Review - The Dead Files - The Instigator

The following program contains material that may be disturbing. The Subject matter and opinions may be considered controversial.

This is what we are told at the start of the Dead Files.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Steve Di Shiavi arrives at the house of Lisa, where he is informed that the household (her daughter, granddaughter and ex husband) is being 'attacked' by an unseen force, they need Amy and Steve's help. There are footsteps, doors opening and closing and even the refrigerator is being opened by something. Perhaps they need some food to go with all those spirits.   

The worst part of this situation is that Lisa believes the house has caused her marriage to break down.

Now, for non-dead files fanatics, Steve is an ex homicide detective who does the leg work throughout the day; interviewing people, digging up the history and generally being detective like and asking all the 'hard' questions. 

Are you sure it's a ghost? Oh, ok then.

Amy Amy Amy

arrives at location, with husband Matt on camcorder, and entourage of camera crew - so an intimate ten person walk through in the dark. She picks up on someone she calls the 'instigator' who likes to stir things up. Of course she pulls a face and says the word evil a couple of times. 

Quick cut back to Steve and Lisa. She's been touched. On the boobs. Awkward glances.

Tamiera

is Lisa's daughter who lives in the house with her own daughter. She and her mother have seen an old lady in the house who likes to stroke their hair. But worse than a nice head massage is being dragged out of bed by her ankles.

So Amy now picks up on this old lady who she feels is giving the man in the house a hard time. There's also a distinguished looking man who is inducing panic attacks in the people who live there. The instigator wants to be friends with this gentleman but apparently he has enough friends right now and isn't interested.

Steve has headed out to a local historian Elise. in 1872 a family moved into the property who had a lot of deaths and tragedies. 4 children and a woman passed, leaving a man in the house who dies broke and alone. Amy is now picking up on the distinguished man who we are assuming is this same guy. 

Digging further, Steve finds a death of a fourteen year old by typhoid fever - his father, a meat inspector to the city, fell ill and was taken care of for years by his elderly wife. Amy thinks the lady was cookoo in the coconut.

Who's the crazy lady?

before this history lesson is over, we hear about five people who were killed on the nearby train tracks.

Sketch time! Skip to the reveal. We are meeting Lisa and Tamiera out of the house because the ex husband is unhappy about the investigation.

As Amy speaks, we see the client's faces drop and nod in agreement. They all agree that the ex is under influence to these spirits - and that is not a good thing. These spirits are the old lady, the distinguished man and the instigator, confirmation by Lisa makes for more nodding and agreement. Steve backs up these claims with death certificates and pictures. Let's bring out the sketch because we haven't had tears yet. Yup, gasp. creepy. tears.

Now, one of the household is bringing these spirits in and giving them energy....it's the EX!

Oh no you di'nt

Steve 'turns it over to Amy' and It's time for the solution. A medium needs to move the old lady on, reuniting her with her dead son. Then the medium needs to move the distinguished man on. Then the instigator is to go. Amy hands over a small vial of tar water which she is to sprinkle at every opening to the house to keep the dead out. BUT, the women have decided to move anyway. Amy says that if the ex stays in the house they are to NEVER go and visit him as the dead will be focused heavily on him and things will get nasty up in there.

So wraps another episode of the dead files. I just have one question, why does Amy never pick up on things that Steve doesn't find? It just seems all too neat and tied up in string. Sure, maybe they edit it that way, but it does make me question how it can all be neatly packaged and no loose ends left dangling like real life. But then again, this isn't real life is it? It's ghost hunting tv, and it pays to remember that no matter how convincing it all seems.