Chris Ruppert and Tyler Transue directed the 2024 American paranormal documentary Surrounded by Spirits. The film is about a six-person paranormal investigative team that blends ghost hunting with historical research in an effort to solve the haunting mysteries of a cursed town in America. The film hopes to uncover the terrifying hidden truths of the spirit world by combining storytelling with ghost hunting and historical research.
Surrounded by Spirits is centered around a true crime-docudrama with elements of horror, that strives to blend investigative journalism and horror while portraying the paranormal using cinematic reenactments and atmospheric tension.
Plot Overview
The film begins with an unsettling premise of a town that has remained soaked in a history of unexplained phenomena, violence, and tragedy which seems to capture the attention of historians, paranormal investigators, and spiritualists alike. After reports of spectral sightings coupled with strange deaths and violent hauntings begin to intensify, a team of six highly specialized investigators is assembled to confronting the unknowns.
Every investigator comes with their own set of tools and techniques, be it EMF detectors or EVP sessions, even psychic channeling and spiritual rituals. What’s the goal? To determine if the forces haunting the town are the spirits of tormented victims, ancient curses, or something more malevolent.
As the investigation moves forward, the lines between the living and dead start to fade away. As a professional endeavor, it rapidly shifts to an intensely personal one as team members are uncovered; some are afflicted not only by ethereal beings, but their own tumultuous history.
Character Descriptions
Beckie-Ann Galentine: A down-to-earth investigator is recognized for her synthesis of historical documents with emotional perspectives on history.
Jules Nolan: A skeptic who slowly converts into a cynic captivates with a dose of technical know-how, conflicts with the rational, and becomes engrossed in the town’s outlandish pull.
Seth Browder: The antihero of the story, a rugged ghost hunter admired and feared due to his barbed persona forged by past ghostly encounters.
Amanda Paulson: A spiritualist medium who actively reaches out to energies, often at the risk of her own safety.
Viva: Adds anthropological folklore expertise and ancient ethnographic rituals to the energetic team, turning her into a vibrant asset.
Dominic Lagamba. A documentarian paired with a tech specialist, documenting and dissecting the myriad of peculiarities—and begins to perceive more than what the lens captures.
Murder mysteries and local folklore become one unforgiving cycle of a town’s pain.
The film addresses these topics with the eye of a hawk, one by one capturing each member from pure science to soft-hearted towards the supernatural. Each lens is valuable as they tell us how deeply ingrained the supernatural can be in everyday life.
Spirits are not simply appearing for the viewer’s delight, they are inviting the trauma laden burden the viewers face.
Shaky hand-held shots, extended shadow-drenched shots, low flickering lights, real-life footage of investigations mixed with crude cinematography evoke peu à peu an immersed world filled with spirits.
An ethereal uneasiness dwells in the film as audio is disarranged, silence floods in, and movement emerges in the shadows. The documentary sneaks ghostly aesthetics with harsh realism and is wrapped in the chronic lifelessness characteristic of horror.
Reception
The film was poorly received by most viewers, with particular criticism directed towards the pacing and perceived low production value, although some acknowledged the effort made to combine a thorough cinematic investigation with the real endeavor. Its rating on IMDb is relatively low, but fans of paranormal media and fringe documentaries might still find Surrounded by Spirits an unsettling venture into the abyss.
The film may not fit the definition of a commercially successful horror movie, but has gained interest from ghost seekers, as well as devotees of the found footage genre and supernatural stories.
Conclusion
Surrounded by Spirits is a hauntingly slow masterpeice chronicling what happens when the dead refuse to rest; the chilling intersection where historical reality and ghostly myths collide. It compels viewers, rather effortlessly, to grapple with their understanding of specters, trauma, and the ephemeral divide between our dimension and the afterlife.