Paranormal Activity: An Instant Classic

Rating: 7/10 (31 October 2009)

What do classic horror films such as Night of the Living Dead, Psycho, Halloween, and others have in common? These films create an atmosphere of suspense, they illicit strong emotions, they tell a captivating story, and they accurately display characteristics of human nature that allow viewers to develop a connection. How many times have you watched a film and felt nothing when you see random teens being hacked to pieces by some anonymous maniac? Paranormal Activity carries on the traditions of horror classics like no film in recent memory, including the dreaded "Blair Witch Project." Let's be honest, once people discovered that it was not real footage, it lost all of it's ability to frighten.
Director Oren Peli takes a minimalist approach to the film. The simplification of the environment, characters, and camera angles allows the audience to focus on the events taking place. This can be a risk, as the acting and storytelling must be strong to maintain active engagement. The two young actors deliver strong, convincing performances. Also worthy of note is that the absence of activity and development of realistic surroundings make the escalation of the haunting delver such a significant impact.
The subjects of the film are Katie and Micah, a young couple in their 20's. We quickly discover that the two have been hearing some strange noises and have decided to document the occurrences in hopes of discovering / solving this incongruity. These characters are no doubt reflective of the target demographic of the film. Katie is a student pursuing a degree to become a teacher. Micah is a businessman (day trader) who has casual interests in sex, guitar, and electronics. Sound familiar?
One of the most fascinating elements of this film are the intricate parallels between the relationship and the haunting. At the onset of the film, Katie and Micah appear quite happy and undoubtedly comfortable with one another. Slowly, there relationship begins to diverge and unravel in direct correlation with the "occurrences". This separation begins with a very mild split in interests: Micah wants to film the two in some "extracurricular activity" but Katie will not agree to this. A small, but noticeable disagreement Then, after the first evidence is captured, Katie invites an "expert" in the field of paranormal activity to the home against Micah's wishes. This character plays a small, but significant role in the film as he directly states that haunting are fueled by "negative energy." Even with this undeviating warning, we see a continual departure from equivalence between Katie and Micah. Micah's pride drives him to an uncompromising state of masculine defense. Micah's inability to "fix the problem" leads Katie to lose faith and place blame and misguided frustrations on Micah.
The culmination of the tribulations within the relationship occurs when Micah directly defies Katie's adamant request not to attempt any agitation of or communication with the presence. Micah "borrows" a Ouija board and further antagonizes the entity, leading to our first significant illustration of the growing power of this force. Katie is more enraged than ever with Micah; they leave the house in a climactic argumentative state. Immediately following Katie's outburst and the couples' departure, the Ouija board bursts into flames. This is paramount, as it symbolizes how tumultuous the emotions can be between two individuals. In other words, the success of one's relationship with his/her significant other is reflected in their surroundings. People in successful, rewarding relationships will often view the world with a more positive outlook. The more disparity, heartache, and despondence in a relationship, the more negative the surroundings. Shattered relationships lead to addictions, depression, and in some cases, suicide. Is it such a stretch that Katie and Micah's tempestuous relationship could bring about this dreadful haunting?
Watch this film alone or with that significant otherat homewith the volume up and the lights down. Watch for moving shadowslisten for creeping footstepsbelieve in Paranormal Activity.