paranormal activity: a review from someone who cares

i finally watched the efficiently titled paranormal activity, an $11,000 indie effort that wants to utilize the post-modern first person pov camera technique to tell the tale of a doomed couple and the unearthly presence that won’t let them be. i wanted to love it. i thought i would love it. considering the hype, i expected paranormal activity would at least equal blair witch project. however, this film has got to be one of the most boring and predictable horror movies of the year. how many times can a door creak? how many times can you hear booming foot steps? how many times can someone wake up screaming? overhyped to the point of hysteria and lacking anything remotely redeeming for the seasoned fright fan, paranormal activity is all smoke and one too many mirrors. it’s an accurate reflection of an audience incapable of separating truth from trickery, a waste of time in both concept and execution.

i certainly respect filmmakers who can make a movie for less than $11,000 — kudos to them. but; the more the film amps up the action, the less scary and involving the movie becomes. we´ve already established beyond any shadow of a doubt that there´s a demon, so what´s so frightening about seeing its powdery footprints or its shadow more than an hour into the movie? inevitably the film winds up in generic horror territory with the shrieking and the thrashing and the "oh my gods!".

the movie also raises some nagging questions. exactly how do these two lovebirds keep falling asleep so easily when they know there´s a freaking demon haunting them? why does micah need to keep proving that there´s a demon when he´s already proven it multiple times? (answer: because we have to fill out 90 minutes of screen time.) and most perplexing of all, how did this idiot end up with such a hot girlfriend?

the hand-held style of filmmaking does not bother me. sometimes it creates an atmosphere of tension. but, in paranormal it was an atmosphere of irritation. in order to keep an audience engaged with this realism style of shaky camera angles, you need consistent drama and a building of suspense that results in a climax — this wasn’t the case.

sorry. the emperor is naked. it was just an OK indie horror film with more shaky camerawork. is this really the highest standard we can set? there´s a lot to like here. just not enough.