How the hand-held camera genre should be done

Rating: 8/10 (1 April 2012)

The hype that surrounded Paranormal Activity when it first came out was a pretty serious thing. People raved about this film when it was first released. There were those who hated it and those who loved it, and it sparked conversation all across America. It has become the 21st century's Blair Witch Project and that success has spawned multiple sequels and in some ways revitalized the handycam genre.
Paranormal Activity is about a middle class couple, Katie and Micah, who have recently moved into a new home. Shortly after their arrival, however, strange things start happening. They begin hearing weird noises and every morning when they wake up things have been moved around and windows have been opened or closed. To figure out who or what is behind all this Micah buys a camera to film them while they're sleeping. What the two discover from this will change their lives forever. They quickly learn that some sort of paranormal force is behind all these disturbances and, whatever it is, it isn't happy and it's there to stay.
The first person style of filming where the characters have the camera is a style you either like or you don't. Personally, I'm a sucker for this style. I've really enjoyed every film I've seen filmed like this. The Blair Witch Project is one of my favorite horror films, Cloverfield is a movie I can watch over and over again, and there is also the movie Chronicle that came out earlier this year that is absolutely fantastic. Paranormal Activity is no exception. I really enjoyed this film. It's unique in its style, and it's also completely terrifying. Paranormal Activity is scary to the extent where I felt legitimately stressed out by it, and incredibly bothered and uncomfortable. I was worn out by the end of the film, which is a mere 86 minutes, and had to spend some time calming my nerves. This film knows how to scare and it doesn't hold back.
Most of the scare factor in this film stems from not knowing what is going on and not knowing what will happen. There is a lot of waiting around for things to happen with periods of 30 seconds to a minute of nothing happening, only stillness as Katie and Micah sleep. This anxiety stirring waiting is one of the scariest aspects of the film and it is done perfectly. You know you're scared when the simple moving of a door is enough to send a chill down your spine. This is minimalist horror at its finest.
Many hate this film because of its lack of action and the way we see so little of what is actually going on, but these are the reasons I really liked it. Showing little in the film leaves so much to our imagination, and our imagination will always produce something far more terrifying than what the movie can muster. Paranormal Activity is a film that got inside my head and scared me more than I've been scared by a film in a long time. It is well worth the watch, and is an excellent representation of what the hand-held camera genre is capable of.