Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Haunting of Cellblock 11’

Written by Scott Edwards 

​Trying to stay competitive in any forum is very difficult. Bringing the best that you have is not always going to keep you on the top, in fact, it may cost you in the long run. Coming up with something that people want to watch, want to read, or to be a part of is something that all of us try to do, but if the content gets lost in translation, you get left in the dust.

The team of Ghost Sightings, a paranormal show, are struggling to get the ratings that they need to continue to stay on the air. Only being able to get into semi haunted locations due to a lack of budget, they are searching for something that will put their names back on the map. After being given an ultimatum by their network head, they are trying to brainstorm a way to make the show better and bring back some hard evidence of a real haunting.

When the star of the show, Joel, gets an unexpected visitor named Mr. Gaffney who has a location that needs to be checked out, Joel jumps at the claims and puts all of his eggs into one basket. Heading out to the Freeling State Penitentiary, the group feels like this is their best chance to get something caught on tape and keep the show going, but when they meet up with an old employee of the prison, they start to feel like these accounts may only be stories and they will have to leave empty handed once again.  

Being given a tour of the old building, strange sounds start to manifest around the old cells and the hunt begins. Working through the prison, the group tries to taunt the ghosts into coming out in order to be captured on film and with the story they have heard about the penitentiary’s prize prisoner, Ephraim Chamberlain, still being housed there, they have high hopes of capturing something. But when their equipment starts to pick up on some type of energy, orbs are seen and one of their group is attacked violently. Needing to get their team to safety, they try to go out the front door of the old building, only to find that it has been chained up. The team of Ghost Sightings is now trapped in the prison for the night and will have to find a way to survive until morning without becoming its next victim.

A fine example of what people will wind up doing to save their jobs when their livelihood is on the line. With each member of the show being a believer in the supernatural and in keeping the show authentic, they have to find a way to prove to the audience ghosts exist. After being begged not to stay in the old penitentiary by the tour guide, the team comes to terms with the fact that he might have been right. With fantastic ghostly attacks and a group that has to pull together to survive, a little twist at the end is nothing to be worried about. This is a good ghost movie and it features enough scares to keep you wondering if the team will ever escape the deadly confines of the prison, and you might just come to learn exactly why some spirits are still hanging around. Stay Scared.

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