Paranormal Activity is weak on horror
This "true" ghost story doesn't measure up

If you've seen the trailer for Paranormal Activity, you know that this is supposed to be the horror movie of the year. In what has to be one of the best marketing campaigns for a small horror film, Paramount Pictures has been teasing audiences across the country into seeing a film that has had a lot of buzz in its limited release. What started as midnight-only showings in select theaters is now reaching across the country, and FilmGuru.Net was able to attend a screening in Kansas City.

Katie (Katie Featherstone, left) and Micha (Micha Sloat) are a young couple who become increasingly disturbed by a presence that visits them in the middle of the night, a presence that may or may not be demonic. (Paramount, 2009)

Directed by: Oren Peli
Written by: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs

Rated

(for languauge)
Running time: 86 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 2 out of 10.

Paranormal Activity begins with the premise that something happened to two young people trying to document evidence of the supernatural in their home. The footage we are shown is taken from their recordings over the course of several weeks.

Katie Featherstone has been haunted by a presence since she was 8 years old. She claims that she has seen something that visits her in the night. Her little sister saw it too. But it has been dormant for years. In recent weeks, however, she and her boyfriend Micha have experienced unexplained things. Micha has bought a video camera and plans to record their daily (and nightly) activity in hopes of catching something on tape.

What unfolds over the next 80+ minutes is a pseudo-documentary of their lives. They ask a psychic to come in and investigate. He refers them to a demonologist, but Micha refuses to let Katie call. He wants to take things into his own hands. But events get creepier and creepier. What began as noises and closing doors develops into full-blown encounter with something.

But there are problems with the story. It relies too heavily on short, interspered "gotcha" moments. This makes it seem more like an extended practical joke than a real film.

Paranormal Activity may appeal to certain audiences (those who are entralled by Ghost Hunters International, for instance). It offers a somewhat interesting story of a haunting, but it fails to truly deliver on its tale of fright. In fact, it's a pretty ordinary (and uneventful) story for most of the movie. It had me jump once or twice, but making a loud noise or throwing something at me will illicite the same reaction.

The problem is that nothing kills a good ghost story like being told over and over that it's a true story. For me, the "shaky cam" reality point-of-view is the cinematic equivalent to a storyteller interrupting the story to remind me, "This is all true, you know. Saw it for myself. Here's the proof."

When The Blair Witch Project debuted in 1999, it used a two-camera point-of-view to tell us a documentary-style horror story. It was fresh. It was unique. And even though I knew it wasn't real, it still scared the hell out of me. Still does, actually.

Now, 10 years later (10 years? Really?), the shaky cam has been done. It's a cinematic trope that was effective to various degrees (depending on who you ask) in films like Blair Witch and Cloverfield. It no longer provides cinematic veracity.

In this case, Paramount is hoping that you will provide the X factor needed to make the film really scary. The marketing machine has tried to encourage people to see Paranormal Activity in the theaters. Trailers and TV spots all show packed theaters with audiences screaming and jumping in their seats. It's as if Paramount knew all along that the film wouldn't stand on its own.

I saw Paranormal Activity on a Wednesday afternoon in a sparsely populated theater. No one screamed unexpectedly. There weren't rows of people flinching from the screen in unison. Try as I might, I couldn't get past the fact that the film was missing something. It needed "snakes on a plane."

When I saw Snakes on a Plane, I was lucky enough to see a late night showing in a college town. The theater was filled with drunk students who had no problem getting into the movie. They laughed when people met untimely deaths. And they cheered when Samuel L. Jackson said that immortal line that had become a catchphrase before the movie was released. Of course, I never thought for a single moment the film would have been any good without that audience. I have never had a desire to watch Snakes on a Plane on DVD or cable.

Since then, whenever a movie needs that audience participation to make it a successful viewing, I tell people it needs "snakes on a plane." This is one such movie.

Is Paranormal Activity worth seeing? Only in a theater, and then only if you're in a packed house of people willing to believe that what they see on the screen is real. Maybe.

But if you're jaded by horror films that try to pass themselves off as reality television, stay away. Especially if you're prone to motion sickness caused by shaky camera work.

Paranormal Activity is weak on horror This "true" ghost story doesn't measure up

Paranormal Activity is weak on horror
This "true" ghost story doesn't measure up