THE PROLOGUE:
It’s crazy to realize that you were never really meant to see “Paranormal Activity”. Having been made about 2 years ago
with only $11,000 Oren Peli grabbed a small crew and decided to shoot a low budget film (in his own home) that was very
influenced by old classics such as “The Exorcist” and “Rosemary’s Baby”. Having no experience in making films, Peli
decided to take a Blair Witch-esque approach in filmmaking. We’ve seen it many times before, the whole “Oh my god, we
are experiencing extremely horrific moments, but I must not care and continue to catch it all on camera.” I personally
dislike this style of filmmaking due to the “care free” roaming handheld camera movements that just make me want to
throw up. I want to enjoy the movie, not have some sort of simulation triggering my stomach. Luckily, “Paranormal Activity”
was a lot more controlled in that department. Having shot in an ultra-low budget manner, the film was premiered in many
film festivals to quickly become a Midnight Screening sensation. Having caught the attention of Hollywood exec’s, the film
was purchased for $350,000 with the thought of remaking the film with a touch of bullsh*t Hollywood. The film was
screened for test audiences in order to get their reactions on what works and doesn’t work for the remake. The people
have spoken and due to the great reception, the studio decided to release the film as is in limited theaters. Since the
horror genre has been pretty much dead for a while now, the studio had the idea of borrowing a page from the Blair Witch-
esque book of marketing. The only difference is that “The Blair Witch Project” was released in 1999 and “Paranormal
Activity” is here and now – 2009. Can you think of how much the online world has changed since? With the popularity of
Facebook, Twitter, and good ol’ word of mouth, the buzz spread like wildfire. With so much anticipation, how can anyone
miss out? It’s not easy to scare me on film… but let’s just say I came close. That’s saying a lot, honestly.
THE PLOT:
Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a twenty something couple who has just moved into a new home in
San Diego, California. Katie has an interest in the paranormal and believes that malevolent spirits have been following her
since childhood, though Micah is not so easily convinced. However, after several nights of loud noises and strange
happenings, Micah starts to agree with Katie that some sort of ghost may have followed them to the new home. After a
paranormal researcher tells the couple he can't help them, Micah decides to take control of the situation and sets up a
battery of video cameras so that if a spirit manifests itself, he can capture its behavior on tape
THE FILMMAKING:
“Paranormal Activity” is just one of those films that makes people say… “I could of done that!” Is it really that simple of a
film that anyone could just conjure up? Yes and No. Anyone can pick up a camera, grab some friends and shoot, what
they feel, is a scary movie. But not anyone can make it a good and entertaining. I would have loved to see “Paranormal
Activity” in its original cut before the studios got a hold of it. From what I’ve read, there were many changes made that
affected the pacing, tone, and even the ending (Which was changed by none other then, Steven Spielberg.) While many
people complained about the slow pacing, I felt that it was just adequate. What most films do is show you too much too
early or vise versa. Oren Peli played with tension and timing. Only using ambient sounds as a sort of background music,
he managed to scare audience members with the fear of the unknown. Let’s face it, we’ve all “heard” things creep at night
before, but most of the times we choose to ignore it. With the simplicity of using a camera on a tripod, “Paranormal
Activity” puts us right in the middle of a bedroom. With a clever shot that reveals an open door leading to a hallway on the
left hand side and the bed on the right hand side, our eyes and imagination begin to wander. Every time we were treated
to this nighttime shot, I grew more and more excited with tension. It’s awesome to see the audience go “Oh sh*t, here we
go again…” During the daytime is where most of the plot unravels. We are introduced to back-stories and get a closer
look at the characters relationship, as it begins to spiral out of control. If it weren’t for the tension and the anticipation of
scenes, this movie would have failed. It’s as if Oren Peli had beginners luck with this being his directorial debut. He made
it upon himself to create a scary movie that is influenced by old classics. In a time where horror is dying out, “Paranormal
Activity” delivers some good psychological scares and it’s the pace and tension that we have to thank.
THE PERFORMANCE:
This film is a first time project for everyone involved. To say that the acting is superb is not an option here. What we get
are two actors that are trying to flesh out characters that simply feel real. Katie Featherston has a more complex role
because the “hauntings” seem to pursue and affect her character more. Micah Sloat plays the caring boyfriend that pretty
much takes the whole situation as a joke. He provides us with some witty comedic moments to make light of the
situations. What the actors did was create a balance of realism and pure terror. We get their relationship and we end up
caring about them, only to then see them get terrorized at nighttime by something unknown. Yea that can mess with you.
It’s one of the reasons why this film works on so many levels.
THE FINAL THOUGHT:
I love getting into conversation with my parents about the cinema experiences in their days. They’ve seen “The Exorcist”
and “Jaws” in theaters. Yes, the stories are true… many people indeed “freaked out” during those films. Today’s
audiences have been exposed to far more violent films so it’s not so easy to scare. I wish I could have that kind of “Oh my
God” experience about a horror film. Crowds looking away from the screen and being so afraid that a nightmare is purely
unavoidable. An instant classic, that passes the test of time. I may have to accept the fact that “Paranormal Activity” is one
of those films. To say that it created a buzz is just an understatement, the film is huge. Although I do like the “Paranormal
Activity” very much, I know there could be better. Coming home after the screening as I laid in bed, I had a different
feeling. Unsettling or whatever… was simply caused because of this film. I dare other filmmakers to ATTEMPT to terrify
me…Please?
Rating: 4 out of 5 FILM FRAMES
|
 |
