Some horror tales can leave you speechless. But what about the cast? Now streaming on Apple TV+, the four-part documentary event “The Enfield Poltergeist” offers a flashback to one of the more celebrated hauntings and provides an interesting twist on the dramatic reenactment genre.
Widely reported from 1977 to 1979, the story of the Enfield visitation revolutionized the notion of the haunted house. Instead of a gothic castle or ancient pile, loud entities seemed to descend on an unfashionable semi-detached home in the British village of Enfield. The case has inspired any number of nonfiction accounts and dramas, including the plot to “The Conjuring 2.”
Newspaper accounts attracted the attention of Maurice Grosse, a self-trained amateur student of the paranormal. He embedded himself with the haunted family, interviewing them and their neighbors as well as capturing their “visitors” on more than 250 hours of reel-to-reel tapes.
This audio evidence is the centerpiece of “The Enfield Poltergeist.” Producers created a replica of the house in a studio and cast actors who literally lip-sync to the voices captured on Grosse’s tapes. The results make for a rather startling variation on ventriloquism, mediated by interviews with actual subjects who recall their ordeal some 45 years later.
“Enfield” is produced by the team behind Apple TV+’s Emmy-nominated documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”
— Now streaming on Netflix, the 2023 drama “Pain Hustlers” is the latest effort based on corporate indifference to the widespread human suffering caused by the indiscriminate marketing of opioids.
Emily Blunt stars as a high-school dropout who is hired by a Florida pharmaceutical startup, which she soon discovers may be engaged in a criminal conspiracy.
Chris Evans, Andy Garcia and Catherine O’Hara also star in this effort directed by David Yates, released in theaters last Friday to generally negative reviews.
— A possessed goat is just the tip of the diabolical iceberg in the 2023 shocker “When Evil Lurks,” streaming on Shudder. Set on a farm where a woman hides a “rotten” son about to unleash the devil himself, this film makes wicked use of its pastoral setting. Imported from Argentina.
— It’s impossible to tell where the story begins and the product placements end in the loud hybrid animated movie special “Lego Marvel Avengers: Code Red,” streaming on Disney+.
— Now streaming on Prime Video, “The Girl Who Killed Her Parents — The Confession,” recalls Suzane von Richthofen, a German-Brazilian woman who murdered her parents with the help of her boyfriend on Halloween night 2002. Despite her actions, she may become heir to her father’s estate now that she has been released on parole.
Coincidentally, von Richthofen is said to be a distant relative of the famous German WWI flying ace. Known as the Red Baron, he regained a bit of notoriety in the 1960s when he became the obsession of Snoopy, the daydreaming dog from the “Peanuts” comic strip. The Baron looms large in his rooftop musings in the 1966 special “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” streaming on Apple TV+.
— Cartman is haunted by nightmares about a world changed by AI in the “South Park” cartoon special “South Park: Joining the Panderverse,” streaming on Paramount+.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— The Texas Rangers meet either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first game of the MLB World Series (8 p.m., Fox). Should the series go to seven games, it will conclude on Nov. 4.
— “Great Performances” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) presents the New York City Ballet in Madrid.
— An assault hits close to home on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
The touch of gray in the lady’s (Elsa Lanchester) hair has established a goth fashion statement that has stood up for nearly a century in the 1935 shocker “The Bride of Frankenstein” (10 p.m., TCM, TV-PG). Arguably the first franchise sequel to surpass the original. James Whale, who directed this film and the original 1931 “Frankenstein” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-PG), was the subject of the 1998 drama “Gods and Monsters,” starring Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser.
SERIES NOTES
“The Price Is Right at Night” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … A friend is scammed on “Magnum P.I.” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14) … “Shark Tank” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
“Raid the Cage” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC) … “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Depeche Mode on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Kelly Clarkson, Erin Andrews and Ryan Beatty visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Leslie Jones, Rich Little, Tom Shillue and Marc Yaffee appear on “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
