Paranormal Activity

I watched Zombieland right after having seen this movie, which now thinking back on it is kind of ironic how the song Ghostbusters is featured in that film. Why? Cause its lyrics sum up exactly how I feel about this film and all the praise and hype its been getting.

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!"

Scariest movie ever? Not unless this is the first horror movie you've ever seen and you're the type of person who is easily spooked by creaky floor boards and dripping faucets in your home at 12 AM.

For me, this movie was the equivalent of what Blair Witch was several years ago. A whole lot of nothing. The majority of the film is a bunch of home movies of the couple talking to each other all day and filming it, then at night they wake up to the sounds of doors opening and closing by themselves. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo. Half way into the movie, I couldn't help but think to myself that there was some crew guy on set who's job it was to walk up and down the stairs off camera and turn lights on and off. I understand the argument fans make for this film that it follows the rules of creating an atmosphere, building the suspense, and leaving you with the impression that what you don't see will scare you even more. I didn't buy into it in this case. Sure it succeeds in creating a good horror movie atmosphere, but once it establishes its vibe it does nothing with it. For me, the most exciting thing about the movie was the ending when the confrontation between the couple and the demon became violent and things finally got interesting. If this had happened halfway into the movie and they built upon it from there, I might have enjoyed it. That's my biggest problem with the movie, once it got good, it ended!

One thing I did like about the movie though were the actors and I felt they were very well casted. The male lead (Michah) had a good sense of humor, working with some funny dialogue and keeping the home movie footage from getting too boring. The girl wasn't all that attractive but she did have a nice rack. Both characters were good opposing forces to each other. One of them can't wait to catch all the cool paranormal activity on his camera, the other just wants everything to be over with. They came off as real people rather than actors, which is important in a movie like this one. Quarantine which has a similar setup fails in this aspect, and the lack of believability from the cast really pulls you out of the movie. They get praise for me in that aspect since I have none to give for the rest of the movie.

The more I think about Paranormal Activity, the more I'm disappointed by it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I didn't like it since ghost and haunted house films have never really interested me all that much (except for Poltergeist, I freaking love that movie!). If you feel the same way I do about the subgenre, then avoid this movie. But if you're the type of person who buys into this shit and will keep themselves up all night thinking about the bad plumbing in their house then knock yourself out! You'll eat this one up like a tapeworm eats your feces.