Movie Review - 'Paranormal Activity'

Paranormal Activity Starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat Directed by Oren Peli Rated R

Most of the classic, genre-defining horror movies were made for next to nothing. Add up the production budgets of Psycho, Friday the 13th, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead and The Blair Witch Project, and you're looking at roughly $4 million in all. Total revenue: Close to a quarter-billion dollars in the US. Throw in the much more expensive The Exorcist, which still only cost about $12 million, and the profits balloon to nearly $400 million. Now there's Paranormal Activity, with a reported budget of $15,000. My car cost more than this movie. And once again, here's a real watershed moment for a genre often maligned for blood and gore. Truth be told, none of the movies mentioned above are significantly gory, minus a couple scenes in Nightmare and Friday the 13th, and certainly not by the current standards to which we're accustomed thanks to the rise of torture porn. And that's because the most effective horror movies are the most gripping, not the most dripping. Paranormal Activity is perfectly constructed fun, expertly designed to make you jump out of your seat. Director Oren Peli is a video game designer by trade, but his auspicious debut here is proof that he could navigate a career change pretty easily. Elementally, this is The Blair With Project in a condominium, but you forget those similarities once the story starts to take shape. Micah (Micah Sloat) has just purchased a professional grade video camera because his live-in girlfriend, Katie (Katie Featherston), has been experiencing some inexplicable phenomena. Noises in the night, brushes against her skin and hair, that kind of thing. We learn that she has dealt with these issues since she was a child, and they come and go. But now...they're coming on with a vengeance. Because this is framed as a chronological documentary, the thrill of Paranormal Activity is watching every event in the lovers' lives, anticipating the worst scares cutting through the mundanity. When the couple goes to sleep, the scenes are dimly lit but grab every ounce of your attention. You don't know what you're looking for or where you're looking for it, but you know it will be there. These exercises grow in intensity, and Peli breaks them up with a lot more humor than we'd expect, and this is where the very precise pacing really shines through. There are constant release valves, which is one of only two ways this could work. The other option is to build on your anxiety with no let-up for the better part of two hours. That's tougher on everybody. Though the entire film (technically not a film at all, but rather a video) takes place inside the couple's home, Peli realizes how boring it might become if all the suspense hit us when the lights were out and the couple was asleep. So after a while, he moves the action around, underscoring just how well-assembled this movie is. Like Blair Witch, I suspect Paranormal Activity can't hold up to multiple viewings. It has better character development, so that helps, and those characters are also more likable, which is another point in its favor. But if you just want to watch a movie to be scared, this film is the best candidate in a long, long time. And let's not lose sight of the fact that if a few thousand people pay to see it, it will make money. Wouldn't that be a great lesson for Hollywood to finally learn: We don't care how much the movie costs, and we don't really care who's in it. Just give us something that forces us to connect with it. And here's a tip: You won't find that in a brainstorming session in a board room.

Comments

[phoenix99]

It sounds fan-freakin'-tastic! No trailer? I hope to hell it's coming to the valley.

[dimajanation]

I cannot wait to see this. Colin, where did you see it? I know they're showing it in Tucson. Is that where you saw it or is it playing somewhere in Phoenix?

[Get The Big Picture]

I was in Tucson, yeah. Only 13 cities this weekend, but I'm sure it will expand.

[Midnite Movie Mamacita]

Playing in Tempe at the International Horror and Sci Fi Film Festival...tickets will sell quick!

http://horrorscifi.bside.com/2009/films/paranormalactivity_horrorscifi2009

[dimajanation]

I hope you're right man. Previous to this horror film, I saw nothing but positive hype for a movie that lived up to it titled [REC] which based on your posts/blogs I'm sure you're familiar with. That was a very well done and creepy film. Can't wait for the second one. For now...I NEED TO WATCH PARANORMAL ACTIVITY!

[dimajanation]

Mamacita...you're awesome!

[SEAN]

THANKS A BUNCH COLIN

I asked if you could right a review and taadaa, here it is...

Man I cant wait to see this, I want it to come to my vicinity!!!!

The hype and Spielberg were right! Ive heard nothing but good things....

SHOW IN THE BAY AREA DAMNIT !!!!! lol

[NICK]

this movie seriously scared the living crap out of me... i was tense from start to finish. It is still playing in Tempe at the Tempe Marketplace at midnight every day this weekend