The only scary thing to be taken from this laughably bad horror film is that it could be the future of Hollywood cinema.

Rating: 3/10 (9 December 2009)

In 2006, a couple named Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston) are living in a house together that they suspect might be haunted. In order to prove the paranormal existence, Micah insists on filming the house regularly with a hand-held camera, hoping to profit from whatever they might find. Katie soon reveals to both Micah and a psychic that she visioned a ghost when she was much younger in her old home, suggesting that the spirit has followed her into this new house. As the activity of the haunting becomes more obvious with each day, Katie's behaviour also becomes stranger, taking a toll on her relationship with Micah.
Paranormal Activity is the first film by director Oren Peli and it is based on his very experience of having his own home haunted. Shot entirely on a hand-held camera, this film was made on a minuscule budget of just fifteen thousand dollars and was heavily promoted on social networking groups, such as Facebook, before being distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film has been labeled by some websites as one of 'the scariest movies of all time' and a trailer was developed supposedly showing the audiences fearful reactions in the USA. Despite these endorsements, Peli's film should more aptly be called one of the most overblown films of the year and quite possibly one of the dullest horror films in recent memory. Although it is not as nauseating as some other films, the persistence to shoot the film entirely on a hand-held camera, similar to The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, is firstly contrived. Micah insists on filming even in the broad daylight of the morning, while Katie herself sometimes takes over as Micah is just looking at research on his computer, such as a sound wave he recorded. To force the camera into each scene consistently, weakens the immersive qualities of what is already a flawed sub-genre. It is beyond difficult for a film to immerse its audience so strongly into the belief that they are watching a series of home movies and to make them forget that they are in a cinema.
Aesthetics aside, the film is also marred by the same flaws of so many horror films, mostly notably its lack of attention to the depth of characterisation and character development. No matter how attractive younger audience members may find them, both Micah and Katie are increasingly unlikeable throughout the film. Micah is particularly annoying, coming off as an immature brute, most notably when he films his girlfriend asking her for a striptease or waving his middle finger to the camera. There is nothing particularly interesting about either of these two boneheads as they are devoid of largely any back-story. They are also not aided by a script where the dialogue extends little beyond the 'oh my god' and 'what was that?' variant. Their constant whining and sniveling grows extremely tiresome after a while and it is hard to care about what happens to them. The only character development – if any – can be derived from Katie as she grows tired of the camera in her face and starts to decline as she is taken over by this force. It could hardly be called in-depth or original and still fails initiate our sympathy for her.
What will disappoint many pure horror fans though is just how derivative a lot of the film actually is. Not only is the film visually very dull because of the limited lighting, but the nature of the story, in being contained to just a few levels of the house, limits the number of ways that the narrative can really develop. Director Peril, who also wrote the screenplay, relies on all the clichés of yesteryear, with creaking doors closing by themselves, chandeliers shaking and unseen footsteps tapping on the floorboards. The unsubtly of this, and the fact that we have seen it so many times before, makes these moments largely ineffective. Audiences are more likely to derive more fearsome sounds from the fall of armrests in the cinema or the footsteps of people walking out through boredom while they are left to watch this mess. The repetition of filming Micah's bedroom at night, with the camera setup by itself on a tripod, is particularly tiresome too, as apart from an admittedly brief jolt at the very end of the film, barely anything eventuates. A noise is heard and then a character wakes up to ask 'what was that?' It is difficult to take many of the films supposedly dramatic moments seriously, such as footprints appearing or an Ouija board setting itself on fire, because of their sheer ludicrousness. In one scene a doctor who was invited to investigate the house walks in and then immediately says that he has to leave because the presence of evil is too strong. Maybe he just felt the great danger his career was in with this abomination and got out while he could: lucky him. It is the lack of drama, climaxes and scares in so many of the films scenes that will baffle some and just frustrate others.
The only scary thing to be taken from this laughably bad horror film is that it could be the future of Hollywood cinema. The minimal budget and maximum profit from soaring ahead of established franchises like Saw, has meant that a sequel has already been confirmed for release next year. It will be interesting to see how audiences respond to a sequel following such a thoroughly dull and unimaginative affair. Suspend your disbelief once more and hope the only way from here is up. Paranormal Activity is a real disappointment.