Paranormal Activity is a relatively original, raw, frighteningly realistic portrayal of a cinematic haunting.

Rating: 6/10 (5 December 2009)

Paranormal Activity follows a young couple, as they become tormented by an evil spirit. The instant allure of this film is, of course, the 'super original' pseudo-documentary format otherwise famed in 'The Blair With Project' (1999) and 'Cloverfield' (2008). While I can agree that this approach to horror is a nice break from the usual gore-fests we're terrorised by in modern horror, 'Paranormal Activity' still feels ragged and radically uninspired. 'Cloverfield' offered a stagnantly boring yet realistic point of view in the event of a monster attacking New York (which we know is a tired scenario). 'Paranormal Activity' is doing the same, getting a concept as old as death itself and filming it with a crappy camera. That's OK with me; I admire the film's moments of frightening intensity and tense entrapment yet for most of the 86 minute running time, I was left bored by the predictable story and shallow script.
The desperate state of modern horror doesn't translate financially; 'Paranormal Activity' cost a measly $15,000 to produce while it enjoys profits exceeding $100,000,000 since release. This astonishing financial success is backed up by an ample plethora of positive critical acclaim, yet that doesn't leave me convinced. Nor could I ever imagine that this would really be a horror of true quality measuring up to the classics. So in that respect, the film met my expectation.
The quality of the film was largely two-fold. On one end, there's the psychological ferociousness and suspense of the night scenes yet on the other end, we got a bold disparity of archetypal characters and lame script-writing. The man of the couple, Micah (Micah Sloat), is more of a terrifying microcosm of Christian Bale, Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise than a striking male protagonist. His goofy, alpha-male persona was an annoying distraction – even more so than his wife, Katie (Katie Featherston), who's plainer than Leona Lewis in a coma. The script was disappointing, unoriginal drivel, increasing the film's pivotal reliance on the somewhat dynamic format most obviously displayed in the night scenes. These moments had a great atmospheric nature; creating unbearable tension, entrapping the audience in a state of suspended inescapability. These snippets impressed me, showcasing a multitude of psychological horror that the genre has been starved of in recent years. As you can probably notice from my contrasting words, the quality of 'Paranormal Activity' is about as temperamental as a bipolar woman on her period.
While the pseudo-documentary format pioneers the moments of heightened terror, it simultaneously shoves the film down the road of mediocrity. Such a style demands short running times, which left the film feeling bare and undeveloped whilst the solitary camera use felt restricting at times, almost leaving too much emphasis on what we don't see rather than what we do. Of course, this restriction creates the suspense, but I felt there were missed opportunities for more climactic shocks that doesn't really come until the very end. I was left wanting more at the conclusion of the film, the immense night scenes wetted my appetite but I wasn't given the opportunity to take a bite. The film teases you with an intriguing point of view and dangles various semi-scares for the audience yet it doesn't deliver beyond that. That is where this horror slumps.
The independent, perhaps revolutionary transcendence of 'Paranormal Activity' is something to embrace – horror being a dying genre, I respect attempts to refresh it. But, this attempt is futile and lagging. Its junctures of great quality only frustrated me as it shot itself in the foot with lame casting and script-writing. I can't help but wonder how the $15,000 budget was spent...
6/10