Unsolved Mysteries: GHOSTS - Review Hollywood North Report

Unsolved Mysteries: GHOSTS Review
Score: 3/10 | Date Posted: October 30th 2004 In: DVD Reviews

Unsolved Mysteries: GHOSTS
Review by Vince D’Amato

Starring: Robert Stack
Released by: First Look Home Entertainment.

GHOSTS: If this is even possible, Ghosts was duller than the Unsolved Mysteries: UFOS DVD. And I was looking forward to this one! Once again, I was lucky enough to have only been given a 1-disc screener (not the whole box set) upon which to base this review.

As you may or may not have guessed, this set of the Unsolved Mysteries documentary-style anthology television shows are based around ghost stories and supernatural phenomenon.

The collection of shows this time around include a disappointing and ultimately boring set of supposedly real-life ghostly events from sprits to hauntings to voices from the grave – and even American Urban legends.

In fact, it’s one of these urban legends – the story of “Resurrection Mary”, a graveyard ghost myth from Chicago, which is this collection’s only saving grace. The background as well as the contemporary stories for the legend actually makes for an interesting program, whether you believe the first-hand eyewitness accounts or not. But the rest of them are once again stories that you’ve heard time and time again around the campfire, so they aren’t particularly interesting. Part of this, of course, is due to the age of the programs. The retro Unsolved Mysteries don’t have quite the panache of the slew of documentary television shows one is used to seeing now like City Confidential, American Justice or even Biography.

And again, I question the re-watchability of these shows. But I suppose that fact that other than the aforementioned “Resurrection Mary”, none of the shows were spectacular enough to make any kind of impression on my mind would be one reason to have to re-watch this DVD.

Unsolved Mysteries is releasing several other (and much better-sounding) DVD sets, including: Psychics; Miracles; Legends; and Bizarre Murders.

The DVD supplements: Eight audio commentaries, “Tribute to Robert Stack” (for some reason, this one isn’t “special”), and Behind-the-Scenes – The 200th solve!