Paranormal Activity (2009)

Directed by: Oren Peli
Written by: Oren Peli

Why in the FUCK do I go to these movies?

Oh yeah. Because I like being scared like a little girl. That’s right. And the Alamo reminded me of why these kinds of movies scare the shit out of me by showing the preview for Poltergeist before the movie. I spent that time examining my BLT.

Ghosts and things that go bump in the night are primal fears for most humans. Even if you don’t believe in an after life or anything like that, things like this can very often scare your pants right off.

And what makes them so scary is the unknown. We don’t know what they are or even IF they are. We just hear a noise. The fuck was that?! Is someone here? Is someTHING here?! It’s almost scarier to NOT find something than it is to find a burglar or an animal. At least then you know exactly what it was that made the noise. Otherwise, you’re always wondering.

And that’s what movies like Paranormal Activity are exploiting: our inherent fear of the unknown. When two seemingly normal people like Katie (Katie Featherston) and her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) are tormented by strange noises and cold feelings in their new house, we know exactly where they’re coming from. We’ve all been there to an extent.

But Katie has had these feelings almost all her life. Since she was eight, she has had weird things happening all around her. Micah decides that it’s time to figure something out, so he gets a camera and records just about everything that happens so they have a record of it and can study it later…or at least prove its existence. The thing is, he doesn’t seem to be completely convinced of their existence.

The rest of the movie is us watching their tapes as the creepy events unfold. We watch the two of them sleep, fight and talk about what could possibly be making these things happen.

As with Blair Witch before it, it’s what we don’t see that scares us the most. If the demon had actually shown itself (which it almost threatens to do at least once) the movie wouldn’t have been half as disturbing. As it is, though, it’s all done with sound effects, the occasional parlor trick and acting.

Sure, the story isn’t anything new. A couple is tormented by an unknown entity. Hell, the execution isn’t even all that revolutionary. It’s just a bit more reality tv than it is Poltergeist. And maybe people are more interested in it for the fact that it was made for 11,000 dollars than because it’s a great movie. Luckily, it’s a decent movie. Great? No. Worth seeing? Yes.

My only real quibble with it is actually the ending. It’s the ending that Steven Spielberg suggested and I think it’s there more for shock value than for the disturbance factor. The whole movie is pretty fucking disturbing, but the end is more of a “BOO!” than a creepy, crawly, get under your skin moment, and I think the movie really needed that instead of what it got. Sorry, Steve. I think I like the original ending better.

That being said, it’s still a good flick. It just isn’t the amazing film that everyone seems to think. I will, however, be thinking about parts of it tonight as I’m trying to get to sleep. And I want to how the hell they think they’re going to make a sequel. I don’t understand where they can go from here. It’s over. Let it lie.