Bagans’ cameraman Adam is later affected by being in the house, and a parapsychologist named Barry Taff (author of Aliens Above, Ghosts Below) experiences physical repercussions, or so we're told. Happenings do get stranger as Bagans’ investigation continues, offering a fleeting hope that this could be the rare horror documentary that’s actually scary. With little filmmaking tact other than trying to prove he’s right, it amounts to a hammy enterprise, like his numerous unfortunate freeze frames that create accidental punchlines whenever someone says something ominous. But the bad spirits, or so Bagans and company would like you to think, are ever present, and “Demon House” offers first-hand accounts of him and his crew capturing strange sounds, filming a shadow in a doorframe, or seeing rising levels of magnetism in the basement, etc. Sometimes there's even surveillance footage of himself or others seemingly briefly possessed.

“Demon House” in part has Bagans collecting previous accounts about the house's goings-on, complementing them with goofy reenactments that provide anti-tension, especially when it comes to scenes of the Ammons kids freaking out with their eyes rolling to the back of their heads, or screaming in a strange voice. It's telling that 'Demon House' features a real-life exorcism, but it feels more superficial than supernatural. Experts are not consulted, nor are any party-pooping skeptics invited. The truth to the supernatural events in Gary is still nonetheless difficult to pin down, however much sensationalized journalism they inspired, but Bagans knows who he can use to corroborate his adventure: a woman like Latoya Ammons, whose children expressed different episodes of being possessed, a superstitious police officer, a priest who does exorcisms, etc. So that you don’t have the same nagging curiosity that I did while first watching it, I can verify that this is a documentary by form and not just a post-“ The Blair Witch Project” found footage con.

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