Paranormal Activity Reviewed

After hearing about the film for a few weeks and reading all the hype that surrounded it, Brittany and myself decided to take a little trip to Atlanta and see what all the chatter was about. I couldn’t believe that a film made in under a mere 11,000.00 dollars had garnered so much attention, but after seeing all the review saying it was “truly” scary, we had to check it out.



If you like your horror movies in the vain of Freddy, Jason or the Saw series, then this movie probably is not your cup of tea. The movie opens with a note from Paramount studios thanking the families of Micah and Katie and the LA police department. Next, we are introduced to the film’s only two “stars” who are a young couple who have been together for a few years and have recently moved into a new home. Katie is still in college and Micah is a day trader. One of the most redeeming parts of the movie is that its two main characters play their role as a young couple to the T, they make menial activities like brushing their teeth and working at the computer seem so natural and easy to identify with you could almost swear at times that the movie is in fact real, and all that’s left behind from the couple.



Micah has purchased a new camera to film and get proof of a ghost or something unknown, that audiences learn has terrified Katie at night since she was 8 years old. At night the couple set the camera up on a tripod to film as they sleep, in hopes that they will capture some sort of proof of the thing that haunts their home. Katie seems to be coming to the end of her rope with the haunting and has also called in a psychic to try and channel the spirit. The psychic informs the couple that what is haunting Katie is not a ghost at all but rather a demon and that sort of thing is out of his area of expertise. The psychic excuses himself from the home fearing that his presence will just make the demon more active and angry.



The couple proceeds to film as well as try and communicate and get proof of the demon in other ways. Where the film succeeds highly is in the area of using the “real and filmed by the couple” vehicle to reach great levels of intensity. A camera alone in a dark room watching the couple sleep strikes a nerve on many levels, that keeps you asking questions like, how did they do that without special effects, or what is happening to us while WE sleep. You feel on the edge of your seat in all of these scenes waiting for something to happen or not to happen. The film proves that you don’t have to be flashy, gory or loud to get a scare out of an audience. You just have to play on something that they know, and can relate to when they go home; the bumps in the night, the shadows in the corner and the deafening silence that keeps you chewing on your fingernails in complete suspense.

Because of the amount of hype and talk there will undoubtedly be naysayers, tough guys and cynics who will down the film, make your own decision, but I can promise you this; when they get home even the “haters” will be slightly reserved when it comes to cutting the lights out in the bedroom and trying hard not to at least sit up when they hear that bump in the night. With the great chemistry and free flow acting from the couple, the constant suspense, and eerie feeling that sticks with you after the movie we’ll give this one a 4/5.





Just a small tip: We’d post the movie trailer, but it’s our recommendation that you nix watching it and just go without. The movie is better if you don’t spoil it with the trailer. Seriously. Take it from us.