"I was definitely a bit shaken by Paranormal Activity, then again I watched it alone just before bedtime."
Director Oren Peli based the film on his own script, and what he created draws obvious parallels to The Blair Witch Project, another low-budget indie that generated as much hype. Peli knows how to build tension, and it would be interesting to see what he does with a heftier budget.
Micah and Katie are a young couple living together for the first time. We first meet them through a camera that Micah is manning himself, and soon learn that Katie has been having issues of the supernatural variety. Micah has purchased the expensive camera in order to film them while they sleep, so that they might catch whatever has been whispering into Katie's ear at night. What they find is truly terrifying and only gets worse the more they try to find a solution. Basically they're attempting to capture demons by throwing hissy fits of epic proportions, all caught on camera.
I was definitely a bit shaken by Paranormal Activity, then again I watched it alone just before bedtime. That's probably something you shouldn't do. It isn't a series of gruesome images, or even a masked killer ready to pounce on his or her victim, it was mostly a door opening by itself! There is a slow burn that starts quietly, and as each night passes for a young couple, the darkness seems more and more nightmarish. The cast is small, the shooting location is relegated to a house, so if the sense of claustrophobia doesn't get you, then the weird stuff will.
Unfortunately this film has had a lot of hype surrounding it, and once a really good and freaky horror film comes along and scares a bunch of people, the excitement begins to build. By the time many of you will have the chance to see it on DVD you may find yourself questioning the high praise it has received.
The extras aren't as exciting as the film, there are some shorts from a competition in a similar low-budget style, which I suppose if nothing else, inspires the up and coming to keep making films. I will say that the alternate ending is different, but only in the last ten seconds.
This is one that will continue to be talked out, so we recommend, (not just horror fans) to grab the duvet, the popcorn and a friend for an evening of Paranormal Activity.