Over-hyped and underwhelming

Rating: 4/10 (16 October 2009)

Just like the Blair Witch Project, this film has been turned into a "phenomenon" by savvy marketing folks who know a goose that lays golden eggs when they see one. I am sure that half-drunk college students in a dark, crowded theatre may possibly be freaked out by some of what happens in Paranormal Activity. Hell, after someone's had a few pints and maybe a joint or two, getting in his/her face yelling "boo!" would achieve the desired effect.
However, any sober person trying to convince me that there is anything remotely frightening, clever, or original about this movie is most definitely one of said savvy marketing folks. If you can suspend your disbelief about when and under what circumstances a halfway intelligent person would walk around his house lugging a somewhat bulky camcorder, refusing to relinquish it and put it down no matter how dire the situation and how badly his significant other needs help, then you might be able to sit through this cavalcade of boredom. Otherwise, you'll constantly be thinking to yourself how anyone could be this dumb and unaware.
Successful fright fests tap deep into one's psyche. The problem with Paranormal Activity is that while it's attempting to do just that, it is simply not well executed. The conceit of the "home footage" doesn't work because the protagonists do things that ordinary people just wouldn't do. If the idea is that this is found footage of a couple who were taping some weird events at their house, then you need to write a screenplay in which the couple behaves in a believable manner, one that audience members can identify with. I shudder at the thought of thinking that audience members would identify with the couple in the film.
The wholly unrealistic reactions of the actors in what is supposed to be a hyper-realistic setting immediately neutralises the documentary feel, which is central to the film, and yanks the audience (well, at least this writer) out of the movie. After witnessing the implausible behaviour of the leads in the face of what they were experiencing, boredom began to set in. I was no longer watching "found footage", I was watching a contrived and amateurish movie.
I can understand how the movie has become popular at colleges, considering the state of mind required of one to remotely enjoy this movie. But there are many other such communal experiences that don't work outside the very specific milieu in which they find success. Consequently, as a film that stands on its own, Paranormal Activity is inconsequential and flaccid. It doesn't frighten and only occasionally holds one's interest.
I was disappointed because I wanted to have a good time, and I believed the hype. At least it was a matinÃ©e.