Psychological horror goes back to basics

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2010)

BWP-style chiller horror affects at a deeper and more cerebral level than the likes of Friday 13th.
The hype: Paranormal Activity wasn't released in the UK till late 2009, but the blurb surrounding it was that it was a horror movie on a new level from the more traditional Hollywood fare. Furthermore, there was the 'do not see it alone' warning which only added to the reputation it was gaining.
Shot in a Blair Witch 'real cam' style, Paranormal Activity likewise smoothly passed itself off as a documentary about individuals being caught up in haunting or terrifying environments, and the subsequent danger they found themselves in.
The passage of text at the start strongly implies this is real footage of what happened when a young couple moved into a new house, aware the female protagonist had a history of being haunted. This move was 'an experiment' to lure the entity out and get hard evidence of its presence and a consequent cure.
However, like Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity uses simple horror techniques, also seen in the Japanese original of Ring; it's not so much what is on camera which terrifies you, but what isn't.
Much of the fear is left to the imagination - save for a few bumps in the night and the odd special effect, the majority of scares are inside the viewer's head.
And that's the most effective method to really scare the watcher - who wants to see gore all over the place when you can terrify watchers purely by suggestion.
There's also the 'is it or isn't it real' aspect, whereby the viewer, who knows nothing about the movie's origins, half suspects what is happening is real, and really was captured on camera. To this end the acting is more than adequate, and the bumps and sounds (and effects) are extremely effective.
Paranormal Activity is a movie to watch knowing as little about it as possible, and preferably on your own.
It is also the first movie for years to actually scare me, and achieve a 'watching through fingers' moment, for which it earns my respect and praise. And yes, that again was a 'what isn't on the screen, but is in your head' moment.
It's not the best horror you will ever see, but it is a very, very good attempt and deserves praise for its simplicity and effectiveness at what it does.
Recommended.