Paranormal Activity
Quickcard Review
Paranormal Activity
Directed by: Oren Peli
Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: 10/09/09
CLICK HERE to read Morrow McLaughlin complete TSR
PLOT: Micah (Micah Sloat) decides to video tape the paranormal experiences that are occurring with his girlfriend Katie. He’s curious, she’s scared. Together they try to figure out what to do while things go bump in the night.
WHO’S IT FOR?
OVERALL
Sweaty palms … that’s the power of Paranormal Activity. Can’t Micah, Katie and the demon just get along? The home video is always on, to create a vibe of almost real, and it works very well. It never feels like you’re watching a movie. Even if the acting between Sloat and Featherson doesn’t feel like authentic home video, it never enters moviedom. It feels more like a film student’s college project, and that’s a compliment. If anything had felt stag, or over-stylized, the nighttime scenes would have never works, and oh how they work. If you like ghost stories you’re going to want to get in line and hold on (to whoever is sitting next to you). Each night brings a new kind of chill to the mix.
There are lows, with questions like, “Why didn’t they at least try to leave the house?” There’s also the over-talking by Katie. It seems the fact that there’s no score or soundtrack means they decided to fill all gaps with yammering. But here’s the thing, annoyance and anger are beaten every time by nervousness with Paranormal Activity. There was one point in Night #18 (it shows the nights on the screen) where I thought things were getting stale. Then Night #20 happens, yup, just got chills again. I won’t harp on the final two seconds, which is a mistake, because before the final two seconds the ending works wonders. Perhaps I’ll rail on that in full detail when Morrow McLaughlin and I go back and forth with a He Said/She Said.
Here’s the influence of a good movie … I talked to my friend right after I saw the flick. He said his friend saw it with a group and later they all seperately realized they were nauseous after seeing the movie. He asked how my stomach was feeling. Immediately I realized my stomach was feeling a little queasy. Oh my god, the movie has some sort of power … or maybe it was the half bag of Sour Patch Kids … And my mind returns to normal, but It was nice (and scary and sweaty) to live paranormal for almost two hours.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10
Paranormal Activity
Box Office Review – Nov. 1 – Michael Jackson’s This Is It beats Paranormal Activity
Box Office Review – October 25 – Paranormal Activity beats Saw VI
Box Office Review – Oct. 11 – Couples Retreat beats Zombieland and people LOVE Paranormal Activity
Box Office Review – Oct. 18 – Where the Wild Things Are beats Law Abiding Citizen
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omg i through up rite after i saw the movie/ this is freaky that i just read your stomachs were nauseous
i love this movie so much.
i never get freaked out by scarey movies and this one made me jump.
and it made my bestfriend shelby screamed at the end.
Oh I get chills when I think back to night # 20. I also felt queasy a few minutes after…weird…?
There are lows, with questions like, “Why didn’t they at least try to leave the house?”
Because there was no point?? It would follow her anyways.
Did you even watch the movie?
Chelsea –
They tried to make this movie feel real … making you feel like it could actually be you who had the demon, right?
Well, if ONE PERSON tells you the demon would follow you … do you just throw your hands in the air, say “oh well” and stay put?
Or do you TRY to spend one night somewhere else in the hopes that the one and only opinion you have sought out MAY be wrong.
remember they were planning on staying in a motel and then the plan changed. This is all I will say without spoiling the movie.
Sigh. I know about the motel. But that comes at the very end. I won’t spoil anything either. I’m just saying that if they would have added an off-camera moment where Katie tried to sleep at her friend’s place, and something scary happened, and she decided she’s better off with Micah at their home … that would have been a good addition to the film and would have taken about 30 seconds of screen time.
My daughter and I saw this so called “movie” on Saturday…it was THE WORST MOVIE SINCE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT!!!!!! The reason it makes people queezy is the motion sickness it triggers by the way it is filmed. I was so very upset to WASTE my money and time on this $20 horror flunky film!!! I don’t think it would even make it to a grade B horror flick. Thinking back, I think that Blair Witch was better than this film, this one just plain old sucked, and the ending was OH SO PREDICTABLE!! Could have stayed home and got more goosebumps watching The Haunted on TV! I do NOT recommend this movie to anyone!! Thank you
Was it Michelle, was it really predictable? Or are you a complete tool in the “Omgsh I’mz gettin a headache!!!” boat that you weren’t even watching.
Michelle did you even really see the movie? The movie was pretty damn good for only using 11,000 dollars…to call it a horror flunky film or not even a grade b horror flick is just ridiculous…never in my life have i heard a theatre so quiet during a movie, also never in my life have i been to a movie where not a single kid messes with their cell phone during the movie. To say the ending was predictable is just plain stupid considering this was one of the most unique and original films i have ever seen..This was the first movie i have ever watched that has actually creeped me out and I highly doubt you sat through the whole movie based on your review of it.
to answer your questions, yes I was watching, No I did not get a headache, and it does suprise me they spent that much making it. haha…sorry people but I was not the only one thinking it was lame in the same theater at the same time I watched it…its just our opinions here right!?! and have you NOT seen enough horror to get she was posessed when she said “we will be ok now” and then her looking over him and going downstairs…come on people, you KNEW what was gonna happen…and then the “look”…I have see that too much on those stupid “watch the cute kitty till something jumps out and scares the hell outta you” on the internet! Anyway, sorry I offended some, I was just stating my comments.
Yes I’m pretty sure most people knew what was going to happen after she said “we will be ok now”. But you can’t say the entire film was that predictable because it wasn’t. Really? The Blair Witch Project?? Better than this movie??? That’s like saying Poltergeist is better than Halloween , it’s just not true. If you thought this film was not even a grade B horror, I’d like to see what you think IS. I have seen almost every horror flick made by mankind, and this one is definately atleast a B grade, if not an A. A good Horror doesn’t constitute alot of blood, gore, action, what have you. A good horror is when you see most if not all of the theatre clinging on to other people at the edge of their seats wondering “what the F*** was that?” or “Holy S*** what will happen next?”. That is what I saw and participated in when seeing this film. Just my opinion.
anyone that thinks blair witch project is better than movie is a moron. blair was a steaming pile of &#@%. this movie was way way WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better. no movie has scared me in 15+ yrs, but this one i think i left bruises on my boyfriend’s arm from the deathgrip i had on him. this movie also plays on people’s imaginations. if you lack one, (or are expecting Saw or some stupid predictable slasher flick) then yes you will be disappointed.
VERY GOOD MOVIE, VERY SCARY…HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.. WELL DONE, BEST I HAVE SEEN IN A WHILE.
I am about to see this movie…and I am such a weeny about scary movies – I may need to buy some sleeping pills after this one
what do ya’ll think?
I’m not going to agree with anyone, but what I will say is that it most certainly DID NOT live up to the “Scariest Movie Ever!” Granted it was suspenseful, frightful, and creepy…but it wasn’t really all that. I didn’t get that same feeling I got when I first watch Nightmare On Elm St., The Exorcist,…or even Dawn of the Dead(2004). The feeling I got from this movie as I watched it was indeed heart pounding suspense, but there was something missing. I just can’t jump on the band wagon. DVD collection worthy though. It is definitely worth going and seeing…but calling someone a MORON over this movie is just plain tacky!
This is definitely the dumbest movie I have ever seen in my life… It is a complete waste of money and life. I love scary movies… and can even be cool with people liking dumb movies like The Blaire Witch Project. This time however I am ashamed of people demanding this in their area… Not because of the repetitive use of home video in movies… or the poor acting… but because the movies contains ZERO suspenseful moments… The entire movie is a $7.50 Ghost hunting type feel where you wait and wait to see something and nothing happens… just evidence… I understand this impact this would give someone had it been true.. but as a movie it provides no real “jumpy” type of scare or even spine tingling. The movie should be given a 1 out of 10 and the people who demanded it should be slapped for wasting mine and other peoples money.
Sooooo….let me see….you basically just said it was not suspensful at all yet…you were sitting there waiting for something to happen…im sorry is it just me or is that suspense??? idk anyone?? anyone?? Ok just me. Listen it is one thing to say this was a bad movie, because I can understand that, but to say it was worse than what has probably been called the worst attempt at a horror movie in years, aka “The Blair Witch Project”, that is just plain wrong. Yea by the way, learn how to spell your movie titles. You will be a bold faced liar to say you didn’t jump once during the movie.
this movie was so predictable. boring as hell and a waste of money
First I wanna say that I loved this movie. I’ve seen many horror films over the years and PA was a breath of fresh air to me. This movie gave me chills a number of times that led to me almost flipping backwards out of my seat (first movie ever to hit me like that). I’d have to say it takes some talent to make a $11,000 film that has a lasting impression on the audience. If you have the slightest belief in the supernatural you can’t tell me that after seeing this movie parts don’t stick with you. Granted it couldve done without the last 3 seconds of the film, which kinda seemed out of place, but hey thats nitpicking. As for the acting, i thought they did a great job. They really gave off the feel that this was just a family’s home video and if it weren’t for the perfect camera angles throughout you wouldn’t have known the difference. I would give this movie an 8 on a scale of 10.
Michelle, I felt queasy too, and my friend was getting a headache. We weren’t scared, so I assume it was the shaky camera work. Well, I know it was.
The thirty seconds of the empty room before the cheesy ending were pretty sweet, though.