Blair Witch/Cannibal Holocaust sequel?

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2009)

2009 is ending as one of the poorest film years in recent memory. It is nearly December and there are no clear favorites to win awards both here and abroad. What I will recall when I revisit 2009 will be how it commercialized viral advertising. Paranormal Activity and Precious began as no-budget or low budget films that captured millions of dollars for the companies lucky enough to purchase their distribution rights. The former film is finally the sequel to The Blair Witch Project all of us have subtly hoped would exist. The two films are so uncannily similar that such a comparison is unlikely to be considered bold. How does one produce a follow-up to a film budgeted only $25,000? By, creating one for $15,000 less ten years later.
Director Oren Peli, former video game designer, draws from earlier survival-horror video games and impressionist films for the scares in Paranormal Activity. I will admit having jumped a few times during my screening. When I wasn't jumping, however, I remained at edge. There are no ghosts, axe-wielders, or other obscenities. I was constantly trying to determine what phenomena were happening. Through minimal effort, even the simple closing of a door, Peli constructs a situation that is uncompromisingly frightening. Even the actors never learn what is happening. The film is better than most contemporary horror films because it evokes a mystery to sustain our unease even when no action is on screen. I'm just sad that I'm spoiled by gratuitous horror pictures to not be fully immersed by the experience of Paranormal Activity.
The scenario follows a couple as they pestered by something in their San Diego home. Not a lamia, not a shape, just something. It does have footprints, which appear human-like. The man in the couple places a hand-held camera on a stand at night and attempts to film "it." Unremarkable nights are the norm, but occasionally something does happen. The woman, said to be the cause of it, moves about, stands silently, or goes outside while the man sleeps. Perhaps Peli had ideas about how to appeal to traditional horror elements but, thankfully, nothing more occurs. Strange noises abound without cause and objects are relocated. Still no motivation is given to the antagonist.
I didn't see this film until after the first weeks of its release, but the backlash it has received is mind-boggling. The same nastiness was also directed to its predecessor and would have probably afflicted its grandparents. We as movie goers and critics should be humbled to watch a film that evokes an approach to terror film making (as Karloff put it) that is widely vanished from Hollywood productions. It is better to watch and wait than to shower with blood. Both elements can be used effectively together, yet few films manage to do it. Why do people still enjoy Freaks, Bride of Frankenstein, or Nosferatu? Those beloved films were limited from excess too, but are still widely viewed. Even if people are not frightened as much as they would like, they can still appreciate authenticity. Paranormal Activity is the best horror film that has emerged from the United States this year.