Paranormal Activity

Two years ago, I stumbled upon a trailer for a (then) little known film entitled Paranormal Activity. A low budget film (made for a shoestring budget of $15,000 apparently), it was all but ignored and, like other films that seemingly came and went (Trick R Treat and The Poughkeepsie Tapes) I'd made not only a mental note to see it, but bookmarked the site to keep a vigilant eye upon its progress. I'd almost written it off because I never thought it would be released.

Thanks to either an incredible internet grass roots campaign or an incredible marketing ploy (the best since The Blair Witch Project), Paranormal Activity now sees the light of day in theaters around the nation.

The film centers around Katie and Micah, a couple who have been dating for three years and are now living together. Their happy living arrangement has (as of late) been disturbed by noises and things going bump in the night. Ever the resourceful one, Micah takes it upon himself to capture strange goings on via camera, EVP and other methods to determine whether or not there truly IS a spirit in the home.

Not ruining anything for potential filmgoers or Micah, suffice it to say that there is.

What follows in the 90+ minutes of film is a throwback to the old days of filmmaking when audiences didn't need to necessarily "see" everything but instead allow their fertile imaginations to run wild. In this respect, Paranormal Activity reminded me of one of my personal favorite horror films of all time--1963's The Haunting.

I've always enjoyed films that entice the viewer and let them in as the story unfolds rather than spell things out for them. To its credit, Paranormal Activity draws you in slowly and ratchets up the suspense and horror in small, methodical ways without the use of heavy effects and exposition. The film never explains why, but instead focuses on the how.

I don't need to know why something has been after Katie since she was a child and has now returned to plague her. I don't need a backstory with flashbacks telling me what she experienced then. I just want to see how it affects her at this point in time.

I think that's the problem with most (if not all) Hollywood films in the modern era. They're too concerned with dumbing themselves down to people rather than creating a great story. Remakes of great films like Black Christmas and Halloween pale in comparison to the originals in that they feel the need to tell us why the villains (whether it be a supernatural force or just an insane killer) do what they do. Aren't they scarier if we don't know?

Anyway, I can say that the two year wait paid off. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and highly recommend that people go to see it. No, it's not without fault (I think the Micah character was a tad too eager rather than cautious and therefore, the character's credibility was strained at times), but it did send chills up my spine even when "nothing" was happening on the screen.

You'll just have to see it to know what I mean. ;)



As for the other films I mentioned, I'm eagerly awaiting Trick R Treat which should be arriving any day from Amazon. The Poughkeepsie Tapes? I continue to await the release of that...

I give Paranormal Activity 3 1/2 stars. I'd much rather see this six times than something like Saw VI once.