Paranormal Activity

Director: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Ashley Palmer
Rating: 15 (R)
Company: Paramount Pictures, Blumhouse Productions
Duration: 87 Minutes

Everyone, even if you easily spooked or hard as nails, has genuine fear or curiosity for the unexplainable. Whether it is something outlandish as Bigfoot and Dracula to the small things that go bump in the night. We have this morbid intrigue that exposes itself when something out of the ordinary occurs. First time director, Oren Peli, explores this and explodes it to its highest level in the uber-low budget flick ‘Paranormal Activity’. But does it give us something to scream about or does it fall supernaturally flat?

The movie falls under the very similar vein as ‘The Blair Witch Project’ in both style and structure, but learns from the mistakes created by its predecessors to make a very atmospheric and  terrifying experience. Using a HD camera, the young all American couple Katie and Micah decide to videotape their nights in their new home as they try to capture some of the strange happenings they have been going through on tape. What begins as small bangs and closing doors begins to escalate to truly horrifying proportions when it becomes clear that a strong and powerful evil is haunting their lives, particularly Katie who is the central victim to this demonic force. The plot itself isn’t totally original as it follows the simple bumps and clichés that most ghost stories follow, but it is the execution of it that makes this tale more unique than others.

Unlike other hand-held P.O.V gimmick films, ‘Paranormal Activity’ doesn’t totally use the camera as the eyes of the holder. In fact, it is far more organized and visually constructed than expected. There are static shots and scenes with a tripod within this movie which are surprisingly the most frightening parts, especially the bedroom sequences. The audience is watching every corner of the screen, waiting to see if they can catch even the slightest movement or the faintest shadow. The biggest plus is that it is not trying to pass itself off as being a ‘based on true events’ finding nor is it constantly trying to state its place in realism. This means the viewer can sit back and enjoy the ride without that nagging feeling of trying to confirm the actions on the screen with some kind of reality.

The effects are simple and cheap, but they are very effective. It plays on the active imagination of the viewer, eventually evolving into reaching points of pure terror as the carnival tricks become larger, personal and unnerving. With the movie working on a budget of only $15,000, those set pieces rival and even outdo most of the big budget Hollywood flicks when it comes to establishing atmosphere and tension. Even with these highly praise scenes, there are still some flaws with this film. While the acting from these unknown actors is perfect for this shock fest, it seems to be wasted in the scenes between each ghoulish night as the plot exposition is nowhere near as engrossing and can be quite dull, being overpowered by the film’s far superior trickery.

Shadows lurk around every corner

However, the biggest disappointment with ‘Paranormal Activity’ is its anti-climatic ending. The tension built through the film escalates to such a dizzy height that it needed to end on an earth shattering bang, even if it is a clichéd one. It finishes on such a flat and uninteresting note that it almost ruins the entire film. Oddly enough, the original theatrical release run of this film in the United States had a different ending which, after doing some research, had this giant and explosive finale. It is sad to think that this was removed and replaced with something totally unsatisfying. With the original U.S ending, this was almost a perfect gem of a horror movie.

‘Paranormal Activity’ is indeed just a series of parlor tricks, but ones that truly play with the insecurities and simplest habits of the viewer to get most out of it. Unfortunately, everything else in between doesn’t compare to the well-planned set pieces and, with this version, ends on a totally flat note. This is a film best seen with a few close, very easily spooked friends all curled up in the dark. So go and wait till the DVD pops onto the shelves, choose to watch the version with the original action packed ending and enjoy the haunted house thrill ride.

Rating: 4/5 [with the alternate ending]
(A roller coaster act with the wrong finale)