As near as I can tell, Paranormal Activity utilizes a single moment of computer-generated visual effects. The rest seems to be old-fashioned trickery. Doors move on their own, invisible shapes cast shadows on the wall, and deep, resonating sounds emanate from the walls. And Hollywood should take note, because such old-school techniques are what kept the budget to around $15,000 — and the film is more terrifying and entertaining than every major studio-released horror film in the past 20 years.
Every time a new horror movie is released (especially the ones touted as “the scariest horror movie you’ve ever seen”) I get my hope up that I’ll go to the theater and recapture that intense feeling like the first time I glimpsed The Exorcist on cable television and had to fumble for the TV remote with my eyes closed.
Tonight, after watching Paranormal Activity, I felt that way again. As part of Paramount’s unique marketing campaign, the film is only being released for a few midnight showings in select cities. One assumes this is to create word of mouth and ticket sales large enough to justify wide distribution. Judging by the packed 1 a.m. showing, that shouldn’t be a problem.
It’s hard to talk about this film because it’s probably not what you think it’s going to be, and what it actually is shouldn’t be ruined before you enter that theater and there’s no turning back. Suffice to say, it’s MUCH scarier than your average ghost story.
This is the latest entry in the ‘found footage’ sub-genre, which started all the way back with 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, reached seeming perfection with [REC] in 2007, and found its peak a year later with Cloverfield. But Paranormal Activity proves there are still plenty of thrills left in the genre.
The movie has no opening or ending credits, no title sequence. It simply begins with a title plate stating that Paramount (the distribution company) would like to thank the local sheriff’s department for their cooperation. Then the footage begins, without fanfare. There is no lighting, no artistic cinematography . . . the footage plays out for 99 minutes, documenting the lives of Katie (Katie Featherston), Micah (Micah Sloat), and their suspiciously noisy house.
Critics will be divided on the actual quality of this film. It’s undeniably frightening. As the camera begins to capture paranormal events, night after night, with increasing intensity, the tension in the audience is palpable. But because the film never once breaks the ‘found footage’ gimmick, it also does not obey a normal three-act structure. Many of the scenes and camera angles are repeated since Micah places the camera in the same place each evening while the couple sleeps. Many of the shots are hard to see in the dark, and often reaction shots are lost because the filmmakers were limited by one camera. However, this also lends to the realism. The film’s sole intention is to scare you, and it succeeds largely because it looks and feels like stuff you find on YouTube, making the terror uncomfortably real.
Is it the scariest movie ever made? You’ll have to make that judgment for yourself . . . but I will say this: it’s 4 a.m., and I don’t want to finish this review because I’ll have to turn off my light.
