14 DAY TRIAL // “Paranormal Activity: Evidence of a Haunting,” as it was initially named, starts off just like a video either one of us could make and then upload on YouTube. However, as it becomes clear just minutes within the film, there is nothing that could make our own videos even closely similar to this faux-documentary. The prevailing sense of dread, made only worse by the fact that it’s hidden under heavy layers of normalcy and perhaps even, to some extent, ridiculousness, would be just one thing that works to make “Paranormal Activity” not only the scariest movie of the year, but also one of the best of its kind since “Blair Witch Project” broke the mold on what horror movies should be like.
Directed and written by Oren Peli and starring just a handful of actors that all get to keep their real names on film, “Activity” takes cinema verite one step further than its famous predecessor, critics agree. Whereas the real sense of horror in “Blair Witch” came mostly from what audiences could not see, what gets the adrenaline pumping in this recent film is a combo of both elements shown on film and only hinted at. By presenting normalcy and contrasting it with the unseen horrors that happen in the dead of night, “Paranormal Activity” manages to fool even the most skeptic viewer that what they see might actually be real.
With a budget of under $15,000, the entire film takes place in a two-story San Diego house where Katie (Katie Featherston) lives with her somewhat obnoxious and clearly territorial boyfriend of three years Micah (Micah Sloat). Katie, viewers learn from the first minutes, has had what one may call a rather troubled childhood, which seemed to culminate with her being haunted starting with the age of eight. She says her “ghost” has returned now, which determines Micah to buy a camera and document the haunting. Little does he know in his arrogance that he’s about to do just that.
Critics agree that fans who’ve found “Blair Witch,” “REC” or “Cloverfield” nausea-inducing for the shaky camerawork which can’t but create a sense of motion sickness should probably skip “Activity.” They also say those who know they’re as weak as a kitten might reconsider seeing it, as famed director Steven Spielberg is said to have given up halfway and left the theater for sheer fear. They’re not lying either – the secret of the film is to be found in a complete and total lack of cheap tricks: there are no smart camera angles, no lighting, no easy scares, no music. Nothing but the most intimate and terrifying sense of dread.
One of the strongest arguments working in favor of “Paranormal Activity” is that it’s easily relatable. Of course, this type of camerawork is bound to create a stronger bond with the audience since it’s the closest cinematography gets to a first-person narrative, but what this film does is take it to extremes. Cruel, unforgiving and, above all, very real, “Paranormal Activity” has admittedly just set a new standard for the faux-documentary and horror genre.
Moreover, there is no moral to the story, no excuses for what happens and, most important, no redemption. What happens in rooms where the camera is not present happens outside the viewer’s visual range. Just like some things will never explain themselves to us in real life just because we’d want them to, Katie and Micah’s demon is determined to just do its business without bringing us into the loop. The only way, they say, in which one can prevent the film from being scary is by constantly repeating to oneself that this can’t possibly be, that this is not real. But that would mean missing out on one of the most impressive instances of modern cinematography to date.
“Paranormal Activity” runs 86 minutes, and is rated R for strong language and sequences of violence. It first opened in the US at the Screamfest Film Festival in October 2007, is now running on limited screens here since October 16, 2009, and will conclude its international run in Norway in January 2010.
