Since joining Rotten Tomatoes, I’ve noticed that I get approached by a lot of smaller films looking for attention. I can’t always get to all of them, and honestly, I sometimes feel bad when a micro-budget filmmaker sends me something and I end up posting a rotten review, especially when the production didn’t have the resources to include audio description. So, I’ve tapped out on a few, because I look, and I’d either be the first or second review, and I’m not as convinced that audio description wouldn’t have changed my mind enough. Here, I found enough for that to not be a problem.
The director of It’s Coming reached out to me directly, and when I saw it was a paranormal documentary, my curiosity got the better of me. My first thought was that if you really wanted to convince people that supernatural events were real, you could probably submit something like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity as a documentary and see how many viewers bought into the idea that the footage had simply been discovered and assembled. But It’s Coming presents itself much more straightforward than that.
The film follows Renee, a woman who believes she’s been haunted for most of her life. After moving back into her family home and raising her own family there, unexplained events begin happening again. She starts documenting what she’s experiencing, and the documentary follows her attempts to understand what is happening and ultimately rid the house of whatever may be there.
I should be honest and acknowledge my own bias here. I’m a non-believer.That said, I think people who do believe in ghosts, spirits, and paranormal activity will find this at minimum intriguing and possibly even a little unsettling.
For me, the breakout star of the documentary is paranormal investigator Christopher Lauria. A former police officer, Lauria experienced something he describes as malevolent while serving on the force and eventually felt called toward paranormal investigation. He has a thick accent and carries himself like someone who stepped straight out of Goodfellas and decided his next job would be removing ghosts from people’s homes. Honestly, the idea of the mafia dealing with hauntings sounds like a movie I’d watch. Why hasn’t this happened?
What makes Lauria so entertaining is that he brings a completely different energy than what we’re used to seeing in these kinds of stories. Most paranormal films eventually introduce a medium, a priest, or some other spiritual authority figure. Lauria approaches everything with a no-nonsense attitude that feels more like an investigator working a case. Whether he’s right or wrong isn’t really the point. He’s compelling, memorable, and I’d happily watch him tackle more paranormal cases.
Renee and her family also come across as genuine people. Nobody feels cast. Nobody feels like they’re performing. If the goal is convincing viewers that these events are authentic, that’s probably one of the film’s greatest strengths.
I initially assumed this was a brand-new release, but after checking IMDb, I discovered it’s already available on platforms like Tubi, which means you can watch it right now if the premise interests you.
Did it change my personal feelings about ghosts and spirits? Not at all. But I can separate my own skepticism from whether a film succeeds for its intended audience, and I think there’s more than enough here for viewers who enjoy paranormal documentaries.
As for the blind and low vision community, should it have audio description? Absolutely. Unfortunately, this feels like a project made on a shoestring budget by filmmaker Shannon Alexander, almost like a journalist who happened to be in the right place at the right time with a camera. That’s often the reality of independent filmmaking. Sometimes accessibility features simply don’t make it into the budget unless a distributor steps in later and invests in them. Of course, Amazon has been randomly adding audio description to older titles lately, so maybe there’s still hope.
It’s not coming. It’s here. And if hearing the words paranormal documentary strikes your fancy, you should check it out.
Fresh: 6.5/10
