Paranormal Entity

This film is in the same vein as Paranormal Activity and is just as good. Unlike another reviewer here I had no confusion about this being a "real" situation. The film is not as stark as PA.... and more goes on. But it maintains that edge of tension and there are moments when your skin will pop with goosebumps and your heart will jump. There is no gore, just good old fashioned mood and ambiance. Some of the acting is a bit stiff and the female characters are less than sympathetic...but the movie moves along and you don't have time to be worried about emotional involvement with them anyhow. This movie is about the events more so than the people. Its a good watch... catch it if the opportunity arises... its not a hyped up movie so just watch it and let it play out... you won't be sorry.

Paranormal Entity (2009)

** (out of 4)

The Asylum's "mockbuster" of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY has a brother (Shane Van Dyke) filming his sister (Erin Marie Hogan) and mother (Fia Perera) when strange things start to occur. You know, you have to love the cheapness of The Asylum. For very little cash, very little time and very little talent they manage to make all sorts of dough with this generic little films. This one here is actually much better than the rest of their "found footage" films but at the same time it's very weak when compared to the other movie and its biggest sin is the fact that it's not scary at all. It's pretty funny to watch this movie and see how closely it comes to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. There are several scenes that are nearly the same with the only difference being that here it's not scary. I personally loved the other film but as a film buff I'm curious to see the rip-offs. For the most part I thought it was technically a good movie. The cinematography was nice for this type of movie and I thought there were a few good ideas sprinkled across the picture. I won't spoil exactly what's doing the hauntings but this was a nice item that is sadly wasted in a not-so-good movie. I also thought Erin Marie Hogan was good as the sister and her nude scene towards the end did at least wake me up. The highlight of the film? The speech given by mommy when the son asks her and the sister to go to a motel while he stays at the house with the ghost. Priceless.

OK, the first thing that must be said about this movie is that yes, it is essentially the same exact premise as "Paranormal Activity." Therefore, it loses serious points in the originality category right from the start. It is unsettling to me that a filmmaker would make such a blatant copy of another film rather than trying to make something truly original but nevertheless, here we are with "Paranormal Entity." All that being said, I was surprised to find that this movie is actually good. Despite being upsettingly similar to "Paranormal Activity", it does set itself apart in certain subtle ways that make an interesting difference in the overall mood of the movie. The "real footage" gimmick is starting to get a little worn out, but it's used very effectively here.

While I think good film reviews in general should not compare films directly to another one, in this case I think it's safe to say that that's a little unavoidable, so I will say that next to "Paranormal Activity" this film almost comes out superior, originality issues aside. While I found the first version of this story to be a solid, suspenseful build-up to a satisfying pay-off, I felt that the "rip-off" was in fact more suspenseful throughout. While there were few actual scares, several of the scenes were incredibly tense. It did a very good job of putting me on the edge of my seat and getting my heart rate up from anticipation. I normally don't expect to be able to say this about such an unoriginal film, but I genuinely felt nervous about what was going to appear on the screen next during 2 or 3 of the scenes, which I have to admit is horror the way it should be.

Unfortunately it didn't quite pay off as well as "Paranormal Activity." The ending seemed rushed and while it was a bit unsettling, it didn't leave me feeling as tense as some of the scenes earlier on, and most certainly didn't leave me feeling terrified. The acting in the film is nothing Oscar-worthy but I found it to be adequate and mostly believable. There are a few continuity goofs that some may notice. I personally didn't find them to be terribly distracting, though they do suggest a bit of laziness by the filmmakers.

While some may feel that the obvious lack of originality should make this film completely dismissable, I feel that some of the content of this movie is indeed impressive and is worth checking out. Therefore, on a scale of good film-making i'm going to give this a fairly lenient 6/10. However, on the overall enjoyment scale I would give it an 8/10, and had this film been completely original and perhaps had a more exciting ending I would have given it a solid 8.5 or 9 out of 10 overall.

So in closing, it loses significant respect for obvious reasons but gains a little back in certain ways and is worth watching.

The first time I tried to watch this movie I turned it off within the first 5 min of it. I decided to watch it again and through the whole thing this time. This movie not only was uninteresting it was stupid. It was so horrible it was laughable! This is not only like PA it is just as funny. Though it being so horrible I don't think it doesn't even deserve a rating. Other than me typing this only one thought crosses through my mind when watching this is YAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even think of enough lines to actually be able to post this review. If you wish to watch this movie my say on this is DON'T! I'd rather hit my head on the wall then watch this movie. Also if this gets posted I am surprised since I'm sure it's so negative that it won't.

I decided to review this film as if it was not a knock off of Paranormal Activity. The title and the execution invites comparison, but what are the film's own merits?

The set up in Paranormal Entity is quite interesting: Having lost her husband, a woman seeks contact with him through automatic writing. Something from the beyond reaches out to her, but it becomes increasingly clear that is it not her dead husband. And soon the entity starts showing an unhealthy interest in her nubile, young daughter. What is it and how can they stop it?

In the hands of a skilled film-maker, this plot could have had the makings of a blockbuster. Instead the device used is "found footage", which is very much hit or miss. If it's done well and is believable there is very little chance of screwing it up. If it's done badly, it is vaguely embarrassing to watch, like failed attempts at viral videos. Paranormal Entity is not too bad, although, occasionally over-acted.

The pacing is more of a problem. It starts out fairly decently, with the creepiness being turned up slowly. But about halfway through, the creepiness is dialled up to 10 and left there for the remainder of the film, completely desensitising the viewer. By the end of the film, I found that I just didn't care any more.

Another problem is the inactivity of the family. Beyond calling and calling a parapsychologist that inconveniently has gone on holiday, they don't actually do anything to solve the problem, which means that it's difficult to root for them.

This film should have been thrilling, but it isn't. The concept is good, but the execution just doesn't live up to it.