Common Sense Media Review
By Jenny Nixon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Boilerplate ghost-hunting reality show lacks spark.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
28 Days Haunted
What's the Story?
28 DAYS HAUNTED is a reality show about teams of paranormal investigators who each spend four weeks in purportedly haunted locations around the United States. The "28 Days" in the title references a theory put forward by the late Edward and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators and authors who inspired popular films like The Conjuring and The Amityville Horror. The Warrens believed that it takes 28 days to fully "pierce the veil" between the worlds of the living and the dead, and the ghost-hunting teams use techniques like mock-funerals, sensory deprivation, and listening to radio transmissions to try and unlock the spooky secrets of each locale.
Is It Any Good?
There might be jump scares, but there are no real surprises to be had in this repetitive, mediocre ghost-hunting series. 28 Days Haunted's connection to Ed and Lorraine Warren comes in the form of their son-in-law Tony Spero, who now heads the group they created in 1952: the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). Spero appears in each episode to give feedback on the work done by each team of investigators. His presence is clearly aimed at bringing the show an air of authenticity -- and very likely at nabbing some runoff popularity from the Warrens-inspired film franchise.
Enjoying a series like 28 Days Haunted really depends on a healthy suspension of disbelief, and one's tolerance for repetitive tropes. It's curious that the series sends supernatural investigators with decades of experience to live in these locations -- attempting to boost credibility by stressing that they've given the teams no background information -- while simultaneously touting the haunts as some of the country's "most notorious" spooky-sites. If these spots are so notorious, then where's the mystery for these teams? It's a paradoxical premise, and a boring one to boot.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the existence of ghosts and the supernatural. What do you make of the "proof" that investigators like the ones on 28 Days Haunted dig up while looking into the subject? Why do you think people continue to debate these things?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 21, 2022
- Cast : Jerome Leonard , Amy Parks , Sean Austin
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : March 21, 2023
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