One of the most suspenseful and thrilling theatrical rides you will ever take

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2009)

I never saw The Blair Witch Project (I saw it's very rarely mentioned predecessor Cannibal Holocaust, which I try to forget), but I imagine the pandemonium and terror that filled theatres back in 1999 was nowhere near what anxiety and horror has been brought ten years later by Paranormal Activity. The faux documentary about a young couple Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherson)'s attempts at documenting nightly disturbances by a demon in their new home is every bit as frightening and scary as you have heard. It has taken me days to figure out what to write about this heavily demanded film, and I remain just as much on edge now as I was after seeing the film.
For just under ninety minutes, Paranormal Activity acts as the ride you really want to take but immediately regret hopping onto. Filmed for an incredibly small amount of money, this two-year-old indie horror flick falls into the same company as District 9 in how much it accomplishes for its genre with so little. It offers an excessive amount of pulse pounding scares, and two fantastic leads that we actually care about. We only learn a small amount about either character, but the performances by these two amateur actors is more than enough to make us feel their pain and dread as they try to figure out why the demon is tormenting them night after night. This is what true horror is, and now that it is has struck gold at the box office, I can only hope horror films in pre-production take note on what this film does right.
The reason the film works is right in its set-up. The film takes place entirely in and around the couple's house, and is all shot on a camcorder that Micah purchases at the very beginning of the film. Right away, director/writer/editor Oren Peli sets up the film to jump between the couple's interactions with each other and guests during the day and their sleeping during the night. The audience acts as voyeurs for the majority of the film, watching the two sleep while the unexpected takes place with little notice. It makes for a very uneasy picture, as the pair does not always wake up to scary things happening in their bedroom. They frequently only discover the same horror we have seen the next day as they examine the footage. The times they do wake up lead to some of the most terrifying sequences in recent memory.
But the sequences are only terrifying because of how the audience reacts to them. I saw the film in a sold out theatre, and you could hear a pin drop during the night time scenes. Everyone was filled up with trepidation and breathlessly expecting the worst each time. And while the film is merely only freaky (and slightly boring) for the first half hour before kicking into high gear, the audience reacted the exact same way to each scene at night. The collective exhale as the day scenes began is something that simply must be marveled at. I do not think there has been a movie in recent memory that has impacted an audience so unified the same way Paranormal Activity does. It practically screams that it needs to be experienced with an audience in order to get the true effect of what Peli and crew envisioned when they made the film.
Another source of wonder is the special effects. While many of the effects are practical and are pulled off with ease, some of the later effects will simply horrify you into trying to figure out how they were possible on such a small budget. They are so simply and effectively done that they make Michael Bay's bloated effect-filled epics like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen pale in comparison. They are just so tastefully done and used so well that you have no choice but to try and figure out how they were pulled off with so little an amount of money. They look far too real to be fake.
While I really enjoyed the ride Paranormal Activity provides, I cannot help but be disappointed at the fact that the film will never provide the same experience more than once. It was clearly not made for repeat viewing, and it hurts the film as a whole in the end. The scares and effect of the film was not made to be seen in the same way as a Saw film or a Friday the 13th film would be. Sure, there may be some new things to discover that you did not see before, but the film is ruined ultimately by only being effective enough to scare once. I imagine a lot of people will think one viewing is enough, but for someone who watches movies more than once, it will no doubt sadden you. If I did see the film again, I imagine I would be watching simply to see the reactions of the audience, not feel as immersed into the film as I was during the first viewing.
The triumph of Paranormal Activity is in the fact that it was made for so little, but has the ability to terrify so many. It works on so many levels that its few faults are more than easily redeemed. The film is short enough to not overstay its welcome, and scary enough to make even the most hardened film-goer wince in fear. It's the most suspenseful trip to the movies I have ever taken. And if not anything else, it speaks to a young generation of future filmmakers the same way District 9 did. If you have an idea for a story, the equipment to pull it off, and a little bit of time and money to invest into it, then there is no stopping what you can create.
8/10.