Caveat emptor

The Storage Papers review

Production Company – Rusty Quill

Rating –

Yet another audio drama that falls under the Magnus archives‘ papers/tapes/archives umbrella. As you’ll notice, it’s also now produced by the excellent Rusty Quill, a brilliant company that has recently snapped up a lot of the shows I’ll be reviewing.

What’s it about then?

The Storage Papers is a series following the adventures of Jeremy. He acquires the contents of a storage locker for the ridiculous price of $5, in the manner of those awful reality TV shows. Amongst the usual junk in there are boxes of what appears to be strange case files and witness statements. Shortly after reading through these, he realises his life is taking a strange turn. He starts getting paranoid that he’s being followed and he hears strange noises in his house at night. After setting an audio recorder up to capture anything that happens when he’s asleep,  he manages to record a spooky voice speaking Latin. It translates as “read, share”, and so (on this rather cliché premise) begins this bi-weekly horror podcast.

Is it any good?

This is a bit of a tough one in the same manner as The Wrong Station. The stories in this podcast are all related like The Magnus Archives, and are all well written and genuinely creepy. The main arc twists and turns and develops not only in the case files of the papers themselves, but in the “real world” that Jeremy inhabits. He makes friends and allies along the way, and enemies too.

A lot of the stories here deal with dream logic and altered reality. The people in the case files experience things that should get caught on security cameras or seen by witnesses but for some reason, despite their physicality, they don’t get recorded in the “real” world. Personally I really like this bending of what is real, it adds a strange haziness that contrasts nicely with Jeremy’s experiences.

There are elements here of lots of things I like. Obviously the premise is similar to many good podcasts. This is the “found footage” of the podcast world, and like found footage films, there are good ones and bad ones. There are also elements of the SCP Foundation too, although this series is definitely more Magnus Archives than SCP.

My main problem with it is the fact that Jeremy’s voice is so flat and emotionless that it becomes almost droning. I understand that he’s trying to tell the story of the papers in a matter of fact way, but it is very boring to listen to. Anthony Botelho’s voice acting in The Wrong Station is way better (apart from the Scottish accent). The cynical and soporific Jonathan Sims in The Magnus Archives is also better. In fact Jeremy would have done well to try and follow this style a bit closer, just to add some kind of seasoning to what is an essentially bland stew.

Final thoughts

The Storage Papers has ultimately missed the mark somewhat when it comes to a truly binge worthy podcast. While the stories themselves are well written and creepy, the narration lets it down and after a few back to back episodes you’ll find your ears turning off and you’ll be rewinding more and more often to catch bits of plot you’ve missed. It’s a shame really because there’s no way to change it now we are 66 episodes in. I mean, I did binge it and I’m sure I missed lots of stuff but after a while you wonder if it really matters. Jeremy certainly doesn’t seem too bothered by the events.

This, like The Wrong Station, was one that I abandoned for a long time. I restarted listening to review it and I’ve managed to catch up. I did enjoy it all over again, but Jeremy’s voice soon gets too much and I need a break.

Actually, I think this would be a great podcast to alternate with “The Wrong Station”. Maybe two or three episodes of that, with two or three of this. You’ll probably enjoy them both a lot more that way. Maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder.

You can get The Storage Papers here:

https://pod.link/1474505415