Poor stuff

Rating: 2/10 (10 July 2012)

I can feel the writer/director's enthusiasm with this movie.
"We can do this. It's a found-footage style film, shot on video with only two main actors and a small handful of extras. It's got one location, needs next to no crew and we can fund it all from my credit card. WHY WAIT? LET'S SHOOT IT TOMORROW!!!"
And that's where it falls down dead.
There wasn't nearly enough time spent on the script. Sure, the Unedited Tape ploy does away with any need for intricate plot development (or character development for that matter), but the development of scares and general ideas for what this Spooky Thing does and how it behaves was painfully weak. At times, it felt like things were being made up as they went along. I could almost sense the on-set decision making that not enough had been happening, so they needed to bring in a Ouija board (resulting in a stupendously tacky bit of Boo). And onwards to a point where the movie looks like a checklist of 'we can make this happen too!'.
As a result, Paranormal Activity has no subtlety. And, due to the lack of original ideas surrounding the movie's haunted episodes, no surprises.
I'm amazed that this isn't recognised as one of cinema's all-time turkeys. At least Plan 9 had idiotic charm... Paranormal Activity is just chronically bad.