by The Blackwell Ghost 7 was a big surprise for me. I wasn’t expecting it to be released so soon after the sixth installment let alone just in time for Halloween. The way it was designed felt like a finale of sorts. It was also a rather big departure from Turner Clay’s typical template. Part 6 unfortunately squashed just about any fun potential to pretend that the Blackwell Ghost is real. I know that this has been a fun speculation amongst fans of the series. I imagine many were disappointed in this fact. With that said from time to time I search Blackwell Ghost 7. I was shocked to see it was not only finished but available for streaming. Of course I had to jump right in and give it a watch. Does the Blackwell Ghost 7 return to the format? Is it worth watching? Keep reading to find out!
This fake documentary series begins where the Blackwell Ghost 6 ended. Turner Clay is still mourning his deceased wife. The Lightfoot house that he purchased a few films back has all but stopped giving off ghostly vibes. Turner Clay himself starts with a monologue about how he barely hears his wife’s old keyboard playing. There’s almost no bumps in the night anymore. Sounds like the end to the story, right? Well, you know darn well there wouldn’t be a Blackwell Ghost 7 if things didn’t once more go awry for the poor widowed father. Things kick off when he gets a text from officer Ramey (the guy who was investigating the Lightfoot murders) asking him to call him immediately. That’s where the Blackwell Ghost 7 kicks off.
Apparently a local girl in Florida has gone missing, and left behind was a note with a photo of Ruth Blackwell with the words “want to play” below. While going through a folder of letters he has recieved Turner Clay finds the same exact printout which was sent to him over a year ago. Things get spookier when he gets a package in the mail presumably from the same person with a cloth covered in blood. Later he gets an email from the purported abductor inviting him into a chatroom. Law enforcement officers recommend that he participate in the chat to open up communications. After some cryptic discussion the person sends our protagonist a photo of himself searching the Lightfoot serial killer property and a hand drawn map.
From this point Turner Clay returns to the woods and continues his fresh anew to find anything out of place. It doesn’t take long before he finds a box with a camera on it, and directions to a clue. This turns out to be a jar with a note inside. The note contains your typical Blackwell Ghost style clue type riddle. Turner downloads the videos from the trail cam he found and on it is an assailant wearing a mask while looking into the camera. Then suddenly doors start opening and more spooky events he previously had to deal with such as the phone ringing. This is the main premise behind the Blackwell Ghost 7. It’s a mix between a more realistic investigation with a few supernatural events thrown into the mix.
My biggest complaint about the Blackwell Ghost 7 is that it’s not really about ghosts. The supernatural elements added a lot to the spooky atmosphere. It also allowed for jump scares. It was almost like watching scooby doo and crew solve a mystery. Because it’s lacking in this category the Blackwell Ghost 7 lends itself more to the true crime genre than before. It’s also less of a horror film this time around. I’ll be the first to admit that the previous installment took things way too far in this regard and really shattered all sense of illusion. It honestly feels like he should have started a new film series instead of tacking on the Blackwell Ghost name. The series hasn’t been about Ruth Blackwell for quite a while now. The only tie is with her photo coming up several times in notes left by the abductor.
One thing about the series I always enjoyed was watching Turner Clay set up his cameras, and use various devices to track the ghostly activity. That’s almost entirely missing from the Blackwell Ghost 7. Most of the shots are of him walking around or sitting while either talking to someone or providing monologue. To his credit Turner Clay does a great job of what I like to call ‘talking to himself.’ It’s surprisingly enjoyable. Problem here is that he spends most of his time in the Blackwell Ghost 7 complaining. He makes it clear throughout the film that he doesn’t want to participate in the supposed investigation. To be honest it really drags down the story in my opinion. I imagine setting up all of the cameras for every shot was more boring than following the clues and notes he so often complains about.
The Blackwell Ghost 7 is also a far less visually appealing film than the previous iterations. In the beginning he mentions that the Lightfoot house was flooded from a broken pipe and all the carpet had to be ripped out. I didn’t realize how much the turquois visuals added to the surreal and otherworldly look of the Lightfoot house. Now it just looks like it could be any home with outdated furniture. As I mentioned earlier he also doesn’t set up his cameras to look for ghostly activity anymore. The night shots with the empty house and banging around made for the spookiest moments in the entire series. The Blackwell Ghost 7 tries for the same effect with knocking at the back door but it’s supposed to be the abductor that’s now stalking Turner Clay. It just isn’t as scary a premise in my opinion.
Unfortunately some of the clues from the last film are retconned into this one and it completely changes their implication. Rather than being the big ‘aha’ moment Turner Clay was hoping for it instead makes everything as whole less interesting. The Lightfoot serial killer investigation was obviously fake, but it was surprisingly compelling. Unfortunately the way that he tied the events in the Blackwell Ghost 7 to it just aren’t very interesting in my opinion. It feels very forced. Turner Clay took an already unbelievable story and rather than adding to mythos took them away from the more interesting plot. He really should have moved on to another ghost story instead of taking this route because it made for a more compelling narrative in my opinion.
The previous film benefited from the sappy (but obviously fake) story about his wife. He tried to rely on this to some extent but it falls short. Several scenes in the Blackwell Ghost 7 try to pull at the same heartstrings with him talking about his deceased wife, but it’s entirely an afterthought. To keep with the unbelievable twist of his wife’s ghost sticking around you’ll also have moments that try to make you believe she’s trying to warn him about the abductor. The thing is he never comments on these, and they’re just occurring in the background. It feels like an absolute afterthought and an attempt to tie in the events of the Blackwell Ghost 6. This too feels entirely forced.
The Blackwell Ghost 7 was not the film I was hoping it to be. After the previous sequel Turner Clay had to come back hard to maintain my interest, and he did not. This story just isn’t compelling, and the fact that he abandoned most of the spooky ghost story stuff certainly doesn’t help. The Blackwell Ghost 7 is a departure from Turner Clay’s usual fare, and is sure to lose some fans of the series. Some of the things he caught on camera clearly make it obvious that it’s a fake documentary. What’s worse is the fact that the ending ruins the premise from the second film. It even leaves room for a sequel in this same vein. It’s probably time to end the series.
The Blackwell Ghost 7
0.00
Pros
- Likeable main character
- Some interesting scenes
Cons
- Departure from the previous films
- Missing the ghost elements
- Not as entertaining as previous installments
