format allows viewers to watch something that we know has been deliberately crafted with music and a created narrative. If you actually believe in ghosts then this series could easily pass itself off as being absolutely real.

Those interested in the history being explored in the first two movies may be annoyed by the sudden new direction, which is continued in the next film, but I keep thinking that Clay will eventually bring things back to what started it all. This particular instalment may not add much to his overarching storyline (of there IS an overarching storyline), but it’s another solid bit of spookiness that gets in and gets the job done at just over 70 minutes. Which makes it a very easy viewing choice.

6/10

Thursday, 21 October 2021

The Blackwell Ghost 2 (2018)

Thinking back on it, I MAY have been a bit harsh on The Blackwell Ghost when I finally checked it out. My main problem with it was the fact that it was stuck in a middle ground, authentic in the format being emulated, to the detriment of potential scares, and then obviously unreal by the time the end credits rolled.

This first sequel (and I have discovered that there are now about five of these movies, as of today) picks up almost exactly where the first film left off. Film-maker Turner Clay even uses the reactions to the first movie, good and bad, and decides to film his continuing investigation at the house that may well be home to a very active spirit.

This is better than the first movie. So much better, in fact, that it has made me eager to see every film in the series. I am sure that many people could feel the exact opposite way, but the fact that this time around had me not even once wondering if this was real made it a more enjoyable viewing experience.

I’m not sure if he had everything planned out well in advance, or if he figured out how to expand things when he decided to make the sequels, but Clay plots everything out well enough, starting with an interesting, and quite macabre, discovery that leads him back to the location of the previous movie. The extra details revealed may not be astounding, but they continue to create an interesting bigger picture that allows Clay to set up more scares and tricks.

Although he’s not going to be nominated for any major awards any time soon, Clay acts convincingly enough in front of the camera (and he’s in front of the camera for most of the movie). My biggest issue with the performance, and film, is the way he tolerates activity that would have scared many others away quite quickly. But maybe that is just a reflection of my own wussiness.

Longer than the first film, but still not long enough to make it tiresome, this could have been a near-perfect horror film to watch during the spooky season. Unfortunately, a coda that allows Clay to present salvaged material has the film ending with a bit of a whimper, moments after it could have ended with a big scare sequence.

I know it’s an obvious comparison point, but fans of the Paranormal Activity series should definitely check this out. I have a long way to go through the series yet, but it may end up being better. It certainly already manages to incrementally increase the storyline without making things too convoluted.

7/10

Wednesday, 11 September 2019

Prime Time: The Blackwell Ghost (2017)

Hmmmmm, there were moments during The Blackwell Ghost that gave me goosebumps. Moments that had me wondering just how real the whole thing was. Unfortunately, that feeling quickly dissipates once you start to realise that none of it is real, making the end result quite a frustrating experience.

Turner Clay plays a version of himself onscreen, a film-maker who decides to take his career in another direction as he sets out to prove the existence of ghosts. That leads to him getting footage of something that resembles a ghostly presence, which then leads to him being able to stay at a house that may or may not be haunted.

First of all, this is very well done, in terms of the mix of spookiness and the usual filming style (we get some stationary camera shots and, of course, the shakier handheld camerawork in places). It's also far too short to overstay its welcome, clocking in at a shade under the one hour mark.

Clay is convincing enough in his lead role, almost doing enough to make me temporarily forget how much happens in the last few minutes that would have me either running out of the main door or jumping out of the nearest window. There's no way I would be able to wander around with a camera in my hands anyway. I've been with my wife for almost a decade now, and she knows all too well that if she hears a strange noise in our home in the middle of the night . . . she is more than welcome to get out of bed to investigate it.

Subtlety is the key here, but it's just a bit too subtle for its own good. There are two ways to look at this. If you want to believe it is real, all well and good, but that should mean that the background, the history viewers will expect to be unearthed, should be spookier and darker than what we get here. You also have to be able to accept the actions of the main characters, which gets harder and harder to do in the third act. But if you aren't seeking something authentic then you may sit there, waiting for a satisfying conclusion that is never going to happen. And you may well be thinking "subtlety be damned" by the time it is all over.

A film that will work much better on people who stumble upon it and think it is real, The Blackwell Ghost could have been something truly exceptional. It's just a shame that Turner Clay didn't put a bit more thought into the delivery of the material. The main premise is great, the execution is sadly lacking.

This movie is available now on Amazon Prime, as is a sequel (that I have yet to watch . . . maybe that will appear here next week).

4/10