Real Fear with Richard Dolan: what a joke!

First, before anyone jumps on me, I searched for this topic and didn't find anything. I also don't watch a lot of TV so I have no idea if this show is brand new or 15 years old. But I caught a show called Real Fear: The Truth Behind the Movies on Chiller television channel the other day and it really disturbed me.

It starred Richard Dolan, whom I recognized from UFO videos. This show touched on UFOs but its main jist is it explores the original stories that spawn horror movies.

The episode dealt with the Jersey Devil. I'm from NJ, but near NYC, and never heard much about this creature that supposedly roams the Pine Barrens. Heck, I barely ever heard of the Pine Barrens.

This show represented so much of what annoys me about this genre of show, which includes the "Chasing UFOs/Bigfoot" shows and the many ghost-hunting shows.

They gathered this large group to spend a night in the Pine Barrens and investigate the Jersey Devil. People go camping every day and it would be a long shot to be in the right place and the right time to actually find the phenomenon you seek.

But it seemed that this group might actually be onto something. Weird growls were coming from the darkening forest. Someone claimed to have a recorder knocked out of his hand by something that brushed against him.

Pay dirt, right? I mean, that is why you brought all those tents and all that equipment, to capture the Jersey Devil on tape, isn't it?

Nope, apparently not! Dolan confers with a fellow camper and decides that it's clear that something doesn't want them there; hence, they should leave. They hadn't even set up camp. What a rip!!!

It seems like the last thing any of these shows actually want to do is encounter the very things they are supposed to be "chasing." How many ghost-chasing shows have I seen end in similar ways, with the cocky ghost hunters taunting the spirits then prematurely wrapping up the "investigation" when they see something or start to feel "creepy"? I must give credit to a few of them when someone stops to remind a panicking ghost hunter who is ready to bail that "this is why we are here."

Side note: Whenever they interview anyone on a ghost show, it's always "I feel like I'm being watched," "I feel a presence," "There's a heavy, sad feeling in the room." These are not proof of anything, K!? Can we skip to the part where you saw, heard, or felt something more than eyeballs?

I just watched an ep of Chasing UFOs about Varginia (sp?) in Brazil. They bring the whole crew all the way there and they never even found out where the crash site was. It was I-don't-know-how-many years after the crash, but that didn't stop them from camping out to find crashed aliens in a random spot, where they heard footsteps in the brush, and overly animated James Fox whined about how Riley and Ben at least had each other but he was alone -- I guess he doesn't count the person holding the camera that's filming him. Then they explored a cave near where they thought a crash might have been, on the supposition that if it was anywhere near the crash site, an alien might hide there, so let's look for markings on the cave walls. Do they even hear themselves? I was just waiting for them to find graffiti and speculate that it was Martian hieroglyphs, but alas, all they ever found were spiders.

Of course, this was a doomed excursion. They were just throwing darts on a map. But Real Fear seemed to have actually found something. They were in an area that was known as a Jersey Devil hotspot and they heard the noises and felt something knock into one of them.

Yet they left. And they still got paid, and they still aired the show?

OK, my rant is over. For now.

reply to post by lindalinda
Totally agree with you, i also hate when they jump and squeal at things off camera which i suspect are thrown by the crew for a reaction.
The worse for me was when Ghost Adventures visited the Villisca axe murder house (as it's so respectfully known) and proceeded to taunt and goad the resident dark entity and then one of them lay with an axe above his face and invited the being to hit him with it. This was obviously contrary to his usual courage as next minute he was jumping at shadows again.
I really think this sort of programme has had it's day now, it is so formulaic and boring in most cases.

reply to post by transubstantiation


I watched that Chasing UFOs episode and found it wanting to say the least. They did everything but try to actually study the case. It plays on typology ("the pretty independent girl," "the skeptic scientist" etc..). UFO Hunters was better but, once again, the same typology.

The formula is dead and it seems it represents the short-attention span of modern society: shoot for a few hours and move on. These investigations take time, they take days and weeks.

I respect Dolan and do not know why he chose to do such a show. His writing is very good and he brings seriousness to Ufology. I imagine the best way to hunt the JD would be to install cameras and wait until something is caught.

An investigation calls for dedicated seriousness, not people hanging out with cameras to catch a young market. Adorno was right.