Scares Aren't Everything...

Rating: 8/10 (15 October 2009)

"Paranormal Activity" starts off with the two protagonists, Katie and Micah, living a happy life together in a nice home in a pleasant suburban neighborhood. Getting a good night's sleep soon becomes difficult as Katie explains to Micah that something has been haunting her. Shortly after, Micah buys a rather expensive video camera to see if he can catch some sort of video evidence of Katie's haunting. For the first few nights, Micah captures some startling noises and shadows occurring in and around their room. Throughout the day, Micah discusses the events that occurred that night with Katie. As more nights pass, the previously happy couple learn that they are not only being haunted, they are being very closely watched by something more sinister than they ever imagined.
Although saying "Paranormal Activity" is the scariest movie of all time may be a bit of an exaggeration, it is certainly a very good movie. True to old Hitchcock movies such as "Psycho", "Paranormal Activity" relies more on tension and suspense than actual scares. Saying that "Paranormal Activity" is the most suspenseful movie of all time may be more appropriate.
Just when you think something scary is going to happen, absolutely nothing happens (sometimes). This is part of the beauty of "Paranormal Activity." Oren Peli doesn't need CGI or intestines getting splattered all over the walls to make, for example, my very manly friend cover his eyes.
The acting Katie and Micah (their actual names) is so top notch that it makes you feel as if you are watching a real life couple. This adds to the creepiness of the film.
"Paranormal Activity" starts off a little slow, but it eventually picks up pace. Throughout the first half of the movie, there is some really superb character development with some surprisingly funny dialogue. For all you people that want to see a scary movie, fear not, "Paranormal Activity" gets very scary, especially within the last 30 minutes.
With a budget less than 15000 dollars and shooting the entire film within a week, Oren Peli has achieved an outstanding accomplishment. Highly recommend. 9/10 Stars