"Paranormal Activity" is so enjoyably spooky that I am all the more disappointed that I passed on the chance to see it in a theater.

Rating: 7/10 (3 December 2011)

The peculiar pleasure of being scared is one of the most inexplicable and perversely fascinating things about the human psyche. Over the centuries, we have shelled out money to subject ourselves to a good scare, and when the auctioneers of the show hold up their end of the bargain, we come out of the auditorium chilled, quivering, and yet, more importantly, giddy all at the same time. Being scared at the movies is like subjecting oneself to an intense nightmare; the only difference is that this time we get to choose when and where we are pounded raw by the blood-chilling pseudo-paranormal. Perhaps that is the pleasure of a good scary picture. And in recent years, fewer have come close in influence, promise, and delivery than Oren Peli's "Paranormal Activity." It is precisely the sort of scare picture that I enjoy: spooky, clever, and yet not overdone to the point where it becomes depressing and the shock value diminishes.
It is also evidence that sometimes a limited budget forces the creative monster out of all of us. For it is because it was filmed on a shoestring budget, and that it was literally filmed inside director Peli's own house, and that it was acted by talents who might as well have been playing themselves, it seems all that much closer to life - or perhaps the appropriate term is 'plausibility.' And therefore, it's all the more pleasurably creepy.
A bigger, fiscally-minded production probably would have turned this story of a haunted girl (Katie Featherston) and her scrupulous boyfriend (Micah Sloat) into a modern-day "Poltergeist" with tremendous influence placed on what a special effects studio can do. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, as the marvelous 1980 classic that I just mentioned did it and did it well, but "Paranormal Activity" accomplishes something just as good with even less. It's one of those 'mockumentary' pictures, with the whole thing being pre-recorded footage supposedly picked up by a third party. As it starts out, Mr. Sloat, concerned over his girlfriend's confessions of being haunted, buys a camera to record them as they sleep, to prove to her that the only thing paranormal in the house is what she is imagining. Then, spooky stuff starts happening. They hear sounds from downstairs, the lights in the hallway come on and off without explanation, and the door, conveniently left open every single night, begins to move on its own.
"Paranormal Activity" has some great shock moments in it, but what it really builds its strength on its suspense. And again, this is where its limited budget comes into rewarding effect. Low-key (but not overly gloomy) lighting increases visual tension, similarly-shot scenes, and similar methods to help the audience watch for signs of danger. In the movie, the two haunted characters show little in the way of intelligence, for even as they start to believe that there is a specter among them, they always leave the door to their bedroom wide open. Is it because they're not the sharpest tools in the shed? Perhaps that's the plot's excuse, but it's really the ingenuity of the filmmakers. They know we want to see signs of a "boo!" moment upcoming. Therefore they keep the door open so that we may see the lights in the hallway turning on, and better still, a nondescript shadow passing against the lit side of the door. And for once, the hand-held camera gimmick comes to terrific effect, as it seems all-too-real.
In spite of its uncanny ability to set teeth on edge, "Paranormal Activity" does not overplay its shock-and-suspense factor to the point of overkill. Rather, it plays its scare elements to just the right level and gives us proper stretches of relief in-between. What results is a set of chills and thrills that are giddily exciting, not depressing, not to be turned away from. "Paranormal Activity" is so enjoyably spooky that I am all the more disappointed that I passed on the chance to see it in a theater.