Paranormal Activity Review
Paranormal Activity
Written and Directed by: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs
Every couple of years, a big independent film success story comes along to remind people that massive budgets and bankable stars are not required to make a movie that strikes a chord with the general public. Earlier this year we already had Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, which was independent and low budget in comparison just about every other summer blockbuster out there. Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity, however, is in another class entirely.
Reportedly shot for the ridiculously cheap price tag of just $11,000 (less than The Blair Witch Project) back in 2006, the movie was picked up by Dreamworks in the wake of a new surge in handheld horror movies like REC and Cloverfield. However, after Paramount acquired Dreamworks, it simply sat on a shelf for a couple of years. At one point, it looked like the studio was going to try and set up a remake of the film instead, but then this September they suddenly decided that they had nothing to lose by releasing it a few theatres to see if audiences would respond. And they did. Buoyed by a unique marketing campaign that allowed audiences to cast votes online to bring the movie to their city, Paranormal Activity continued to build positive buzz until it has finally reached a wide release going head to head with Saw VI. So, is it really one of the scariest movies of all time?
The concept seems ridiculously simple, and plenty of independent filmmakers out there are probably kicking themselves for not thinking of it first. A young couple move into a house together, and starting hearing strange noises at night while they sleep. Katie believes that she has been haunted since she was a young girl, but her boyfriend Micah doesn’t really believe it. In order to get to the bottom of the occurrences, he buys a video camera and sets it up to record at night while they sleep. As the intensity of the so-called “hauntings” escalate, Katie gets more and more terrified, while Micah becomes hostile and stand off-ish. All of the madness is captured on camera for us to see.
Comparisons to The Blair Witch Project abound and are completely warranted, but nowadays that may be seen as a bit of a negative thing. People seem to think that The Blair Witch Project was hyped undeservingly, but regardless of how you feel about that movie, Paranormal Activity is the real deal. I think it will have a much easier time connecting with people since the victims are helpless in their own homes. It’s a classic haunted house scenario that people can relate to, and it plays out with a great degree of realism.
There’s also not much “shaky cam” to worry about since most of the scary stuff happens while the camera is firmly resting on a tripod in the corner of their bedroom. If you feel sick to your stomach during Paranormal Activity, it will be because you are genuinely frightened, not because of motion sickness.
The pacing is near perfect, as things start off relatively harmless and almost laughably inconsequential, but then build toward something much more dangerous and disturbing. In fact, some people may find the end of the film almost a little too explicit in what it shows, but I think it will satisfy mainstream viewers who felt that The Blair Witch Project didn’t actually show anything at all. The movie’s few stumbling points are when it tries to show something a little too obvious (the ouija board scene) or when it tries to insert a little bit of a back story (Micah’s internet search that turns up a previous victim with similar circumstances).
Much like The Blair Witch Project, however, Paranormal Activity is at its most effective when it is merely hinting at possibilities that make your imagination run wild. It truly is all about what isn’t shown on screen rather than what is. There’s a terrifying sense of dread that sets in every time night rolls around.
At the heart of this movie is the relationship between Katie and Micah, which provides two opposing perspectives on the strange phenomenon happening around them. Some people have complained about the believability of Micah’s reactions in particular, where he seemingly remains unconvinced after witnessing some pretty crazy stuff. I agree that in places this is a bit of a stretch, but I think his macho attitude is not as uncommon as you think (indeed, the nervous laughter and scoffing of certain “tough guys” in the theatre around me only prove the point). The acting ability of unknown stars Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat does falter slightly here and there, but the conflict within their relationship still felt convincing to me.
In the end, I have to say that Paranormal Activity is indeed worthy of most of the hype surrounding it. This is a clever, original and well-executed film that will chill you to the core, assuming you are willing to give it a chance. Although I haven’t seen Saw VI (and probably won’t), there’s no question in my mind that this is the horror flick to see this Halloween. Just be warned — you may not be able to sleep with the lights off again for quite some time. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: The Blair Witch Project, Poltergeist, REC
Comments (42)
Good review but everyone who has seen it is pissed off with the last shot so is the last shot pissing in our face’s and doe’s it shit on the rest of the movie?
Posted by jaime on October 26th, 2009No, the last shot is consistent with the rest of the film. It’s actually pretty haunting stuff.
Posted by Fatbologna on October 26th, 2009My only real problem with the ending (and this could be considered a minor SPOILER, so I am just giving a disclaimer here) is that it reminded me a little too much of The Ring. But it did make me jump, and in no way spoiled the rest of the film.
Posted by Sean on October 26th, 2009I haven’t been as scared as I was after seeing this movie since I was a kid staying up late watching Nightmare on Elm Street and then later watching Fire In The Sky. I actually catch myself looking over my shoulder now in my own apartment and then when I go to bed, I have trouble closing my eyes. Genuinely terrifying stuff.
Also, how did they pull off some of those shots? I am still wondering!
Posted by Bryan on October 26th, 2009Good review. I agree with all the points. This movie did a great job at ramping up the scares and turning the screws on your own imagination. I didn’t even think it was that scary until the end, but it was after the movie was over when I was the most scared. Horror movies don’t usually get me at all but this one stuck with me well after it was done…
Posted by Dane on October 26th, 2009Bryan – Agreed on the Fire in the Sky, that is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen! I also was wondering how they did some of those shots in PA. It’s funny how we have a sense of wonder about a small 11,000 indie movie but no one asks how they did anything in Transformers 2. Goes to show that bigger is hardly always better.
Posted by Dane on October 26th, 2009Some of those scenes are still playing in my head days after I seen the movie.
Posted by JR on October 26th, 2009The ending of this film was scary as hell. I jumped so hard that I punched my son in the shoulder. If anyone has seen the alternate ending on youtube, you know how lame that was. The ending that is in the film now is so much better. I loved this film and totally bought into it. I also bought into “The Blair Witch Project” and couldnt sleep after that either. So maybe I am just a gullible person who is easily scared.
Posted by The Het on October 26th, 2009Dane,
Very good point. We’re sitting here wondering how they did something on the screen in a movie that’s TOTAL budget was 1/18,182 of Transformers 2’s budget (assuming that budget was 200 mill). Think about it! They could make 18,000 Paranormal Activities for ONE Transformers movie! And yes, also interesting that a little indie makes you think if what you are seeing on the screen is actually real and some big budget SHLOP like Transformers 2 or Avatar is so BLATANTLY fake you feel like you’re watching a cut scene in an XBOX 360 game. Bigger and flashier is never better!
Posted by Bryan on October 26th, 2009Also think about this: PA has made 60 mill, which is 5454 times it’s budget. If Transformers 2 did that, we’re talking over a trillion dollars or something. Is my math right?!?!
Posted by Bryan on October 26th, 2009I’m clearly in the minority, but I thought this movie was awful and can’t understand why everyone’s loving it. It’s nice to see a low budget indie horror movie blow up like PA is, but I was disappointed with the movie itself. I found it to be extremely corny, especially the dialogue between the couple and their manufactured drama. One example of this lame dialogue: before the couple is going out for a night on the town, the chick comes down the stairs and is singing “going out tonight with my boyfirend,” just to let the audience know they’re leaving the house. The whole movie was filled with this type of screenwriter 101 dialogue. It rubbed me the wrong way. Also, I didn’t find it to be scary at all. I was just bored throughout the majority of the movie.
Posted by dan on October 26th, 2009the ouija board stuff didn’t bother me as much as that webvideo they showed of that other chick did, however i watched this movie by myself tonight wich is NOT the recommended way!! Well it’s still better than having my wife watch me cry like a baby after the first 15 minutes of UP.
This one is in my top five of this year no doubt. Absolutely loved it!
Posted by bert belgium on October 26th, 2009I’m with you Dan, the fact that so many people find this film terrifying is unnerving. I wish these guys the best of luck, I think PA is fairly well done in other respects considering it’s origin, it just didn’t perform as advertised.
Posted by McGuirk on October 26th, 2009Interesting thing I just found out: apparently a lot of people are watching the leaked screener that’s floating around out there in torrent land, and it contains the original ending of the film (which as The Het stated above, is TERRIBLE). Definitely not fit to judge the movie by.
Posted by Sean on October 26th, 2009I’m sorry, folks, but if really thought this movie was scary, then you haven’t watched many really good horror films. Try The Orphanage, The Changeling (the 1979 George C Scott film, not Angelina’s recent venture), The Exorcist (which hasn’t dated well but is still good). PA is nothing more than Blair witch type viral marketing.
I feel sorry for kids these days if this passes as their horror.
Posted by Patrick Stibbs on October 26th, 2009Patrick Stibbs,
your comment reeks of typical horror fan elitism. Don’t get me wrong here, I LOVE horror. I have at least 300-400 horror DVDs on my shelf and the first film I ever watched was Creepshow. I also really enjoyed PA. How come every single time a new horror movie actually gets a little praise, the “Die Hard” horror fans cry blue murder? If it’s not PA it’s Martyrs and if it’s not Martyrs it’s The Ring. Horror stories are told in countless different ways with countless different results. Romero and Argento are done. Hitchcock’s long gone. There’s no more films coming in the style of the 50s,60s,70,80s. Traditional horror was murdered in the 90s and it’s thanks to cheap ingenuity like The Blair Witch Project that low-budget horror made a return. I thank the Powers That Be that we’ve had a pretty solid resurgence of horror from all over the world in different forms. There’s gore films, suspense thrillers, schlock, Zom-coms, and dozens of other great movies coming out for us to enjoy. Do you remember the 90s? I thought Columbine surely killed the modern horror film with all that bloodless, teen-friendly crap!
Horror may not be like it was in the good ol’ days, but at least there’s creative filmmakers out there trying their best to keep the genre alive and creative. PA isn’t the best of the best in new horror but at least it’s creative, effective and best of all it’s a pretty nice little success story. I understand Horror fans are a passionate lot, but we really need to support the little guys, so that the Friday the 13ths, Saws, and all the other glossy shit doesn’t dominate. I’m personally happy to know that a pure suspense driven film made on the cheap finally dethroned the King of Trash in it’s own “allotted” timeslot(2-3 weeks after it’s opening weekend no less!) Hopefully Halloween is now a free zone where studios will start competing for box office again rather than dropping their horror in dead zones like they have been since SAW started to dominate.
I love classic horror films, but we need to leave some room in our hearts for the new guys. Modern horror is definitely on the upswing compared to where it was 10 years ago and I, for one, am really excited to see where the new generation takes it.
Posted by fatbologna on October 26th, 2009geez, I said “creative” a LOT in that second paragraph…seems a little ironic considering the point I was attempting to make!
Posted by fatbologna on October 26th, 2009Actually Sean, there’s some debate over which ending is better. I’ve seen both and they each have their strengths and weaknesses. Overall I prefer the torrent ending over the theatrical.
Posted by Rusty James on October 26th, 2009I agree man, base this film on it’s own merits, certainly don’t put it next to the fucking exorcist. People get way to self-involved and love to flex their knowledge of films. Lets just talk about this movie in context of what it is. Also I’d like to hear what this screener ending was.
Posted by drewsifer on October 26th, 2009Hmm. Well I have to admit, watching the other ending on YouTube out of context from the rest of the movie, it’s hard to get a feel for how it would work with the build up of what came before it.
There also seems to be more than one alternate ending.
** SPOILER WARNING **
Are you talking about the one where the police show up afterward? That’s what I watched, and it just seemed to drag on. Maybe that wasn’t even the same one that’s on the screener though. I heard there’s also one where she just slits her own throat, which might be more effective.
Posted by Sean on October 26th, 2009yes that’s the ending. The police showing up is the low point. It almost undoes it but not quite.
I think the theatrical one is too obvious, it violates the movie’s less-is-more aesthetic. And it’s clumsey. They go aaaaallll the way downstairs… and then come alll the way back. What were they doing downstairs?
I thought the woman sitting down by the bed for a whole day was awesome.
One thing that may’ve affected my viewing, it’s been speculated that the film might play better in the home than in the theater.
Posted by Rusty James on October 27th, 2009And what did everyone think of the couples relationship? I thought Micah (Meekah? Really) was the movie’s real villain.
Other people seem to think it’s Katie who behaves badly which is unfathomable to me.
Posted by Rusty James on October 27th, 2009This movie sucked!!! Did the people writing these good reviews actually see the movie or just listen to the hype. Let’s be serious here, this was far from a scary movie. If you thought that this movie was scary then you must hide under your bed during an episode of Ghost Hunters.
Posted by Ted778 on October 27th, 2009I saw it last night. It was good…..when the camera was moving all around. Every time something good would happen, they’d grab that camera and start running with it all over, very sickening.
Posted by Toni on October 28th, 2009Paranormal Activity – First European Screening Amsterdam >> MUST SEE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLICcvhVY08
Posted by Joost on October 30th, 2009Saw the one with the 2007 ending and also saw the 2009 ending and the 2007 is definitely better. 2009 seems to cliché.
**SPOILER**
Posted by RaphNL on October 31st, 2009I’d like to see the throat slit ending though. Might be the best one.
First off to fatbologna, apart from your absolutely unnecessary and ignorant “King of Trash” comment…kudos on everything else that you said.
Everyone that says this film was not scary, you have been spoiled by all these horror films that have all that CGI and gore. Ted778 lets get real serious here, not that pseudo-serious you were spouting, but I mean really serious. This was a scary movie, people who know a scary movie when they see one will be scared by this movie. People who say it sucked, you are better off not giving out opinions on horror flicks anymore.
Posted by Alan on November 7th, 2009The Blair Witch Project is a good example of people not liking it because it lacking special effects. How how it works with your imagination and such?
Posted by Tommy on November 8th, 2009Well i just got back from seeing the movie and as far as the review goes I disagree !! I coudnt watch most of the movie because i had to look away when the camera was bouncing all over and after about ten minutes in i was wishing i had a puke bag with me… i was so ill .. It is definately a home movie film ! with the feel of and amature filmer holding the camera..
Posted by sweetkahlua on November 17th, 2009I did however tough it out and stay till the end and i think that the scariest part of the movie is the fact that this was supposed to be based on “true” events ??
anyway I would have left the house and gone to a church or something i think anyone would have so there is doubt left lingering as you watch it .
as far as the scare factor it wasnt that bad or maybe i was just concentrating on not throwing up ….
It was a fine movie, but its the same garbage from the nay sayers because it didnt have a bunch of gee whiz CGI and car chases. Hollywood cant make a movie for s*** anymore because it keeps pandering to what a bunch of 13 year old ADD boys think is “awesome”.
If you didnt like it, go rent SAW XXVIII then. Lots of blood and stuff!!! pfft.
Posted by GB on November 19th, 2009well i didnt even watch the whole thing..maybe it got better as it went on but i was totally bored and couldnt take wasting my timeany longer after 10minutes, talk about dragging on, especially the first 5minutes.
Posted by kaz on November 23rd, 2009I walked into PA with no real knowledge of the plot, or the film’s history.
I have never actually been scared of a horror film before. Let me repeat that: I have NEVER been frightened by a horror film. I have seen hundreds, and not one has managed to genuinely frighten me.
And yet PA managed to do something that no other horror film I’ve ever seen has ever done. Which is to make me feel shakey after it finished.
I think that the sitting-by-the-bed ending wasn’t nearly as good. I felt that it took away all the demonic/ghostly prescence and made Katie just seem like a random crazy who snapped.
PA was great. I’d recommend it to friend and foe alike.
Posted by Molly on November 25th, 2009And kaz? You should’ve kept watching. It’s a slow burn film- not a Hollywood blockbuster.
Posted by Molly on November 25th, 2009I’m surprised anyone could say this was scarey. Most of the time it was a real chore to sit and watch, waiting to hopefully come across a scarey moment only to be disappointed each time by the anticlimax. This film is way overhyped and I really wish I had not wasted my money to see it.
Posted by Mike on November 27th, 2009I just went to watch this film and I can’t understand how anyone would think it’s scary. I have no problems with it lacking CGI but I was just really bored all the time. The only good thing I might say about this movie is that it was very entertaining to make fun of it. I can’t tell why but I didn’t think there was anything scary at all and I wasn’t spoiled whatsoever, I just went to watch it because of the “hype” around it being so scary etc. All in all I have to say, that this film was a fucking waste of money and time.
Posted by Steini on November 27th, 2009i just finished watching PA and didn’t find it scary. i thought it was pretty good….i found myself trying to figure out what was gunna happen and where the next noise was goin to come from.
Posted by dani on December 3rd, 2009TBH i am a 15 year old girl and i watched both endings and i think that the copy 1 were she is sittin at the end of the bed just meks her seem like its not a demon she has just lost it but the theatrecal endin did mek me jump n scream but it dont fit in as well i thin goes over the top to much i think they should have done the throat ending that would have been perfect
Posted by Tyla on December 5th, 2009Because think about it the demon wated katie so if it kills her boy friend the kills her it technalyy ha s won the battle so i think they should have shown that one but all together had it pro’s and cons but descent muvie good one to watch with some easiely scared friends could’nt stop laughin at them evry single time somthing went bang hilarious :’)
Oren peli has deirected this very good i think
okay, so i saw PA this morning. I’m a 15 yr old girl, and really i thought it was terrible.
Posted by Claire on December 14th, 2009I finally get my dad to let me go watch a horror movie at the theatre, and it was so disappointing i actually think i shouldve gone to see zombieland and pay for laughter, not an hour and a half of being bored out of my brain and getting headaches from the other teens in the room. there was no problem with shaky camera, i heard about others thinking that was the worst, but really it didnt make that much of a difference to me. it was so cliche and average though! maybe they should’ve spent a bit more time thinking it through and making it cater to others’ tastes. ive seen some pretty terrible horror movies with my mum, usually when my father is away, (hehe) and really, this movie was less interesting than Bugbuster. and that really is one of the worst films you can ever see.
generally, the storyline was lame, the acting was terrible, it failed at being scary, was a waste of money and my time both in getting my dad to let me see it and in actually watching the movie. it didnt even have a soundtrack! well it wasnt meant to, i know that, but really. there wasnt anything worth seeing in it.
and the sound effects whenever something was going to happen, the vroom noises that would creschendo in the background. they reminded me of a plane taking off. it was extremely annoying and unnecessary. all in all, it was a terrible movie and i really wish i hadnt wasted my money in seeing it.
I knew it wasn’t real, but i couldn’t help believing that it was – i did the same thing with Blair Witch, and in both movies i screamed!
Posted by Ashlee on December 20th, 2009P.s. Katie was hot as!
Posted by Ashlee on December 20th, 2009I didn’t find the movie all to be what I thought it would be. The only thing that actually caused me to have nightmares was the ending where she attacked her boyfriend and then the camera. The rest of the movie started off boring but later picked up to include rather unreal and awesome scenes. I personally was laughing at how Micah was making this a more comic film then that of a horror film. Yes, it still sends chills down my spine for that last scene still plays in my mind every once in a while.
Posted by Ashley on January 6th, 2010This movie sucks bad! i BECAME PHYSICALLY ILL watching this movie. it was scary yes but it was horrible i heard it really made people sick. i would not recommend it to anyone.
Posted by kim on January 13th, 2010Leave a Reply