Paranormal Activity

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is THE most popular movie of the year and will ultimately be regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time. Therefore, PA has warranted a HUGE debate on whether it sucks or not.

Under this pretense, I have divided this review into 3 sections: 1 for the things in the movie that work, 1 for the things that don't, and 1 for the summation.

******THE GOOD******************************

1. Originality - not a cheap knockoff or a member of Hollywood's non-stop horror remake/reboot wave. That is a game winner right there! Comparable to the Blair Witch Project, PA has received a lot of flack as being a rip off of BWP. Taken into consideration, the film's only real similarity to BWP is the use of home camera/1st person footage, and non-professionals inducing reactions from the supernatural world. That said, you have to answer yourself a question: Would you rather see another Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, or a completely original off-BWP type film?

2. Suspense and Tension - the film does not rely on cheap scares and loud noises deafening you to induce the desire reaction of fear. Nor does it have the smallest fraction of gore/sex/exploitation compared to most of today's horror movies. If you prefer horror movies that usually don't stick with you and follow you out of the theater, then skip it by all means. The film gives you a few inches, and leaves your imagination to finish the mile.

A suggestion on viewing the film: If you want to get the most out of Paranormal Activity, then DO NOT see it in the local theater on a Friday night. We all know what happens when you are in a theater with middle and high school kids during a horror movie. To fully immerse yourself in the movie, see it with your significant other, by yourself, or with just a couple of friends at a time when the theater is the least crowded. Try to see it at night, or at home in the dark. This film invades the sanctity of one's bedroom, and the old tactic of pulling the covers over your head doesn't work.

3. Special Effects - even on a small budget, the film provides some very impacting scenery. Some effects are blatantly obvious, and some of the best effects are actually the most subtle.

4. Acting - the movie is well acted considering it is full of unknowns. The characters are not obnoxious like most horror movie protagonists. They appear genuine and very convincing in most of the film. But in some scenes, not so much. More below.

5. Plot - there is a pleasant (oxymoron) surprise with the direction the film went regarding the source of the phenomena. It's not your typical ghost or haunted house story. I will not embellish on this as it will spoil the movie for those who haven't or are deciding to see the movie.

******THE NOT SO GOOD***********************

1. Writing - this is actually a 50/50 split. The 'supernatural' scenes are very convincing considering the subject matter, whether scripted or improvised. However, the dialog and character motivation/action during the 'down time' is unrealistic at times. This is a large complaint by those who didn't like the movie. Although the film is a large departure from teen filled slasher movies, the characters at times seem to be just as brainless as the teens getting whacked by Jason. There is a lot of "WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST....?" scenes in the movie.

2. Acting - like the writing, the acting seems to suffer in the 'down time'. Fortunately, during the important (scary) scenes, the acting is spot-on, and very convincing. However, you might be taken out of the movie when the protagonists are interacting with each other during the in-between scenes, and the authenticity of their relationship is questionable in some parts.

3. Scenery - granted that the whole movie is filmed in or on the characters' house, the static viewpoint of the camera gets a little boring. With all the phenomena going on, it would have been refreshing to see things from a different angle, especially in the bedroom. Fortunately, this doesn't hinder the movie, just a minor complaint.

******AS A HORROR FAN***********************

Follow the suggestions above regarding with who, where and how to watch the movie. Seen under the right circumstances, and with the right state of mind, the film can be very effective, and having you looking over your shoulder when you turn out all the lights in the house, and crawl into bed. For this reason, I fully endorse this movie as a new member of the horror family. Fresh and original, the movie deserves all of the attention it is getting.

Let this be a glaring message to Hollywood that originality is still the craved for in the movie industry. Horror fans have grown tired of having their favorite classics butchered and pointlessly remade. Directors and producers do not deserve revenue for just upping the violence and sexual gratification of old horror movies.

The film's success is also a great indication that as a population, movie goers respond better to thought provocative subjects than mindless in-your-face cannon fodder. It relieves me to some degree to see that tension-fear based horror movies still have the chance to take the cake. Especially on such a small budget.

Well Done, producers, directors, and actors. 8/10

Dearest readers, a film like this has not come along since The Exorcist. After listening to all the hype, and following this film until 2007 you could say I knew a lot about this little film. Nothing could prepare me for the climatic, scary ass situations that the cast and crew put on celluloid. Yes, my friends, it really is a scary movie.

I won't tell you what it's about because by this point you should already know that. What I want to tell you is how great this film really is.

Director Peli has succeeded in creating a masterpiece with little money and simple theme park haunted house gags. He does something that Hitchcock did so well in his prime-he creates a level of suspense so intense that the smallest sound makes your heart jump.

That, is great film-making, because it is made with an educated audience in mind. He doesn't cater to the general public he gives film lovers what they want and he gives it to them hard.

Don't go to this for gore. Don't go to this for Hollywood crap. Don't go to this with your kids under 15. Most importantly....don't go to this...alone.

Paranormal Activity is a creepy horror thriller with just the right amount of suspense from writer/director Oren Peli whose admirable in making this movie that doesn't rely on cheap scares and CGI effects to entertain the audience. I actually preferred this one over the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield because for the most part there weren't too many shaky camera movements. Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat are effective as the two leads giving believable performances as their characters. The suspense build up was good which doesn't quite pay off but isn't exactly a failure either. The sounds they came up with for the demon or ghost terrorizing the two leads were very effective and well paced throughout the film. It definitely helped add to the creep factor and the special effects are equally impressive for a 15,000 dollar budget. I think the demon or evil entity is seen only twice briefly as a sinister shadow proving that sometimes the things we can't really see can be far more effective than the ones we can. I enjoyed the fact that instead of relying on CGI and cheap thrills writer/director Oren Peli chose to use more practical effects like the sounds of footsteps, growls, a door closing shut, lights going on and off, and loud bangs to scare the audience. I wasn't very scared watching this but it definitely creeps you out. I suggest you go in not knowing too much about the movie otherwise any spoilers might ruin the experience for you. Overall Paranormal Activity was better than I thought it would be and it's worth watching. The ending is a little predictable but the good outweighs the bad. This film might not be up there with The Shining but its certainly no Shutter or The Grudge to name a few that weren't the greatest at least to me. So if you're in the mood for a suspenseful horror thriller than Paranormal Activity is the movie for you.

Katie and Micah move into their new home, but instead of domestic bliss, the couple share several sleepless nights, prompting them to set up cameras during the night. The nights become more and more eventful.

I didn't exactly fall in love with this film when it was first released, people were apparently collapsing with fear in the cinemas, I never bought that, I didn't find it scary, looking back, I find it original.

It always felt as though the found footage genre took off after, and because of this film, not my favourite type of film, but I can appreciate what went on behind the scenes here.

I actually think the followups did a better job with scares, they took it much further, but when it came to originality, this one is the winner.

Later films seem more scripted, and are definitely more heavily produced, this one feels a lot more raw, more naive in a way, that's where this film's charm comes from, that and the snappy running time.

7/10.

I just saw this tonight and I'm positive I won't have any trouble sleeping. I find it hard to believe that there was so many people positively terrified after seeing this movie. It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't scary. There was a certain amount of suspense, I suppose, but I kept watching in hopes that something really frightening would happen. I think the actor and actress who played Micha and Katie were excellent. The characters were well developed. At a certain point, Micha was aggravating the hell out of me. I understood his motives for certain behaviors, but still, there were times I just wanted to smack him. The ending was interesting and not really expected. I just didn't think it was scary. This movie comes off more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie. Too be honest, I can't even remember the last horror movie that really frightened me. Anyway, I don't think I'd recommend the the price of a movie ticket to see this, but it's worth a look when it comes on cable. Maybe it's worth a rental fee. Perhaps I was expecting too much after all the advertisements and (so called?) testimonials to its scariness.