Paranormal Activity Review

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 10.06.2009

Warning: This film will cause you to jump out of your skin!

Katie Featherston: Katie
Micah Sloat: Micah
Michael Bayouth: The Demonologist
Demon Presence: Itself

Written and Directed by: Oren Peli
Release Date: September 25, 2009 (Limited Release)
Running Time: 99 Minutes



Rated R for language

I'm going to start this review with a disclaimer. I’m not a big fan of current horror films. Not trying to be a slasher snob, but I grew up in a time of classic scary movies and the stuff coming out now doesn't evoke the same reaction it once did. Wait. Wait. Wait. Don't get defensive just yet. I'm not saying the modern stuff is bad, but it doesn't do it for me. I really wish I could watch a movie and have to look over my shoulder every few seconds like Poltergeist did. I miss getting sweaty palms as the suspense on screen raised like The Exorcist. I have accepted the fact that maybe, just maybe, I've seen all there is to see. I resigned myself that maybe horror films just don't have it, for me, anymore.

Then I saw Paranormal Activity.

If you haven't been paying attention, Paranormal Activity is the little horror film that could. Made on a belt-tightening budget of $14,000 - $15,000, depending in whom you ask, this indie gem has garnered a lot of hype. Hype that it richly earns and deserves. Yes, it uses the "found footage" style of film but don't compare this movie to The Blair Witch Project. You'd be doing this movie, and yourself, a disservice. It uses the documentary style as well as it has ever been used. Paranormal Activity has a limited release but YOU can make a difference and bring it to a theater near you, if you DEMAND IT! Judging from the theater I was in, you are going to want to demand it.

The movie sticks to the basics. Katie (Katie Featherson) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a young couple who've just moved into a new house in San Diego. Katie feels that a haunting spirit have been following her since childhood, though Micah is hesitant to believe her. Several nights of odd happenings and strange noises, start to change Micah's mind. A demonologist (Michael Bayouth) helps us learn some back-story about Katie and how a dark figure used to stand at the foot of her bed. The demonologist tells them that the spirit is not a ghost, but a demonic spirit and that trying to talk to it will egg it on and that it leeches off negative energy. Micah takes the lead and sets up a several video cameras so that if a spirit manifests itself, he can capture it on tape. With the surveillance cameras in place, the couple uses an Ouija board to talk to the spirits, escalating the situation drastically. Doesn’t sound so scary, right? Wrong.

With a small cast, there is no room for error in a movie like this. As the couple, Katie and Micah, grow from being wary of the spirit intruding in their lives to fearing for their survival. The film hinges on their acting, and Featherston delivers an incredibly believable performance. Really, it's her ability to create a sense of dread and subtle cues that draws you in and makes you feel for her and the horrible nightmare she is in. Micah Sloat, as the boyfriend, provides some laughs, but he really comes on strong as a man who goes from skeptic to fighter. He does exactly what this film needs him to do, annoy us at times but support his lady. Director Oren Peli can stand tall as his first time directing shatters any preconceived notions of small budgets equal cheesy effects. Because there are none. No special effects to take us out of the movie and say, "C'mon!" Creativity is alive and well, my friends. This movie is what it sets out to be. Scary. Frightening. Gripping to the last 15-minute fright fest.

When seeing a film in the theater, the crowd you see it with can really add to the experience. Outside of comedy, nowhere is this truer than with horror. I saw this with a packed audience and believe me; we all jumped at the same times, gasped at the right moments, and looked at each other with eyes saying, “Did you just see that?” This is what great movie going moments is about! If you want to go out on a first date with a special someone...TAKE THEM TO THIS FILM! Not only will they be clutching onto your beefy, well-defined arm for comfort, they will climb on top of your shoulders, wrap their legs around your neck, and squeeze onto your head for dear life. I'm pretty sure I saw that happen in the theater I was in. The fright in this movie is direct and effective. Opening doors. Objects moving of their own. Footsteps in talcum powder. It takes instances we’ve seen before and presents them to us on the big screen in ways that it feels like the first time. I'm still surprised how much this movie pulled me in and had me jumping at moments.

If you want to see Paranormal Activity and it's not showing in your area, you have to DEMAND IT! The buzz you are hearing is real and in a twist on marketing, the good folks at Paramount want you to go online and make your voices heard. Visit the official movie website to learn how. It’s in limited release with new cities being added regularly; make sure it’s in one near you. A refreshing take on being scared and reminds us, me especially, that horror still has plenty of screams waiting to be unleashed.

The 411: Low-budget has never looked so good and been so scary. This mockumentary raises the bar and turns a simple story of a house haunting into a gripping, glance behind you; cover your head while you sleep experience. It serves as yet another example that you don't need to pay big bucks for computer-generated scares, hire egotistic actors to deliver over dramatic monologues, and yes, you should be afraid of things that go bump in the night.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]