Unexplained Mysteries/Haunted

Rating:
Summary: Manages to make the unexplained boring
Review: Boasting segments on the World of Satanism, Haunted Historic Sites, and Jack the Ripper, this DVD actually offers little in terms of content. While there are segments devoted to the aforementioned subjects, they are interspersed with other, more mundane topics, and even the most interesting story is given little more than a short, cursory overview. This DVD basically contains three episodes of Unexplained Mysteries; with a total run time of 90 minutes and 3 segments per episode, each topic is given at most 10 minutes. The World of Satanism feature has to do with heavy metal music for the most part, and its companion segments cover the subject of night terrors and introduce us to a special tea made from a fungus that is said to perform medical miracles. The Haunted Historic Sites episode is devoted primarily to the story of one woman's near death experience of hell, while the hauntings segment was so trivial it did not even secure a hold in my short term memory. The third episode is the best of the lot, offering us a tiny bit of the history of Vlad the Impaler and Stoker's Dracula, a mundane ghost story of an unfortunate barmaid, and a rough sketch of the Whitechapel Murders. Anyone with any familiarity with Jack the Ripper will learn nothing from this presentation; I in fact disagree strongly with a couple of statements that were given as fact in the story (e.g., the Ripper definitely possessed advanced medical knowledge).

I have a habit of buying items devoted to paranormal and occult subjects, but this DVD is one that definitely disappointed me. Its contents are less than exciting, rudimentary in terms of facts presented, and, I would argue, off-base or misguided in a couple of places. Even Patrick MacNee, whom I really like from his Avengers days, adds little to the presentation, often because he is not given anything good to say or time enough to say it. However interesting the cover makes this DVD appear, I can assure you that the presentation itself is almost sure to disappoint you.