Summary
“Real-life” Blumhouse horror was made for fans of the subject matter.
As part of horror month, Netflix released the documentary series My Encounter with Evil season 1. This is our official review.
It would appear that just as true crime has had a huge resurgence in popularity, so too has real-life tales of the paranormal. Releasing these types of shows in October does have its obvious advantages, so it may just be clever scheduling, but perhaps streaming services have noted that there are an incredible amount of YouTube channels that have similar content, and they manage to get huge viewing figures, so why not put some scary true stories out, and give them the whole Blumhouse treatment while we are at it and see what happens. This particular series, My Encounter with Evil, deals with demonic possessions, and as well as interviews with the people involved, we are presented with some pretty scary re-enactments too.
My Encounter with Evil contains three such stories and wastes no time at all getting straight to the horror. The format seems to focus on the subjects of each case, and we see testimonials from the people involved, delivered in pieces straight to the camera, supported by plenty of photographs and even actual video footage. These segue into the specially filmed sequences that would not be out of place in any modern-day horror film or tv show currently out there. There are jump scares, ghosts, demon dogs, shadow people, scary dolls, levitations, Ouija boards, and demons galore, all corroborated by the narration from the real-life victim of the episode. Every horror trope out there is included with pride in this show.
To say that My Encounter with Evil is sensationalistic is an understatement. There is a huge reliance all through the episodes on the filmed inserts, and they go all out to depict these hauntings and possessions in as much detail as the budget allows. To “help” the audience, we are also given insights from family members, priests, and experts in the field. There is absolutely no nuance or doubt in the minds of the producers of this show that what we are being shown is real, and we should probably just accept that and move on. This always feels like a cop-out, and I am sure that there was a little more mileage to be had if they had perhaps spent some more time with the psychologists, but that was maybe not the point of the series.
Another niggle is the way the series has been presented. Instead of one episode per story, the three encounters are split up and edited together, so you get a bit of each story in each episode. Again, this has obviously been a decision made by the team, probably to ensure that if you are engaged by one of the stories, you have to tune into each episode to see how it ends, but My Encounter with Evil does feel a little bit of a jumble sometimes.
If you are a fan of demonic possession, then there is probably a lot for you to enjoy here. If you can suspend your disbelief and run with the premise, then I am quite sure this mix of reality and filmed inserts will appeal to you. As is always the case with these types of shows, if you are predisposed to this kind of subject, then you will probably find something to enjoy here. It does require you to take it all at face value though. If you have any suspicions about the truth behind the tales, then you will probably start quite quickly to pick things apart, and when that spell is broken, you might find the earnestness of the production almost comical. It should be worth noting that My Encounter with Evil comes with a 15 rating, so some people may find some of the subject matter quite disturbing.
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