Let’s get one thing straight right now. Fear is subjective. It’s different for each individual on this here green Earth. Now, if supernatural occurrences make you weak between your knees, then this is a film you must see. But if you find ghosts and demons as funny and or unbelievable, then this film is not for you, so don’t waste your time on it, and don’t complain about it if you do spend your time seeing it. If you let it be, this is one of the scariest films we’ve had in a long time.
Paranormal Activity follows the story of Katie and Micah who are besieged by a malevolent entity that haunts their humble abode. Micah is determined to get proof of its existence and purchases a digital camcorder to document their experience. The film takes a little bit of time to take off, but it’s all in good reason. Within the first half hour of the film you get the basic breakdown of a haunting (but if you’ve seen the Discovery Channel series A Haunting, then the first 30 minutes is rather redundant), see the entity do a few parlor tricks and of course developing Katie and Micah’s characters. The humor in the film is charmingly funny, coming from Micah, who, like most people, scoff at the idea of ghosts and does everything he can to antagonize it to make an appearance. There are some things in life you just should not do, and that is one of the. It’s safe to say that the audience is supposed to latch on him and not take this ordeal seriously, until something bad happens. The couple’s playful banter and digital camera perspective give the film an authentic feel that hey, this actually happened, these tapes really exist!
A good film doesn’t constantly throw things in your face. It’s paced well, it flows, and the tension builds consistently throughout the film. Oh, and can I mention real quick how far subtlety goes? It’s in the minor details, movement of shadows, the use of an overbearing silence, the list goes on. Pages can be spent breaking down this film and why it works, from the pacing, sound design, editing, and the characters. What makes this horror film rise above all others is that it does something that very few horror films do effectively, it builds dread.
The film is split in two halves, day and night. Scary stuff happens at night. The day is your safe zone. Paranormal Activity, to be honest, only houses a handful of actually scary moments, but is held together nicely by the deteriorating characters as the evil force haunting them grows bolder and the slow dread that the film builds, to the point that the day shots are no longer safe.
The ending (don’t worry, I won’t give it away) is one of the effectively scary moments in the film but it is also one of the few moments where it feels staged and more like a movie rather than we’re the camera merely observing what’s happening within the house. One of the films few flaws.
Never judge a horror film based solely on its initial viewing, but how it makes you feel days after. And this one has left a mark on me. Days have passed since the viewing and it still has a strong hold on my psyche, making me a bit more jumpy than usual, but hey, I can be a paranoid guy anyways. Now I’ve just got to get rid of this demon that’s hounding me.
A round of applause needs to be given to Oren Peli to make such an impactful splash with his directorial/written feature debut. Let’s hope this isn’t a one hit wonder and we see him do great things within the horror genre. Paranormal Activity is a must see film, it’s not for everybody, but for the people it is for, you won’t be disappointed.
Oh, and as a side note, that trailer they’re playing for Paranormal Activity, the one that shows hardly any footage of the actual movie but footage of the audience screaming, that’s real. There’s nothing like hearing an entire audience screaming in fear at one singular moment. In the horror realm, that’s music.
Remember, evil lurks in the shadows.
Paranormal Activity follows the story of Katie and Micah who are besieged by a malevolent entity that haunts their humble abode. Micah is determined to get proof of its existence and purchases a digital camcorder to document their experience. The film takes a little bit of time to take off, but it’s all in good reason. Within the first half hour of the film you get the basic breakdown of a haunting (but if you’ve seen the Discovery Channel series A Haunting, then the first 30 minutes is rather redundant), see the entity do a few parlor tricks and of course developing Katie and Micah’s characters. The humor in the film is charmingly funny, coming from Micah, who, like most people, scoff at the idea of ghosts and does everything he can to antagonize it to make an appearance. There are some things in life you just should not do, and that is one of the. It’s safe to say that the audience is supposed to latch on him and not take this ordeal seriously, until something bad happens. The couple’s playful banter and digital camera perspective give the film an authentic feel that hey, this actually happened, these tapes really exist!
A good film doesn’t constantly throw things in your face. It’s paced well, it flows, and the tension builds consistently throughout the film. Oh, and can I mention real quick how far subtlety goes? It’s in the minor details, movement of shadows, the use of an overbearing silence, the list goes on. Pages can be spent breaking down this film and why it works, from the pacing, sound design, editing, and the characters. What makes this horror film rise above all others is that it does something that very few horror films do effectively, it builds dread.
The film is split in two halves, day and night. Scary stuff happens at night. The day is your safe zone. Paranormal Activity, to be honest, only houses a handful of actually scary moments, but is held together nicely by the deteriorating characters as the evil force haunting them grows bolder and the slow dread that the film builds, to the point that the day shots are no longer safe.
The ending (don’t worry, I won’t give it away) is one of the effectively scary moments in the film but it is also one of the few moments where it feels staged and more like a movie rather than we’re the camera merely observing what’s happening within the house. One of the films few flaws.
Never judge a horror film based solely on its initial viewing, but how it makes you feel days after. And this one has left a mark on me. Days have passed since the viewing and it still has a strong hold on my psyche, making me a bit more jumpy than usual, but hey, I can be a paranoid guy anyways. Now I’ve just got to get rid of this demon that’s hounding me.
A round of applause needs to be given to Oren Peli to make such an impactful splash with his directorial/written feature debut. Let’s hope this isn’t a one hit wonder and we see him do great things within the horror genre. Paranormal Activity is a must see film, it’s not for everybody, but for the people it is for, you won’t be disappointed.
Oh, and as a side note, that trailer they’re playing for Paranormal Activity, the one that shows hardly any footage of the actual movie but footage of the audience screaming, that’s real. There’s nothing like hearing an entire audience screaming in fear at one singular moment. In the horror realm, that’s music.
Remember, evil lurks in the shadows.
