Not a Normal Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2009)

Do you remember curling up under the covers as a child to hide from whatever monster was surely standing at the foot of the bed? "Paranormal Activity," filmed mostly over a one-week period for a mere $15,000, perfectly recreates that feeling of terror in an adult setting.
The ingenious trailer shows members of a college-age audience at an early screening shrieking and jumping up in their seats in reaction to the events of the film. The effect of these early screenings was to generate so much positive word of mouth that "Paranormal Activity" has widely out-performed the sixth entry in the popular "Saw" franchise at the box office.
The premise is simple. Katie (Katie Featherson), a graduate student, has been stalked by some sort of malevolent spirit since childhood. Her partner (they're 'engaged to be engaged'), Micah (Micah Sloat), decides to take action after they move into a new house. The movie consists of the footage from Micah's camera, which he carries around the house during the day and uses to record him and Katie while they sleep.
"If you do try playing games with it, that's inviting it in," warns a psychic (Mark Fredrichs). He plainly asserts that Katie is being haunted by a demon, and his instructions are simple: leave it alone and the disturbances won't get any worse.
Naturally, Micah proceeds to sarcastically taunt the demon ("What is your quest? What is your favorite color?") and leave a Ouija board for it to use to communicate. He wants to solve the problem all on his own. The results are not pretty.
The tension in "Paranormal Activity" is so extreme that I was often forced to look away from the screen. The premise alone is terrifying – the demon will follow Katie no matter where she goes, so there's no safe place to hide. First-time director Oren Peli's wisely chooses to hold back a thorough explanation. He knows that what we do not understand is scarier than what we do.
The atmosphere of the film is one of absolute quiet punctuated abruptly by moments of horror. "Paranormal Activity" defines 'doing a lot with a little.' It's amazing what Peli can do with a bed, a door, and a few other household objects.
"Paranormal Activity" obviously owes quite a bit to the low-budget mockumentary "The Blair Witch Project" (1999). The unknown actors of both films improvised much of the dialogue, resulting in natural, believable performances. Katie Featherston is completely convincing in the tormented central role. Micah Sloat's character is more complicated: he does care for Katie, but he's stuck in the childish mindset that he can get rid of the demon on his own.
"Paranormal Activity" is a rare horror movie that will leave you nearly as scared a day later as you were when you left the theatre. It's not just a rehash of "The Blair Witch Project," but a well-acted, creative, and terrifying experience.