Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Review: Paranormal Activity
[No movie ruining spoilers.]Grade: B-
When you think of 'scary movies', what films come to mind? The Exorcist? Poltergeist? Nightmare on Elm Street? Friday the 13th? Meh. I actually thought Poltergeist was boring. I've never seen The Exorcist and watching Freddy butcher people in their dreams wasn't registering anything on my creep 'o meter. However, Paranormal Activity delivered some mild goosebumps and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.
While the film starts a bit slow, it does draw you in quickly. It was shot very similar to The Blair Witch Project, where it gives you the feeling that it's being filmed by an amateur and is in real time. It was a bit like watching The Real World or one of those reality shows that you never would watch, but once you start, you get sucked into it. Like a guilty pleasure that you won't admit to. Kind of like when the bug in A Bug's Life can't help flying into the buglight zapper.
"I can't help it...it's soo beeeauutiful!"
ZAP.
Anyway. Moving on. My brothers and I went and saw the film Saturday night. Now, we used to watch Ghost Hunters and some of the other paranormal shows that are out there. So, we consider ourselves a little 'desensitized' to some of the things that happen on those shows, and in life in general. In other words, it takes a lot to 'scare' us. But, Paranormal Activity definitely gave me goosebumps and that creepy, eerie feeling plenty of times. I can deal with ghosts and spirits just fine, having had my own fair share of weird experiences. However, when you get into dealing with demons, that opens up a whole 'nother box of tricks. Demons (if they exist) creep me out. The idea that when one is interested in you, or possessing you rather, and then follows you where ever you might move, is a bit unnerving. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like being stalked by a demon. And Paranormal Activity really focuses on the behavior involved with that. I won't ruin the film for you, but the basic story is about a couple in California who decides to document their experiences in their new house. Apparently the girlfriend has had trouble all her life with seeing and experiencing weird things. The boyfriend decides to document portions of their daily life on film, including filming them while they sleep. Each day that went by, they would review the footage from the night before and watch what happened. Is your creep 'o meter needle starting to move? It should be. Because I consider myself a pretty tough dude when it comes to that stuff, and when I came home that night afterwards, I couldn't help staring at my bedroom door down the hallway until I fell asleep. Go see the movie, you'll find out why.
