28 Days Haunted – Netflix Review

28 DAYS HAUNTED on Netflix is a horror reality TV series that seeks to prove a paranormal theory of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Unfortunately, it’s a bad production. So bad, it’s funny. Read our full 28 Days Haunted Netflix review here!

28 DAYS HAUNTED is a Netflix horror reality TV series with six half-hour episodes. To me, it’s so incredibly bad that I could only watch it as a spoof. The details of the production scream reality in all the worst kinds of ways.

So while it attempts to take on a “documentary” feel by presenting the whole ordeal as an experiment, it’s pure entertainment. Look, if you enjoy shows like Ghost Hunters, then you should definitely check this out. If you don’t, this Netflix series will likely only serve as a twisted form of horror-comedy for you.

Continue reading our 28 Days Haunted Netflix review below. All six episodes are on Netflix from October 21, 2022.

It takes 28 Days to Pierce the Veil

The whole theory of 28 Days Haunted is that of Ed and Lorraine Warren. They believed it took 28 days of persistent effort to pierce the veil to the spirit world. Obviously, this theory from The Warrens (made famous in The Conjuring movies) is a strong starting point.

Add to this, the fact that one of the people presenting it all, is the son-in-law of Ed and Lorraine Warren. As in the husband (of more than three decades) of Judy Warren – someone who has also been featured heavily in The Conjuring franchise.

Especially in Annabelle Comes Home (2019), which was actually really good.

Of course, this reality show is also released after the passing of both Ed and Lorraine Warren, which may not be incidental. I can’t imagine they would have liked this over-produced reality take on the paranormal.

Spirits dying for help

In the very first episode “Day 1”, a sentence is uttered that defines this whole setup pretty well. Upon arriving at their location, one of the paranormal investigators – or experts or sensitive persons, I’m not sure which it was – says the sentence:

“There’s definitely spirits that are dying for help here“.

Yes, the spirits are indeed “dying” for help.

And so is my sanity as I try to watch this and attempt to take it even remotely seriously.

Also, just stop with the constant “we’re totally shooting in the dark”-filter in green or gray nuances. We can clearly see the damn spotlights all over these locations. Besides, sometimes we suddenly see things from another angle via a stationary camera and it’s a brightly lit room in full color.

What do they take their viewers for?! I mean, come on!

Pure White Nonsense

I’m sure nobody will be surprised when I say that all three teams of Paranormal Investigators consist exclusively of white people. And mostly white men. In fact, there are a total of eight paranormal investigative “contestants” in 28 Haunted Days and just two of them are women.

This is despite the fact that we’re constantly reminded about how the point of this experiment is to prove a theory from Ed and Lorraine Warren. A duo where Lorraine Warren was the one with the gift of sight and sensitivity to the paranormal, whereas Ed was “just” the one battling alongside her.

On top of that, we have two male… hosts, I guess. The point of them is to comment on what we see. All while sitting in some sort of bunker.

Look, I’m sorry to ruin this for anyone who does enjoy reality TV of this nature. To me, this kind of production is anything but scary. I’m not a non-believer in the paranormal. Not by a long shot, so this could be a show for me.

And I absolutely believe that they believe in their abilities. Mostly to be their own heroes, but whatever floats their boat, I guess. It’s just that I definitely do not believe in their abilities. 28 Days Haunted removed any doubts, I may have had about their gifts, the further we got.

The 28 Days Haunted reality series is on Netflix now!

I can watch reality TV and enjoy it, but this is that special brand of “Reality” that just feels unbelievably fake. Almost like a spoof on both haunted house stories and reality.

An example: A chair suddenly comes hurling down the stairs leading up to the attic. The investigators go to check it out. Suddenly the camera angle shifts to someone filming them… from the attic. Not the stationary cameras hanging everywhere or the ones the investigators are filming with themselves.

No, there’s obviously a camera operator in the attic. Now, I can’t claim to really wonder how the chair fell down the stairs anymore. It’s like “found footage” where extra angles suddenly show up despite this supposedly being filmed by one person.

So, what did I take away from watching 28 Days Haunted on Netflix?

Well, watching this horror reality TV production made me come to three conclusions:

1. I really need to rewatch 28 Days Later and Insidious for Halloween.
2. You’d be better off watching almost any haunted house movie!
3. Maybe you can enjoy this reality production if you watch it as a horror-comedy.

Again, I am clearly not the right demographic for this, since I have long grown tired of (and jaded by) shows like Ghost Hunters. But, come on, this is just a very bad production and execution in every way.

Especially when they come to conclusions that having them naming real-life murder victims and stating that “their” spirit was responsible for their murders. That moves this from fun reality to hurtful misinformation.

In any case, 28 Days Haunted Season 1 is out on Netflix from October 21, 2022.