Paranormal Activity: BD Review
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Page 1 of 3 Paramount / 86 Minutes / 2009 / Rated R / Street Date: December 29, 2009
The only major question in regards to films like Paranormal Activity is this: Is it worth all the hype? In a year where James Cameron dropped nearly half a billion dollars on his space epic and flicks like Transformers 2 seemed to throw budget money around with alarming frequency, Paranormal Activity and its $20 production budget and large-scale buzz made it the movie college kids were talking about last fall. Shot with consumer-grade digital video, featuring a cast of non-professionals, Paranormal Activity was definitely the Blair Witch Project for 2009, a low-fi horror flick that started small, then got real big. The plot is simple: A San Diego man (Micah Sloat) decides to buy a video camera so he can document the weird dreams his ladyfriend (Katie Featherston) has, and whether all the things that go bump in their night are in her head or real-life creepies. And over the course of 86 minutes, we watch things unfold (here's a hint: Demons are real, man....).
As far as the hype question goes, though, I'm not entirely sold. The biggest compliment this writer can afford Paranormal Activity is that I walked out of a Reno, NV cinema after seeing it, thinking it was okay (at best), but as soon as I turned out the lights to go to sleep that night, the more startling images from the film came flashing into view, and (machismo alert!) I decided to sleep with the light on. Paranormal Activity ain't a grand movie - I'd call it involving, if not revelatory - but it sneaks up on you. Just when you think you've got its number, it freaks you out in new, inventive ways. In this Ghost Hunters world, though, it makes sense that Paranormal Activity was such a big hit. It's got some legitimate creepy-crawly moments to it, its style and presentation are appropriate to its preternatural subject matter, and - most importantly - it definitely has the potential to scare the shit out of you. Who cares how the film will be regarded in ten years - it's fine and dandy to call Paranormal Activity the quintessential horror film of the moment. |
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