Indeed a scary film

Rating: 10/10 (20 October 2009)

So to gauge my review, consider the other movies that have kept me up at night: Poltergeist (that &#$! clown); The Sixth Sense (imagery and suspense); The Ring (the well...). And now Paranormal Activity. If you've got an over-active imagination coupled with at least a slight trepidation over things that go bump in the night, you'll be more than a little indecisive over whether to leave the bedroom light on after you watch this.
During the film, the screams of the younger crowd at the BUMPs or the door slams definitely broke the tension. I wasn't cringing or covering my eyes -- I was usually eyeing that empty doorway to see if anything was out there in the dark of the stairwell. I think that's what the creators were going for -- making you afraid of the darkness. Or at least genuinely concerned about it. And while in the theater I wasn't terrified, it was when the sun set that I had problems.
That night I avoided the openings of dark hallways, didn't really want to go into the garage to turn out the light, and did indeed sleep with the bedroom light on -- when I finally fell asleep from nervous exhaustion around 3 AM after going to bed at 11 AM. The movie served its purpose -- it made my ears pound with the sound of my pulse as I strained to hear the slightest noise in the house: the breathing of the sleeping dog, the breeze in the trees, the click as the door handle to my bedroom engaged.
Not everyone, of course, is bothered the same way. But certain movie imagery gets me wondering if something is indeed merely waiting for me to disbelieve in it, so it can prove to me it's real. Congratulations, Orin Peli, on completely freaking me out. Kudos to the actors who did a great job distinguishing their personalities -- taunting Micah, and not-wanting-this-to-go-on-any-longer Katie. Well done.
The last second of the film was a wee too Hollywood considering the rest of the film. But the only real flaw in a simple, very scary, movie.