Possibly the most frightening film I have ever seen.

Rating: 9/10 (11 March 2017)

And the title of my review isn't hyperbole. I've seen a lot of the horrors that would be considered essential viewing for a fan of the genre. That is, The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Omen, The Shining, The Ring et. al. The list would be too long to go through here, but you get the idea. All very good, but none have haunted me in quite the way the original Paranormal Activity did. All of the above I have seen more than once. More than a few times, really, but no longer would I have to brace myself in order to sit through a late night viewing of the films on the list of horror films that would commonly be considered seminal. Except for Paranormal Activity.
It's easy to forget in the wake of the franchise it spawned just how good and how effective the original was. Where the sequels eventually went the route of CGI and cheap scares, the original relies on that brooding tension. That fear of the unknown. Simply put, the original PA has that ability to put across to the viewer the terror that a malevolent but unseen entity is inflicting in the home of a young couple and almost puts it into the room with us. We get to witness as they become increasingly fearful and mentally unraveled as events unfold. As things become increasingly sinister and bizarre in this home.
I saw it back in 2009. Being that it is 2017 at the time of this writing and I'm still compelled to write a review, you can tell it has stayed with me.