Popular Reviews of The Black Tapes

Like all the PNWS podcasts, it starts brilliant but they just are not able to keep the mystery or suspense going effectively. A shame.

Episode 1 of season 2 is the scariest thing I've ever listened to. It was incredible.

I just listened to the entire podcast in four days, which is pretty fast for me, and I am blown away. Alex Reagan and Dr. Strand have a Mulder and Scully vibe that works so well, and I love Alex'c friendship with her fellow producer Nic. One of the highlights of season 2 was how Alex's life was directly affected by the stressful investigations and how it changed her relationships as she buckled under the stress. I never thought I'd have cause to shout out the ads in a podcast, but here I am. It took a while for them to get playful and fun, but by season 3, they're really creative and funny. I head-canon that Alex and Nic write the funniest ads their sponsors will let them get away with. The Me Undies ad was truly legendary!The mystery does get a little convoluted in season 2, and it gets harder to follow. The way the various interviews get broken up according the conversations' threads makes it hard to keep up with the gazillion clues that are being dropped.I really hope we get a second half to season 3! In terms of emotional resolution, I feel alright with the end of season 3, but I really want to see some of these mysteries get wrapped up. If nothing else, I would love more resolution to Strand's relationship with his wife and daughter. Emotionally, those are still big parts of who he is as a character, and I can't imagine the podcast moving forward without addressing them somehow. I'm fine with this ending — the fans can theorize and try to fill in the blanks — but my reaction is definitely softened by the fact that I listened to the whole podcast in less than a week. Had I been listening for the 2-3 years it aired, I think I'd be much more frustrated with the lack of resolution.

Great podcast, sometimes the plot feels a little thin, but it always comes back strong.

Great series!

Strong enough start and filled a gap in the podcast scene--a good, spooky, drama. Unfortunately, like other Pacific Northwest Stories joints, got slow and silly and the plot got sprawly and off the rails. No thanks.

Creepy, with a strong story and strong acting.

The 1st season was excellent, then the team seemed to lose their way possibly by being distracted by both Tanis and Rabbits which were to me far less accomplished than this show and both in desperate need of an editor. The second season has now restarted and is not as crisp as the early episodes. I hope they finish well.

If you're a Supernatural fan and you've somehow missed The Black Tapes podcast, now's as good a time as any to catch up. This serialized supernatural/horror audiodrama is a fun and an exciting romp through the paranormal and occultism. There are mysterious to unfold, haunted pasts, and great sound design. Are we still waiting for a few season? Of course we are.

5 stars for getting the tone just right. Be warned that you might not like how this show end.It does not feature the scariest stories. The sound mix is unlikely to win any 3D sounds awards. What it very successfully achieve was making the show so believable that it's easy to forget that it's all fiction. The frequent roles reversal between the journalist and the sceptic really mess with my head.EndingMy initial thoughts upon finishing the last episode is that it can't end like this. They spend three seasons building up to something but there were no big finish. After sitting on it overnight, I have decided to leave my initial 5 stars rating alone. No doubt many will rate the show lower due to the somewhat unsatisfying ending. For me, I have enjoyed the journey.

Loving it so far!!

Okay, so I really enjoyed The Black Tapes for a long time. Then it just kind of..fell off as soon as Pacific Northwest Stories started coming out with other podcasts. It lacked the detail and the care that it had in the beginning. Which is sad, because it had a lot going for it.

Decent premise, but if falls flat in several aspects. The interviews/conversations between characters are poorly written, and the voice acting often falls flat and feels uninspired. The story fails to build tension, as it switches back and forth between stories/conversations and is often interrupted by ads, and the plot becomes needlessly drawn out and convoluted.

Some of the earlier episodes and concepts are enjoyable (I still remember a couple of the horrors, like the tall shadow man and the upside down face). The first season and part of the second are good-decent, but it's clear the writers did not plan and had no idea where the story was going. Plot points keep getting added on without resolving the mystery, and the ending is one of those few endings that, for me, retroactively make some of the rest of the show worse. The ending is a cliffhanger; much of the mystery is unresolved, and not in a satisfying manner. Acting ranges from meh to decent, especially for a professional production - sometimes you can tell they're reading from a script. Conflicts become repetitious, and the characters hardly develop (well, they do end up in a relationship. That's kinda like character development, right?). The ads are in the middle of the episodes, which is annoying, and the ads can get cringey.

Absolutely stunning podcast. Blown away by the production and storyline. A very immersive and captivating listen.

The podcast that got me into audio fiction. Didn’t love the ending but completely adored the rest. Holding out hope for more eventually.

Black Tapes is an X-Filesesque exploration of a cache of paranormal mysteries collected by a mysterious skeptic. Can be silly at times, but it remains entertaining throughout. I really enjoyed it.

Loved the whole show! ...except the ending. Felt like they wrapped it up right when all the stings could have been neatly tied off or, even better we could have gone deeper down the rabbit whole. Don't get me wrong, shipping Stand and Alex is a fun side plot, but you can't dangle demon summoning through particle accelerator in front of someone and not tell them more. Hail to the upside down face! 🙃🙃🙃

The podcast was fine until it got to the obviously rushed, B.S. ending. Wasted time with no pay off.

Ah, the Black Tapes. One of the earliest supernatural horror podcasts that developed the genre, and still a compelling story with lots of mysteries to be worked. I really, really, wanted to give this five stars, but the elephant in the room is the third season; it ends abruptly, or rather, stops. There's no resolution to many of the plots threads raised, which is a real shame. My recommendation? Listen to it, assume the end of season 2 is the series ending, then listen to series 3 as a curiosity.