PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: REVIEW
Made
for only $15,000, which is dirt cheap by Hollywood standards, the small cast are
unknowns and even the director used his own house to film in. 'Paranormal Activity'
has become a phenomenon that has sent chills down the spines of all who have seen
it, including mine. I can honestly say that I was so scared at one point; I squeezed
the water bottle I was clutching so hard, it popped and sprayed the row behind
me.
That said, I will not give anything away in this review,
just be warned that people with heart conditions may want to think twice before
buying a ticket. The basis to the story is simple. Young couple, Micah and Katie,
move into a new double story house and set it up just how they like it. Micah
has a new video camera, which like anyone with a new toy, feels the need to play
with it. He runs around after Katie, mostly, taping her when she's happy, when
she's not, and when she's naked.
Forgetting to turn it off
after one long day of home movie making, it gets left in the bedroom facing the
pair as they sleep. Upon waking the next day, Micah feels the urge to check the
footage out. Not a good idea! This is where the tension begins, a point in the
movie that after a sluggish start, the viewer may be wondering what all the fuss
is about. Micah decides to leave the camera on the next night, then the next and
so on for a period of three bone chilling weeks. The uncertain things that happen
and mounting dread, build and build and build to frightening effect.
Images
of things that go bump in the night have never been more effective, more than
just a few doors slam in this place. It is the things you cannot see that make
the events most startling as imagination becomes relevant to the plight of the
couple. Even a psychic who Katie invites to their home to help with the 'spirits'
refuses to enter at one point - he can see the doom inside. Certain scenes are
complete silence, then BANG! Breathing heavy and laughing in haste comes mandatory
during this profoundly dynamic, 90 minutes of pure nervousness.
Unlike
the 'Saw' franchise that heavily relies on buckets of blood, this is an old school
haunted house suspense, with little to no gore and it works. There will be moments
when you may want to plug your ears, hold your breath, close your eyes or cradle
you feet on the seat. Seen through the one vantage point of the video camera lens,
the films owes a little to other found footage film concepts such as 'Blair Witch
Project', 'Open Water' and more recently 'Cloverfield'.
The
two actors are good, susceptible to whatever comes their way giving realistic
shrieks that carry on into the audience. Cheap scares have never been so effective.
Shane
A. Bassett
www.paranormalactivity-movie.com.au
www.iconmovies.com.au/paranormalactivity
