Alright alright, this is gonna have to be quick and dirty since I'm at work and everything is going to shit around me in there. So I figured why not go with the an easy movie to talk about. Arguably the movie that brought found footage back in vogue in a big way. Like the it's predecessor, The Blair Witch Project, which I also plan to cover this month, Paranormal Activity changed the way we look at the found footage genre and did a whole lot with a super low budget.
Paranormal Activity is shot from the view of multiple cameras purchased by a couple to monitor strange things happening in their home at night. As the activity intensifies, so to does the strife between the couple trying to cope with it all. This leads to a cycle of feeding the entity in their home and plunging them into a situation they can't quite return from. There is a lot of subtext to the plot, mainly about relationship and childhood trauma and it's all up for interpretation by the viewer. But the fiancé in the story is much less about being supportive and more about being right. So I guess it could all be a metaphor for how the couple's relationship fell apart with a very literal and definite end.
Paranormal Activity is a bit polarizing in the horror scene because many would call it boring and lazy while a whole other group would call it brilliant and well made. My personal opinion is that Paranormal Activity is a very good, if not boring film with very little pay off in the middle section and huge payoff towards the end. What most people are going to get though is tension and dread as they expect things to happen, that expectation puts you on edge. Even if what eventually happens isn't really that huge it gets your heart racing because that pacing. There are some genuinely creepy scenes though, particularly where the bride to be stands silently over her fiancé for hours watching him sleep and has no memory of the event. Strikes a bit of a primal nerve and anyone who has night terrors can identify with that sort of thing being scary.
Paranormal Activity goes on to spawn many sequels which I plan to cover before the month is through, along with an unofficial one proclaimed by many to be the best sequel in the series. I believe a lot of the charm of Paranormal Activity was to be had in theaters with easily scared people who would jump at the smallest thing happening. I think you can capture a small bit of that just by getting some more jumpy friends together for a movie night. Just don't expect a fast paced haunted house adventure that's gonna tear the house down.
I'm sorry about the lack of pictures and even a lack of discussion. If I have a chance I'll go back and do this again, work was just a surprising kick in the sack today. I'll be back tomorrow for sure with another review and hopefully a much better one. So until then, don't be afraid to be a little scary.
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