Capaha Arrow

Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

'Paranormal Activity' is terrifying and innovative

I'm not sure where to begin with "Paranormal Activity" because it absolutely blind-sided me. I had seen a trailer or two for it before seeing the movie, but never paid a lot of attention to it because it seemed like it would be one of two things-terrible or amazing. But, I did end up seeing it and I could not be happier that I did.

Before I rave about this movie, let me give you the gist of the plot. The film stars two young adults named Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston) who are being haunted by a demon, which you soon find out has been following Katie around since she was 8 years old. Recently, odd things have been happening more and more in their house from random loud noises to Katie waking during the night to see ghostly silhouettes and hearing voices. Micah's idea to try to understand more of what is happening to them is to film these occurrences. Without spoiling the rest of it, scary things do happen.

I hate making sweeping comparisons, but it runs along the lines of "The Blair Witch Project." Not deep story-wise, but then again it isn't meant to be. It's intended to be a home movie, and when exactly was the last time you watched a home movie that had a screenplay worthy of an Oscar?

Regardless, the film plays out over the course of seven or so days and nights of these events, and they can be absolutely paralyzing. Whether it just be the anticipation of an event or seeing something that you're not sure you just saw, but has you struck still with fright; whatever it is-or isn't-you won't be bored.

The two actors in this do little acting, seeming as if they actually are the people they portray. This is probably due to the lack of any actual script provided to them. Instead they were told what was going to happen in the scene and when; what they did from there was mostly up to them. Lazy filmmaking? Hardly. Instead this technique shells out realistic emotions and conversation between the two.

But let me make this clear: this movie isn't for everyone. Making more comparisons, if you thought "The Blair Witch Project" or even "Cloverfield" were boring, this won't win you over. But for the sake of the film, just let the movie run. After all, just about all horror movies are laughably unrealistic out of context.

In conclusion, this is easily one of the most terrifying films I've seen in recent memory and easily the scariest of the year. But what just blows me away is that essentially one man made this film for $15,000. It had no hard script and the actors ad-libbed the vast majority of their parts. It was shot and edited in half a month, and lacks opening and ending credits. It defines indie, but much, much more than that, this film defines horror and what Hollywood has lost when it comes to the genre. See this film now.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools