Killer Contact – The Butcher of Iquique – S01E06

It’s more tomfoolery as the Killer Contact team heads to Chile to investigate paranormal activities at an abandoned Salt Peter mine. As with so many mines of the time this was a dangerous one with long hours, poor working conditions, low pay and disregard for worker’s right. They also got paid in money that could only be used in the company stores. So in essence they never made money. But, when conditions got really poor they decided to do something about it. Their strike didn’t get them very far and military forces were brought out. Perhaps more than 2000 workers were killed and soon after the town was abandoned and left to rot. As though there is some mystery here the team wants to know why the town was abandoned. Why did people leave their jobs? Was it because of the deaths or the working conditions. Is this really such a hard question to answer? Are they really mystified over this one?

But as the investigation unfolds, I’ll give you two guesses on who sees a shadow. Moving beyond that we have Greg and Hector hearing bangs against a window. Molly and Adam claim to hear voices as they stumble around in the dark.

For the second part of the investigation they head to the Blacksmith Shop to investigate around the heavy machinery. As you might expect with old, metal equipment, there are plenty of bangs and pops. There might be the faint voice of someone saying hello and when Austin asks if someone was killed, Molly sees yet another person appear who she says is sinister. They also feel they get the words, "we did not murder" as an EVP.

In the Engine Room, Greg and Hector tries to cause a stir by getting the citizenry to riot. They try to incite the crowd to action and feel the captured chanting. They ask if the murders drove people away or if it was the working conditions. A $10 gadget points to Humberstone, the mine owner as the cause of their distress. Admist all this "commotion" they feel they get the words, "get out of here, thieves" as an EVP.

So once again we have Molly seeing shadows everywhere. We have bangs and clangs around incredibly old, metal machinery as it cools in the dead of night. We have indistinct recordings. And finally we have a couple of random blips on the Tri Field Meter. Previously the responses on this meter have been pretty interesting, but now not so much. This whole investigation seems pointless. This whole line of questioning is irrelevant. Which is worse, dealing with the death of 2000 co-workers and family members or the horrible working conditions? Who the hell cares? That’s like asking if it’s worse to get run over by a Cadillac or a Ford.

It’s pretty sad that Killer Contact chose to end their season with this lame episode. When they kicked things off with Jack the Ripper I was interested. With each passing episode it’s been fading more and more. This first came across as a new approach to Ghost Hunters International, but it didn’t evolve into anything as intriguing or interesting. They certrainly picked some interesting locales for their investigations but their methods are misguided, trite and hapless. Their "tech guru" straps a camera to an RC car and put a board on an inner tube. These are hardly the work of genius. Molly is scared of her own damn shadow. Greg is ready to throw down and antagonize everyone until he comes across Austin who is purportedly channeling someone who wants to kill Greg, then he tucks tail and runs.

SyFy is desperate to find a paranormal winner. It’s great they’re willing to try new things and give people a chance to showcase their skills. But alas, Killer Contact is riddled with flaws and grating personalities. I don’t think we’ll see a season 2 of this mess. Not a good series. No a fun group of people. But then again. I was wrong about The Dead Files. People seem to enjoy that steamy pile.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Killer Contact – The Hell-Fire Club – S01E04
• Ghost Adventures – Remington Arms
• Killer Contact – Jack the Ripper – S01E01
• Haunted Towns – McDonough GA – S01E08
• Paranormal Challenge – Ohio State Reformatory – S01E04
• Killer Contact – Mayan Empire – S01E05
• Ghost Mine – Mystery Train – S02E06
• Ghost Mine – Town Wide Terror – S02E09
• Ghost Adventures – Lizzie Borden House – S05E05
• Haunted Highway – Beast of Bray Road and Tonopah Mine – S02E03