Better than Blair Witch, but not much.

Rating: 6/10 (19 April 2011)

Katie (Katie Featherston) claims that she has been plagued by a strange supernatural presence ever since she was a child; boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) is a little sceptical, but after buying a video camera to record any strange phenomena that might occur during the night, he realises that there really is something spooky following his girlfriend—and it ain't very nice!
TV adverts for low-budget horror phenomenon Paranormal Activity showed the theatre audience literally leaping out of their seats in terror; the hype almost had me, but having been duped into seeing The Blair Witch Project at the cinema by an equally effective marketing campaign, I decided to wait until this similar sounding film hit DVD. Apart from saving myself a few quid (in the end I snagged the DVD second hand for a pound!), I really couldn't imagine anywhere more apt to watch this home-based horror than in one's own house.
Unfortunately, even though I did everything I could to enhance my viewing experience, including waiting until I was alone at night, turning out the lights and leaving the door ajar, Paranormal Activity still didn't scare the bejeezuz out of me! It has a few creepy moments, helped by some weird noises and the occasional loud bang, but like so many other documentary style horrors, the novelty of the hand-held format soon wears off, and the formula rapidly becomes tiresome: the spooky activity is mild at first, but predictably escalates as the film progresses; it's just a matter of time before the ectoplasm really hits the fan; and it's almost a cert that the film will end abruptly with one last shock and the camera falling to the floor/being dropped/smashed etc. (which it does, depending on which ending you see).
Thankfully, unlike the Blair Witch Project, the characters are at least likable enough for us to care about them, which helps the tension a touch, and director Oren Peli does manage one or two good scenes amidst the more routine bumps in the night—the discovery of footprints that end under a loft hatch leads to a chilling moment as the camera explores the dark roof-space, and Katie being dragged from her bed by an unseen assailant is an unexpected jolt—but the film as a whole is far from the intense, relentless, crap-your-pants-in-fright scare-fest that the trailers, and many reviews, claimed it to be.