As a professional spirit investigator and psychic/medium, I love to watch how spirit investigations are portrayed on film and TV. In the film Infared, Woof Cat Films and Sestero Pictures offers a more personal journey into things that go bump in the night.
Infrared
Infrared is a 2022 horror film that was written and directed by Robert Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr. The film, which stars Greg Sestero, Jesse Janzen, Leah Finity, Ariel Ryan, Samantha Laurenti, Randy Nundlal, and Austin Blank begins with an exorcism. Wes (Jesse Janzen) is the main investigator who is filming said exorcism for an upcoming TV pilot. Wes, along with his cameraman, sound man and producer, are called to a home to expel the demon camping out in the body of Sarah (Samantha Laurenti). Wes is a showman, and we quickly realize that he is more concerned for the ratings than he is with Sarah.
While Wes is performing his exorcism of Sarah, his sister Izzy (Leah Finity), the true medium of this sibling act, is helping a woman (Nicole Berry) with a spirit that refuses to cross over. Izzy moves quietly through the house picking up on the identity of the spirit before smudging the home and releasing the spirit. There is bad blood between Izzy and Wes because someone had died during one of Wes’s exorcisms.
The pace picks up after Izzy is coerced by the producer to work with Wes at his next investigation. Wes, Izzy, and the film crew meet up with Geoff (Greg Sestero) at the Lincoln School in Sacramento, California. The school was closed after a teacher and her students died from a gas leak. Greg Sestero steals the show with his performance.
Geoff is a wealth of information about the school’s history. He was a former teacher, as was his wife….but Geoff holds back some very important information. There was another investigator, Jane (Ariel Ryan) who had investigated the school before Wes. What happened to Jane?
Conclusion
I enjoyed Infrared, although, real investigators follow very strict guidelines when investigating any paranormal activity. Rule #1: never perform an exorcism. If you are not trained in demonology and were not trained by the Vatican to perform exorcisms, don’t!
I would have loved to learn more about Izzy’s gift which Wes finally admits was the reason he became involved with ghost investigations. That backstory would have added more insight to the film.
All in all, Infrared is horror at its best. What happens when a team enters a haunted building looking for ghosts, and learns that the living are much more frightening? We do eventually find out what happened to Jane. Infrared is available on digital platforms on July 22, and on Terror Films Channel on July 29, and on Kings of Horror on August 5.
