There is no doubt about the fact that this movie in a phenomenon both in terms of it amazing box office numbers so far ($9.1m in it's first week in the US), what it cost to make and how it was marketed. If you are a regular reader you will know that there has been a ton of buzz around Paranormal Activity made for just $15,000 by first time writer/director Oren Peli. I have posted on the background of this film before so let's cut to the chase and talk about what it was like to actually finally see the thing!I am not the bravest of souls when it comes to seeing really scary movies so even though I watched The Blair Witch Project in the middle of Manhattan I was still petrified by a movie about the woods for days after. So to be very honest I have spent the last few weeks since this film opened trying to convince anyone around me to go see it! Well it turns out I am not the only clucker when it comes to horror flicks as today I ended up saying what the heck and trundled off to the multiplex to see it alone.
My local movie theater here in Chandler, AZ is like any other multi-screen facility and has 20 screens so I was pleased that Paranormal Activity was still being shown on one of the big ones. Being a 10.20am showing however when I walked in, a minute or two before the lights went down, there were only two other people in the theater! Well that's not usually a bad thing as I am never a fan of the popcorn munchers and candy wrapper rustlers that so often take the edge off the atmosphere of a movie. So I head up into the back to find myself an isolated seat on the dark back row (no way am I having someone freak me out from behind during this flick!) and settle down for 99 minutes of potential white knuckle tension. So as the film begins in this large dark virtually empty theater not 5 minutes in and the couple 20 rows in front of me gets up and leaves! Holy Crap! You mean I have to sit through this scary movie completely alone ... beam me up Scotty! Well I held my resolve and decided to 'man-up' preparing myself to get through whatever was coming my way.
You will have probably heard that the film is ultra basic in it's premise and while that is correct it's also what has made the movie so effective. In true Blair Witch tradition the actors use their real names as they portray boyfriend and girlfriend living in a suburban San Diego two storey house. Preamble is largely dispensed with as we are soon told that there are paranormal 'goings-on' in the house. Boyfriend Micah is determined to get to the bottom of it all so he sets up a video camera in their bedroom so that in the middle of the night he can capture the activity that takes place. Direcor Peli does a stupendous job of building tension throughout the movie never being tempted to go for big action early on instead he draws the audience in with moments of paranormal activity asking us as viewers, did we just hear something and if so what are we hearing? We really become participants in the film as if we are right inside the Katie and Micah's bedroom at 1am, 2am, 3am, waiting for something and cleverly engaging our imagination (surely the most powerful tool in these kind of movies) making us wonder what fright is about to take place.
We spend a few nights with the couple seeing Micah analyze footage the next morning and it soom becomes clear that the unexplainable activities are focused on Katie. Early on they invite a Psychic to come and visit to try and explain things but even that doesn't help as he delivers the bad knews that in his opionion it is not a Ghost that is troubling them but a Demon. At this point many movies might have descended into a CGI feast of scary monsters and depictions of Hell. Luckily due to how cheaply this film was made but I think mostly because Peli knew he would lose tension that way the fact that they are dealing with a demonic force becomes simply more troubling information for the audience to mull over as the nightly visitations become more pronounced. Even then when we are on the edge of our seat or hiding behind our hands looking through Micah's video camera at the pair sleeping and their always open bedroom door staring out into the blackness of the unlit house subtlety is used. It's a noise, a creak, a bang downstairs, a bedroom door moving, all things that Katie, Micah and the audience rush to find rational explanations for in the middle of the night.
As the film progresses toward it's climax Katie really begins to suffer with daytime offering little respite. In fact in one scene they actually experience their demonic visitor in the daytime which is so awful for us all as daylight is traditionally meant to free us from all horror movie terrors. The last three nights bring the worst experiences so far pushing the couple to the edge of their relationship and ability to cope with what's happened. Gone is the desire to understand and solve the mystery and all that is left is the need to escape. The final night reveals the extent to which Katie is really connected to this malevolent force and while I won't offer you any spoilers here let's just say the film ends on a spectacularly scary note.
Well it's a new experience for me to review a movie and get chills when I am doing it! This was a very intense experience and one of those few films that is mentally so engaging it becomes almost physical. The story around this Paranormal Activity seems to be really focused on how it was made with so little money and while that is amazing it shouldn't distract from the fact that this first time filmmaker has made a believable (yes believable!) and incredibly scary film. This is certainly not an experience for everyone and if you are even vaguely uncomfortable with scary films I would skip it ... this has surpassed The Blair Witch Project for me as the scariest movie I have seen in recent memory and that's a huge compliment. To say I am relieved I don't live in a modern two story house with an open stairway is an understatement.
Rating: *****
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