Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 30, 2009
The Critic's Corner
David Laprad
“Paranormal Activity.”
I’ll say it again: Paranormal. Activity.
Wait. I don’t think you heard me: “Paranormal Activity!”
Yes, I’m excited about this movie, but I’m going to proceed carefully with my review of it because I don’t want to use hyperbole. If you pay attention to the marketing of new films, you’ve already heard plenty of that — and most of it is silly. “Paranormal Activity” is not, as some reviewers have claimed, the scariest movie ever made. Rapper Ice Cube’s family comedies are much more frightening.
Nor is “Paranormal Activity” a big budget production packed with costly special effects. Rather, it was made for $11,000 using a home video camera.
But that doesn’t mean “Paranormal Activity” won’t scare or entertain you. Quite the opposite is true. I watched the last two minutes through cupped hands, and whenever I think about the ending, every hair on my arms stands on end. (So much for avoiding hyperbole.)
“Paranormal Activity” opens with Micah filming footage of his girlfriend, Katie, as she pulls into the driveway of their new home. He follows her inside, being mushy. She’s not crazy about him filming her, but she likes his attention, so she puts up with the camera.
Micah purchased the device to capture visual and auditory evidence of an alleged haunting at their house. Up to that point, the occurrences had been limited to a few bumps in the night, but they were strange enough to make him curious.
We get to know the couple from footage Micah shoots during the day and then watch what happens at night after he sets up the camera in their bedroom and they go to sleep.
The nocturnal view takes in Micah and Katie’s bed and the upstairs hallway. As minutes pass and sometimes hours speed by in fast forward, we watch them sleep, see their door swing shut and hear weird sounds.
When the goings-on get worse, Katie begins to fall apart. She hires a psychic to get rid of the spirit, but he tells her it’s a demon and that there’s nothing he can do. This pleases Micah, who brings a Ouija board home.
Bad idea. As Micah becomes more aggressive and Katie grows more frightened, the entity steps up its activities. This culminates in two scenes, titled “Night 20” and “Night 21,” that will be forever etched into my movie-going memory.
“Paranormal Activity” is a throwback to horror movies that made audiences watch, wait and listen. There’s a shot near the end when something terrible has happened off-screen, and all you can see is the bedroom and the hallway. I held my breath for about 45 seconds, afraid to see what would eventually come out of the shadows.
Lately, the only thing Hollywood has produced in the way of horror is psychotic killer pics. While I’d rather sit through back-to-back showings of “Are We There Yet?” and “Are We Done Yet?” than watch one “Saw” or “Friday the 13th,” I’m in the minority. Blood and gore are as popular as ever.
So what does that say about this film’s chances for success? Nothing. Audiences are lapping it up like hungry zombies placed in front of an open corpse.
I believe the best way to see “Paranormal Activity” is in a packed theater. It’ll still play well at home, especially at night with the lights turned out, but there’s something about sharing the experience with dozens of other viewers and listening to their reactions as a bed sheet moves or a shadow appears on the wall. At the showing I attended, one teenager broke out in tears, apparently convinced she was watching real footage. Another girl left, telling the entire theater she’d seen enough.
That said, “Paranormal Activity” will bore some viewers and leave them feeling nonplussed. It moves slowly and the ending is not only abrupt but also inconsistent with the rest of the movie, relying as it does on cheap shock tactics. (I hope Paramount restores the original ending on the DVD; it sounds more in line with where the filmmakers were going.)
Regardless, I believe “Paranormal Activity” has the ability to get under the public’s skin in a way not seen since “Jaws” made people afraid to swim in the ocean. If you see the film, don’t be surprised if different scenes start replaying in your head when you lay down for the night. And don’t be ashamed if you feel compelled to turn on your lights.
A big factor in the success of “Paranormal Activity” is the acting. Micah and Katie come across as real people dealing with terrifying circumstances, not amateur actors in a cheap production. Had their performances been cheesy, “Paranormal Activity” would not be as effective. Along with the home video production values, their acting makes it easy to forget you’re watching a movie.
And isn’t that what horror is all about?
E-mail David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.
com.
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