Paranormal Activity (15)

This is a film which people will either love or hate. Those who love clean, polished Hollywood horrors will not like this because it is rough, low-budget and with no extravagant special effects.

This is another “found footage” film, like Quarantine (2007) and The Blair Witch Project (1999). It was allegedly shot on a budget of $15, 000 and since it finally got an international release; it has so far made around $107 million, making it the most profitable independent in history. The actors are unknowns, it was filmed in the director’s house in a week and was shot by the character Micah in a documentary style.

The story is based around a couple, Micah and Katie who buy a camera to find out what ghostly phenomena is haunting their house. Katie has been experiencing paranormal activity from an entity periodically since she was young and it has followed her from home to home. The hauntings have begun again, for the first time since she has moved into a house with Micah. A psychic tells them it is a demon in her house and it wants something from Katie. She wants to put an end to it and Micah believes the camera will help because it can capture the goings on. What we see is the “unedited” footage that was found some time after the three weeks the hauntings took place.

The hauntings are slow-burning and full of suspense. There is not a load of blood and gore or major sound and visual effects but it is still very effective. They generally happen at night and the atmosphere becomes very tense when they go to bed. It begins with small things, like the door moving or a thump on the stairs and proceeds to get scarier around Night 17/ 18. Each night, the suspense is built up and when it hits its peak, it is very very scary. I did not see the ending coming and it is very shocking and it really freaked me out. There is no better way to describe it. I’m still reeling from it now.

The fact that it was made by handheld camera makes it so much more real and makes you think if it could actually happen. It captures moments that you feel like you shouldn’t see, like Katie brushing her teeth or crying and you really do believe that these actors are a couple and that these hauntings are actually happening to them. You see what their daily life is like, what their hobbies are, how they interact and the dynamics of their relationship. You feel so much more involved in this film because it isn’t polished and because the actors aren’t sticking to a script. It builds up the tension so well, you know that soon the hauntings are going to get worse and soon as the film turned to nightfall, I started getting scared. It plays on peoples’ fears that you don’t know what happens when you are sleeping and that you think you are safe in your home and your bed, but you’re not. I think this is what makes the film more effective than Blair Witch- it is closer to home, literally. It is a definite must-see, but prepare to be scared.