 |
|
|
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
(***)
|
|
|
Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR:" Rutkowski |
Written & Directed by:
Rhett Reese,Paul Wernick |
Starring:
Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Michael Bayouth |
Running time:
99 minutes
|
Released:
09/29/09 |
|
Rated R
for language |
|
|
" ...an effective and creepy thriller whose miniscule production values are
more than compensated for by good pacing that showcases an escalating series of
genuinely unsettling scenes.”
|
|
|
The obvious (and valid) comparisons between this
film and "The Blair Witch Project" of a decade ago have already been duly noted,
and its arrival in a year where the television landscape is littered with
paranormal investigation "reality" shows could certainly be considered timely.
All that aside, "Paranormal Activity" is an effective and creepy thriller whose
miniscule production values are more than compensated for by good pacing that
showcases an escalating series of genuinely unsettling scenes.
The premise of "Paranormal Activity" could not be any simpler. A young couple
who recently moved into a new home find themselves troubled by odd occurrences.
In order to try and document these incidents, boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) buys
an expensive video camera setup and begins carrying it around the house
constantly during the day and mounting it in a fixed position in their bedroom
at night. While they only catch the faintest hints of activity at first (a door
moving slightly here, a series of sounds which may or may not be footsteps
there), the occurrences soon begin to escalate with an increasingly sinister
tone. While girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston) humors Micah at first (and
playfully rebuffs his frequent attempts to get her to engage in a little
"extra-curricular" activity on film), she quickly grows weary of his obsession
with recording everything, putting further strain on their relationship.
Once you get past the films obviously non-existent budget and spotty audio (at
times the dialogue is hard to hear - especially in a theater full of giggling
teenagers) and roll with the "mockumentary" style, it is surprisingly easy to
get caught up in Micah and Katie's predicament. While the acting isn't superb,
it's certainly above-par for the genre, especially in a film made on a
shoestring as thin as this one (it was reportedly shot in a week on an $11,000
budget). Okay, maybe their back-story isn't terribly believable. Katie is a grad
student and Micah is an internet day trader, yet they live alone in a sprawling
5 bedroom house with a pool in San Diego? This dude must be the Warren Buffet of
the E-Trade community. But once you get past their ridiculously easy lifestyle
(which conveniently allows them to spend hours each day reviewing tapes from the
night before), it's easy to sympathize with their plight as the threat to their
safety and sanity becomes increasingly apparent.
And speaking of the house (where the entire film takes place) - what a great
place to use in a movie like this. With its long creepy upstairs hallway outside
the master bedroom (where the most jarring moments happen) and spacious
downstairs common rooms full of dark corners, it is tied together by a tri-level
staircase where something frequently makes its way between floors (and worlds)
in the wee hours. I was never bored with the settings of "Paranormal Activity",
which manages to squeeze the most out of every room, stairway, and corridor.
First time director/writer Oren Peli burns a slow and steady fuse throughout,
constantly ratcheting up the tension with daytime arguments followed by things
that go bump (and crash, and screech) in the night, as witnessed by a series of
images from the static master bedroom cam seen in the trailers. Peli shows us
just enough to freak us out, with a handful of minor but impressive visual
effects, but never takes things too over the top.
While the film's current marketing campaign is trying to ratchet up the hype in
equal measure in an attempt to spark the next Blair Witch phenomenon, viewers
should not expect "The scariest movie ever". However, it's certainly far more
effective than 90 percent of the dreck currently flooding the horror-suspense
market. All other comparisons aside, is certainly equal in quality to its
horror-mockumentary forerunner.
Those with patience and reasonably adjusted expectations will get the most
satisfaction out of "Paranormal Activity". While not perfect, it delivers the
kind of scares and shocks that most horror films just can't manage to deliver. |
|
|
|
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
© Paramount Pictures
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2009 Alternate Reality, Inc.
|
|
|
|
RELATED REVIEWS...
|
|
ZOMBIELAND
|
|
 |
|
"...not only does “Zombieland” not stumble at any point, it actually grows and
thrives along its splat-sticky way” (JR)
|
|
|
|
DISTRICT 9
|
|
 |
|
"..well-made and
entertaining work with enough originality to set it apart from most of the other
big-budget genre items" (JR) |
|
|
|
INGLORIOUS BASTARDS
|
|
 |
|
"...it feels trivial, the work of a kid who can't stop grabbing his favorite shiny plaything." (JR)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
