A unique horror film experience

Rating: 6/10 (1 January 2010)

This movie was unique to me... but maybe it's just because the types of horror films I usually watch are ones involving monsters or similar, are very predictable, and have lots of special effects / a large budget. Others say this movie is low-budget and I have to agree it looks like anyone with a camera could have done it by themselves, but I felt it was done quite well under these conditions. It took very simple things like the sounds of footsteps, the slight movement of a piece of cloth, as well as the absence of sound and played on these points very nicely. It's because of this simplicity that I was quite shaken up at points.
Throughout the movie, you are left anxiously wondering what will happen next, and this anxiety only gets stronger and stronger as the movie goes on. However, I should note that part of the reason for this is that there are many times where things happen without any explanation / you don't get to see it happening (mostly in situations where the camera is in one room and all you hear are noises coming from elsewhere not seen by the camera), and these little 'gaps' meant for the audience to fill-in aren't small, they're quite large sometimes and leave many questions in my mind, but I won't spoil things by listing them here.
This movie was scary because: 1) Its not about a haunted house/place - it's usually comforting watching a movie about some haunted place and knowing it's nowhere near your own home. But this movie is based on a person and some 'thing' that follows the person around everywhere. 2) It involves events that could very well occur anywhere - again, the haunting effects were really simple things that are part of anyone's home. 3) The disturbances get worse and worse - many other horror films have the same level of 'haunting' throughout the whole movie so you end up getting numb to it over time. 4) Never do you actually get to see a monster/ghost - whatever it is, it is invisible and can go anywhere anytime. In many other films, I find things are quite scary... and then I actually see the monster and all of a sudden I'm not scared anymore. The monster might look unrealistic, or I might see its physical limitations (where it can't go, or what it can't do). This movie didn't give me this chance.
If you've ever watched the Blair Witch Project and enjoyed it, then this movie should satisfy you as it's very similar. In the end i'd like to give it a 6.5/10. Even though it did shake me up, it also left me with too many questions about "what-if" and "why" scenarios throughout the movie; most of which if answered in the movie would probably make it not as scary anymore.