Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

Let me start with a little story...

My first knowledge of the film known as Paranormal Activity came a few weeks ago when a classmate of mine mentioned that he wanted to see it and how it was supposed to be the scariest movie ever. Seeing as I had never before heard of it, I immediately looked it up online to see what all the fuss was about. I saw the trailer and my first reaction was.... non-existent. The trailer itself showed more of the audiences watching the film than the film itself. Granted, the audience members looked terrified, but that said nothing of the film itself. However, word of this film was everywhere and everywhere I looked were people saying it was scary. Very scary.

Before I continue, let me admit - I don't like scary movies. For the most part, the movies themselves do not scare me; my imagination does. I go into the theatre freaked out about what MIGHT happen, but usually don't get too scared by what actually happens. Still, I try to avoid them at all costs. I'm a wimp that way.

So, when a friend of mine texted me asking if I wanted to go see it with a group of friends, my initial reaction was no way. However, a certain someone was going to be there, and as every guy knows, you do what you gotta do.



And now, for the actual REVIEW...

Paranormal Activity is a film that is very successful in what it was trying to do. Made on a budget of about $15,000, this film is such a well-made accomplishment. The entire premise is that this footage is real and later discovered, something that supported by every scene in the film. On that aspect, I commend the director on not ruining the illusion. The actors do a great job playing their parts. They're not going to win any Oscars any time soon, but as an average, college age couple, they're believable.

However, as a film being hailed as "one of scariest of all time", I feel it was a bit of a let down. And that says something coming from someone who typically tries to avoid horror movies. I went in expecting to be freaked out of my mind, but I wasn't. I left not terrified, nor expecting any nightmares. Trying to figure out why, I've come up with 2 reasons:

#1: The characters, particularly Micah, the lead male in the film, makes ridiculous decision after ridiculous decision. That's something of a standard in any horror film, but for a film that's supposedly real, I found it hard to believe anybody would make some of the decisions they made. That kept taking some of the credibility out of the film, and had me saying, "Really?!" throughout.

#2: The film features a psychic as a supporting character who says he cannot help and instead passes along the number of a demonologist to the couple. Unfortunately, the demonologist cannot be reached, leaving the couple to their own devices. Rubbish! Even if that particular one couldn't be reached, I know for a fact that they could've found another one. If a demonologist isn't going to play a role in the film, why introduce the concept? I kept waiting for one to make a some sort of difference, good or bad.

Complaints aside, I really did enjoy this movie. Like I said, it was very well-made and goes to show that you don't need millions in special effects to make a movie. You just need a solid story and a little creativity. Is it the scariest movie of all-time? Eh, depends on how easily you scare.