Simply a Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (10 August 2010)

The most scary films are those that reflect something so scary, and yet so realistic. We all know there are numerous incidents and proofs of the existence of "Paranormal Activities", or as some might refer to as ghosts or demons. Yet we chose to block and deeply bury the thoughts of the possibility that someone (or something) might be watching us and sharing the same space. First of all I just want to say that this is the ONLY horror movie (and I have watched a lot), that has literally made me lose sleep. I just watched the DVD last night, alone, in the dark, and I can tell you  BIG MISTAKE. Before watching, I thought it is another first-person camera movie with some regular shockers like Blaire Witch Project. So I sat and watched, and in a million years I could have never imagined a film like that could scare me to my very core. The difference between this and any other movie is that it respects the viewers' intelligence and build upon their imagination. Paranormal Activity has a lot of missing pieces that requires the viewer to fill, especially the ending, where you need to imaging what the screams were all about, did they finally see the demon, what did it look like, what did it do to them, how was the guy killed, what happened to the girl, etc. Most horror movies rely on traditional methods like scary music and sound-effects, tons of blood, torture scenes, etc, with the usual amount of nudity or sexual scenes. The beauty of Paranormal Activity is the novelty of the approach, building to its exceptionally high level of realism, and successful engagement of the viewers, to the extent that you are cautious when blinking so as not to miss anything. I always thought the scary music in most horror films is a key that builds up the tension and warn the viewers something is wrong, or something is going to happen. In fact, the lack of music proved to have an even bigger effect, there is no warning, you simply don't know what to expect and when to expect it.
It was also a winner relying on unknown actors, adding to the level of realism by convincing the viewer this is an actual home-made film. I found the acting spot on, and thankfully refraining from the "overdone" screams and shaky moments. How can you imagine that you can get scared to your very bones by watching the digital clock pass by and then suddenly stop over an almost still image? Or by a light turned on in the room at the end of the corridor? Or by someone standing still for 90 minutes staring in space? Just didn't see this coming. Finally, I notices many people were disappointed, and under-rating this movie (they might have been expecting another "Hostel"), however, I believe "Paranormal activity" is a classic, and a masterpiece, that will change the future views and approaches to horror movies.