- Paranormal Activity
- OPENING: 10/09/2009
- STUDIO: Paramount
- RUN TIME: 99 min
- ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site
The Charge
Don’t see it alone.
Opening Statement
The film is being touted as the most terrifying cinematic experience of the year. I don’t know about that. Sure, the early moments are quite creepy; those scenes in which we may or may not actually be witnessing some sort of supernatural occurrence. After all, there’s nothing quite as frightening as the unknown.
The Case
Paranormal Activity tells the story of a twenty-something couple attempting investigate what they believe to be some sort of… well, paranormal activity taking place within their own home. The guy (Micah Sloat) buys a camera and decides he’s going to set it up in the bedroom and let it record while he and his girlfriend (Katie Featherston) sleep. That way, if anything happens during the night, they’ll be able to examine the footage the next morning. The first few nights, some slightly mysterious things happen which may or may not be normal. A door moves back and forth a few inches. Some keys fall off the kitchen counter. Something that sounds like footsteps is heard. The couple calls a psychic. The psychic suspects something’s up and tells them to call a demonologist. Wouldn’t you know it, the demonologist is out of town for a few days. Where’s John Constantine when you need him? So, it’s up to the couple to defend themselves against… whatever it is.
Considering Paranormal Activity was made for a measly $15,000, it will almost assuredly be the lowest-budget theatrical release you’ll see this year. The actors are amateurs. The cinematography is crummy-looking handheld material. There’s no musical score of any sort. Heck, there aren’t even any opening and closing credits. Many critics are comparing it to The Blair Witch Project, a film I found to be terribly overrated. However, I’m pleased to report that Paranormal Activity works, successfully using its limitations to its advantage. Much of the success or failure of the film depends on how much we’re able to buy the "naturally captured footage" premise, and writer/director Oren Peli does a rather remarkable job of ensuring there are no shots which seem unconvincing or contrived. In Featherston and Sloat, he has found two actors capable of giving credible, naturalistic performances that never take us out of the moment.
However, once we get around to the fact that something is unquestionably going bump in the night, the movie loses its edge. The more explicit the paranormal activity, the less nerve-wracking the film becomes. Even so, it remains suspenseful and intriguing until the very end. It’s a tribute to Peli and his actors that there is not a single genuinely boring moment within its 96-minute runtime. Paranormal Activity might not be a white-knuckle supernatural thriller on the level of The Exorcist, but it’s better than Blair Witch. Plus, it’s better than that crummy Couple’s Retreat movie in theatres right now, a solid demonstration that talent matters far more than money when it comes to making movies. Oh, and if you see it, bring a date with you. Those long, eerie shots of the couple lying in bed while some unknown entity wanders through the house are the sort of moments that tend to cause outbreaks of intense clinging.
The Verdict
8/10
22 comments ↓
It was good don’t get me wrong very scary I’m still seeing images from the movie but truthfully what made it scary was the fact you thought it was a real event and in the end that weird face thing and the paragraph kinda ruined it! If I were you save your money for a really good movie that had a good amount of money spent on your enjoyment. Movies are expensive these days make sure you see the best ones!
Dont listen to Elizabeth Sneed..It is a MUST SEE if you like Horror Movies. Im not one to scare easy, this one did just that and more.
Worth EVERY penny I spent.
this movie freaked me out, i couldnt sleep at all the night i watched it. It also had my friend scared out of his mind. But the end did seem a little fake and realistic. But over all i liked it.
omgg thiss moviee isnt reall that scary
likee really i laufedd moree thenn jumpedd
i only jumped maybe like 2 and im someone
who gets scared really fast…save yur money
I just saw it a few hours ago. I’m not usually freaked out by movies, but I found that the whole “unseen monster” thing was very creepy. I jumped alot, and I thought the fact that there was no musical score made it even more nerve wracking. Overall, I think it was better than some of the other “horror” movies I’ve seen recently. I recommend it to anyone who just wants to have a good time. :]
One of the very first fears that children may develop concerns the fact that their bedroom is dark at night….they worry about “something” “getting them,” while they are asleep & vulnerable. This movie plays upon that primal fear big time! What is amazing in the movie is that the horror which is so very skillfully “implied “can be so frightening!
there are several versions of the movie out there. the original is were katie is rocking back and fourth and later is shot by police. this movie is cool and is one of the best ive seen in a while…also this movie is dedicated to the memory of micah and katie
me and my friends are planning on ging to see this paranormal activity and we just watched the trailer and it looks so scary!!, and i scare easilyy too. i mean i watched the ring, and i got soo scared it was unreall !! i am a big fan of scary films, but i gettoo scared too easily.!! is this film worth going to see ??
It wasnt as scary as I expected it to be but it was still a very good movie, I found it very fascinating.. Ive watched it 3 times already!!
4get it, I love horror films but after reading the reviews I don’t think my mind set is ready for this madness! lol And i’ve seen some scary flicks i.e Exorcist etc forget it mate!
This movie sucks and is not scary halloween is way scarier than this this movie is very dumb especially being it is taped like that that got on my nerves so bad i hated the movie it was the same thing over and over i wish i wouldnt have paid my money to see that dumb movie!
This movie stinks! Its so dumb!
Dont waste your money on this! It sucks!
YAWN – the movie was boring. Nothing much happened really. The ending was bad. The spider was the only thing, I was scared of lol. I wouldn’t waste my money watching that again. Stupid boyfriend and stupid film
Nope, shit movie
I actually thought it was funny, when the girl got dragged of the bed and hit her face on the ground hahaha
this movie is a total waste!! It is as bad as Blair witch project. Somebody is getting rich for piss poor movies!! Anybody who rented or bought this movie just got screwed. Who thinks we are stupid. I cant believe I just wasted my time and money on such a piece of shit!! Come on now , quit fucking people out of their money. I love horror movies . But this is rediculious!! Yea you got my money. Hope u r proud of it. I hope whoever put this out gets what is coming to them. Thanks for fucking hard working people out of a few bucks so u could get rich. God will get stupid people like you!! You kind of people would sell your mother into who knows what to make an almighty dollar. Shame on you!!!!
Rented the movie yesterday. It wasn’t that good. Some of it was okay, but I wouldn’t watch it again. I slept fine the same night. Only a few parts of the movie was kind of creepy but that’s it.
I have JUST finished watching this movie! It is the most freakyiest thing iv EVER seen and iv watched ALL the exorcist . I am 14 and I can not sleep after watching this movie. I think it is most scary because it is possible to happen. Not saying it is going to happen i’m just saying that it is possible. I give this movie a 10/10 because every time night came I would tell my brother to turn it off. For me the most scary part is when the banging happend. And when she got dragged out of bed, and the next night (END) where she got out of bed and Mika went to go get her because she was screaming then I was like Crap
Please Respond.
This movie was well not scary at all to me any ways. But everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Like the review above said it wasn’t much different than the Blair Witch Project. I mean it was a little better than it but still not scary at all, and while they did make it seem like it wasn’t just a movie you could still it was. I mean come on the psychic was about the worst acting I think I’ve ever saw.
Paranormal Activity is hugely overrated. It’s so boring with a total of maybe 15 minutes of mildly “creepy” footage. This movie can’t even live up to it’s own hype, built up with tag lines like – “One of the scariest movies ever made”, please – I’ve seen scarier things in the toilet. And for the countless people I’ve seen commenting on other sites, saying things like – “what if it were real” or “what if it happened to you” or “what makes it scary is that it’s possible” – Yes if it happened to me it would be scary, that doesn’t mean it makes for good entertainment in a movie. My verdict – the single most boring horror movie I’ve ever had the displeasure of wasting my time on.
ii thought that this movie was veryyyy good. im still not sure whether thee couple actually taped it or not. also ii think that the film creators edited some parts. i think it would of been wayy better if we got to see wat happened after she was dragged out and when they were sitting on the floor. instead it just goes blank….ii thought it was a really good horror film. ii couldnt sleep the nite ii watched it. and i screamed when she threw him into the camera. that was crazy.!!!!
this was one creappy movie and i never get scared
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