Horror films can be tricky business. There will always be those who will scream at literally any horror film, whether it's due to actual fear or because it just feels appropriate to scream. These are the people who tremble during a horror movie simply BECAUSE it's a horror movie. However, there are those who demand more than "Sorority Row," "The Final Destination," or "Saw VI." For those select few, at least you have "Paranormal Activity."
"Paranormal Activity" is a low-budget (something like $15 thousand spent on making it) film written and directed by Oran Peli, though you wouldn't know that by watching it. In fact, you wouldn't even know that there were cameramen, key grips, sound technicians, or anything involved other than the two main characters, if all you had to go on was the movie itself. The only credits this movie offers is in the very beginning, which would be a title card stating "Paramount Pictures would like to thank the families of Micah Sloat and Katie Featherson." That's it. No scrolling credits at the end, no mention of anyone else, nothing.
The frightening thing of the movie is that it's presented to the audience as if it had truly happened to this unfortunate couple. It even goes so far as to keep the names of the two actors the same, Katie Featherson and Micah Sloat. This movie goes to great lengths to convince their viewer that, yes, somewhere out there, this has happened, and that these events are real. Does it work? Not if you're willing to search out some info on IMDB, but even with that knowledge the movie does a damn good job of maintaining its illusion.
Katie and Micah are, as I said, playing themselves. The movie begins as Micah fiddles with his camera around the house. He and Katie have just moved in together, and things were going well until the two of them started noticing some strange, almost
paranormal activity happening while the two of them are asleep. Katie believes that some of this may be linked to her childhood, and Micah decides that this is a fantastic opportunity to go out and buy a camera, so that he can get it all on tape. He sets up the camera so that it will record from the corner of their room, mounted on a tripod.
These are the scenes in which the spookiness goes down. All that is framed is the couple sleeping in their bed, while to their left is their open door which leads out into the hallway. Things start out slowly at first. The events that occur in the beginning are minor, but it's the fact that they're occurring at all that's the scary part. The scare tactics used here are genius, I think; the audience is allowed to see all of the supernatural occurrences as they unfold, while the couple lies blissfully unaware of whatever may be going on around them. This is classic suspense, and it's handled so well here that I feel Mr. Peli deserves some praise. The progression is perfect, each night becoming more and more twisted as the events that occur become even more drastic. I won't spoil anything; just know that the theater I was in was literally exploding by the time the film came to its conclusion. There were people up in their seats, yelling to the projection booth to turn the lights on. Great stuff.
What's even more interesting is that, in these shots, there are times where we are presented with situations which would be impossible without the use of special effects, though no effects are visible. There were times where I was trying, seriously trying, to see some sort of strings or mirrors or anything of the sort. Not once did I find anything.
Though I presumed the movie would fall victim to the "Blair Witch" effect (too shaky, bad camerawork, gonna hurl), I was surprised to find that there's nothing of the sort. The hands on the camera know what they're doing this time around, whether it be Micah or someone else. It manages to maintain stability while still capturing the amateurish feeling it utilizes. That's no easy task.
"Paranormal Activity" is a film well worth the price of admission. It's a go-getter, underdog indie film at heart, and it's probably one of the most clever presentations of a movie that I've ever seen. It won't be a screamer for some of you, but I can say with some certainty that it's a suspenseful and chilling kind of experience. Besides, what other recent horror flicks are worth seeing?
