Movie Review: Paranormal Activity (2007)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Determining whether a film will be decent or not is always a tricky deal, but in 2009 it’s really been anyone’s game (a game involving throwing darts blindfolded and people bobbing for apples in a pool). Many of the films that we all had such high hopes for have been disappointments (9 (2009), Zombieland (2009), etc.), while movies we thought would be absolute crap turned out to be not too shabby (Law Abiding Citizen (2009), Surrogates (2009), etc.); hell, Uwe Boll is getting the best reviews of his career with Rampage (2009)! However, if there is anything systematic to come out of this chaos, it’s the triumph of the newbie’s, mavericks, left-fielders, and/or revisionists, and their philosophy of less-is-more, which is responsible for making not only the best movies of 2009, but of the decade (possibly more). Whether it’s the Duncan Jones freshman effort Moon (2009), or veteran Kathryn Bigelow’s reemerging The Hurt Locker (2008), better movies were made for less, generating greater profit margins for those who truly deserved and needed them. Prior to the fall season, the greatest success belonged to the excellent District 9 (2009), a $30 million film that certainly made its money back during the theatrical release (and then some)! But now, in the Halloween season, the bar has been lowered/raised again, in the form of Paranormal Activity (2007).

For a film that cost $15,000 to make and is well on its way to reaching the $90 million mark at the time of this writing, you could say that the profit margin is looking pretty good for the filmmakers (we’re talking 70s porn numbers here)! But then again, it took years for the film to see the dark of night. The viral marketing campaign certainly paid off, and the gradual daisy chain of important people that finally passed the film up to Czar Spielberg is not without merit; however, without the internet, Paranormal Activity would still probably be just a small film that was a consuming investment for first time filmmaker Oren Peli (formerly of the gaming world). Despite all of this, what the bottom line comes down to is that all the hype/buzz/tingling is justified, because Paranormal Activity is actually an excellent horror movie, one that will actually scare you.

For the few unaware, Paranormal Activity presents the final days of young couple Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) in the form of archival footage shot by Micah himself. The ending was a given anyway, but the real fun is how they get there. Essentially, Katie has been periodically experiencing a strange presence since she was eight. Now in her late 20s, and three years into a relationship with Micah, the presence has returned, and it certainly feels evil. In an attempt to both help his girlfriend and radiate his machismo, Micah buys a camera and starts to film everything at night by placing it at the foot of their bed. From there on in, things get weird, and continue to do so until the inevitable happens. In essence, the thin plot dissolves into watching the couple spiral out of control and into madness, where a demonic force is no doubt waiting. In the end, a lot of things go bump in the night.

Filmed with one camera on one set with unknown actors, the film puts more faith in the power of suggestion then most films would dare, but it’s a gamble and gambit that truly works, for the benefit of everyone. The grainy images from the camera reinforce the current obsession within digital culture of broadcasting oneself. It’s like The Blair Witch Project (1999) for the decade of YouTube and MySpace. It’s not to say that the camera is sentient, but more like a confessional (a la reality TV, no surprises there), where we’re just talking to ourselves, but we need a lens to listen. Of course, you don’t have to go far to find the social commentary, but that’s what makes it even more terrifying; everything feels real, and so the fear is real. But as an extra punch, just to raise the fear a bit more, the filmmakers employ a small but incredibly convincing array of special effects that will make you wonder not just how the hell they did that on such a budget, but how the hell they did that period.

In the end, Paranormal Activity makes for a film that truly gets under your skin. All the reflections and reflexes aside, the film reduces everything about a horror movie down to its primal fear, and then it throws it at the camera, literally. All that’s left is dread, even when the lights come up.

4/5

McS