MOVIE REVIEW - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY – REVIEW

9.5 out of 10

Ten years ago, a low budget, independent, horror movie stormed theatres and scared the living daylights out of audiences everywhere, making a huge pile of cash and becoming a cultural phenomenon in the process.  You may remember this little movie; The Blair Witch Project.  A decade later, a new, low budget, independent, horror movie is following in Witch’s footsteps.  Paranormal Activity, made for less than $15,000, is the perfect example of low budget filmmaking at its best.  Packed with scares, chills, thrills and plenty of laughs, this little film about a suburban couple being haunted by malevolent spirits is well on its way to becoming a cultural phenomenon in its own right.

Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston), a young couple who have recently moved in together (Micah says they are engaged to be engaged) have been hearing strange noises at night.  Micah decides to set up a video camera to capture any strange occurrences that may be happening while they are sleeping.  Of course the strange happenings become worse and worse as the movie progresses and in turn, so does the suspense quotient of the film.

Much like Blair Witch, the film is shot mockumentary style, consisting entirely of these home videos and it is truly a brilliant exercise in minimalistic filmmaking.  Watching a door slowly close and then open by itself while the couple is sleeping is more terrifying than all of the Friday the 13th films combined.  This film provides more thrills and chills from simple little effects than any big budget horror movie.  The sound of ominous footsteps, lights mysteriously flickering on and off, a random banging noise and more will keep your eyes glued to the screen and will scare the crap out of you.  I definitely would’ve pulled some hair out of my head while viewing if not for the fact that I am already bald

The film, written (although most of the dialogue is improvised) and directed by first time filmmaker, Oren Peli is truly a major accomplishment.  Much like any home video, Peli has made a film that at times is wobbly and out of focus which makes the film seem very authentic and therefore all the more terrifying.  It is quite a risk to film a movie in this style; one that would’ve failed miserably if not for the refreshing performance of both lead actors.  Featherston has a sweet charisma about her, at times playful and cute and at times coy and sexy.  She reminds me more than a little bit of Jenna Fischer (Pam on The Office).  They may as well be twins.  As she becomes more terrified and freaked out by the haunting spirit, Featherston draws the audience in more and more and in turn, ups our fright.  She also shares great chemistry with co-star Sloat, her ridiculously brave (and stupid) boyfriend.  Sloat has great comedic timing and pretty much steals every scene he is in with his hilarious one liners.

One of my main grievances with any haunted house type of movie is that faced with insurmountable evidence of paranormal activity (neat how I used the title like that), the characters always stay put, instead of running for the hills.  Peli brilliantly dispels that notion early on in his film when a psychic (Mark Fredrichs) comes to help out the young couple and basically tells them that the spirit/entity is attached to Katie and moving will not do any good.

The only negative to the film is that after seeing it once and knowing how it ends, it doesn’t really merit repeat viewings at home on DVD or cable.  In fact this is a movie that begs to be seen in a theatre.  The audience reaction to what is happening on screen enhances the enjoyment to an infinite degree and makes the viewing of Paranormal Activity a fun, suspenseful ride.  I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the movie half as much, watching it on my couch in my pajamas.  Although if I could wear my pajamas to the movies that would be just about perfect. 

To sum it up, Paranormal Activity is an inventive little film that is suspenseful, creepy, scary and quite funny.  More than a just a movie, Activity is really an experience, best shared in a darkened theatre with 200 strangers.