Paranormal Activity has been billed as the most terrifying film of the decade and it comes with a strict warning: Don’t watch it alone! But seriously, how frightening can it be?
Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston) are a young, middle class couple who have moved into their first home. They have been repeatedly disturbed by a strange phenomenon that is most active in the middle of the night when they are sleeping. A day trader by profession, Micah is a lover of all things technological and electronic; so, determined to shed some light on the paranormal activity, he buys a high definition video camera and sets it up at the foot of their bed.
Paranormal Activity was filmed with a handheld camera over one week in first-time director Oren Peli’s San Diego home at a cost of just $15,000. It is based on the same premise as the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project and the audience is led to believe that these are real events that have been pieced together from Micah’s film archives. The handheld camera adds to the realism of the film and scenes are filmed throughout the house with the majority of the filming taking place in the couple’s bedroom.
There is no doubt that something is going on in the house. You never actually see the entity but doors open and close, bumps and noises occur throughout the house, and Katie has several sleepwalking experiences. This is not your average horror-slasher film but instead, the suspense builds up throughout the film as Katie and Micah become more frantic and traumatized.
Truth be told I enjoyed this film far more than I expected to. At about 90 minutes long, it is just the right length and keeps the suspense going until things speed up towards the end. I was surprised to see that this was the feature debut for both Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston as their performances are really good. In fact, Katie Featherston won the Best Actress award at the 2007 Screamfest.
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Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
I agree with you, Emm. After watching this I couldn't get to sleep and thought about it long afterwards. That tells me something about how good (or scary) it was.
2 - Bizz
I found this movie to be everything it was advertised to be. The pacing was perfect,and although their wasn't a lot of action to the flick, I found myself on the edge of my seat the whole time.
This, in contrast to the uber-disappointing film 'The Fourth Kind,' which spends the entire film trying to shove suspense in the face of its audience, and failing miserably at it I might add.
3 - Lou
Maybe I’m too old or lack empathy but I just wasn’t scared, I watched a well made and well acted bit of work, there is nothing wrong with it. The pace was good, everything was in place, Katie held my attention most but that’s probably the Testosterone effect although to be fair her acting was exceptional.
To see something this well done and on a tiny budget really shows up the BlockBusters.
My lack of empathy aside it’s a good movie and I’d give it my vote.
Regards Lou
PS The script’s better than Avatar
4 - Matt
Great review for the film. I watched it with a female friend, and I think she would certainly agree with you. The film terrified her somewhat, and it was quite amusing to prank her a few times later in the evening :)
Personally, I didn't find it particularly scary but then I seem to be immune to horror films and laugh more than feel afraid.