Haven: Shot in The Dark, review

A SyFy show NOT about ghost hunting reality show types gets a visit from...ghost hunting reality show types!

The town’s latest threat is not just a heart-eating monster, but also a film crew for a reality TV series (think Ghost Hunters or Paranormal Witness). Friends Seth and Anderson are filming away when they hear a scream and come upon a body with its heart ripped out. As the police investigate, everyone seems to think the attacker is a werewolf-like creature called a rougarou (and I’m glad someone texted it in the show because I had no idea how to spell it). The Darkside Seekers, as the TV crew are called, manage to piss off most of the police force, especially Dwight (whom they keep calling Bigfoot) and Duke (Ponytail).

Audrey (no one bothers calling her Lexie anymore) and William are both in the hospital recovering from their matching gunshot wounds. Nathan’s a little worried about their little connection, since William is obviously dangerous and hurting him will only hurt Audrey. However, suddenly and inexplicably, Audrey and Will are both completely healed and William has escaped the hospital with help from his two goons.

Jennifer goes digging for the footage the Darkside Seekers got of the rougarou, but the image looks like it’s been compromised, even though it hasn’t. The “monster” is made up of the little black spheres William was using to turn everyone against each other, so the spheres are like little rubber bullets made from pure evil. The victims all share the same birthday, including Jennifer, so she’s the next target. How she manages to escape when the rugalach or Subaru or whatever it is goes after her at the Haven Herald is beyond me, since it’s managed to pick the others off in the blink of an eye. I know it’s a science fiction show, but some of the boundaries are stretched a weeeeee bit too far sometimes.

Then we have the book. It looks like a cheesy horror novel, but Audrey recognizes it, and it seems to have magical powers whenever Jennifer is holding it. The Guard symbol glows on its front cover, and with it she is able to eliminate the rougarou, but why is she the only one who can see the symbol and read the secret messages inside the book? Audrey and Nathan quickly realize that William wants Jennifer gone because she just might be able to send him back where he came from. Seth and Anderson decide not to release any of the footage they got while in town. “I found out the truth,” Seth says, “That’s enough.” He can now lay to rest all the questions he had about Haven as a child.

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Final review: Well, the title is definitely appropriate. A lot of the episode is shot as though you are looking at live footage through the Darkside Seekers’ camera, but in the end, the rougarou, when we finally see it, looks like a big guy dressed in a gorilla suit. I’m starting to really enjoy seeing more of the medical examiner, the sarcastic and blunt Gloria. One of the best moments has Seth trying to explain his homemade EPG device, which he finally just says is “a box that tells you when the monster’s close.” I find it hard to believe in his change of heart about airing the footage, but then again, I had a hard time believing quite a few things in this episode. However, we are taking baby steps toward solving the William/Audrey puzzle. Maybe we’ll even get an explanation for the whole bar thing from the first three shows.

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Rating:

3 out of 5