The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Paranormal Activity Review
Clark Kent says: Paranormal Activity may have scared up major bucks in the box office over the perennial all-star Saw series, but is it scary enough to warrant the title “scariest flick of 2009″…? Find out if it is after the jump.
GOOD: The movie is in the same bloodline of such classic scare-fests like ‘The Blair Witch’ or ‘Quarantine’ and stars a San Diego couple who go toe-to-toe with a hostile unseen force in their home. Micah (Micah Sloat) and his girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston) both handle the situation with a different approach. The bullish boyfriend is determined to “take care of” the problem himself, using a camera to document all the bumps in the night and a Ouija board, even though a psychic has warned them otherwise. The movie does provide some solid scares. The eerie quiet and more alarming attacks from the manifestation gives the audience a good jolt. This is a movie you must see on a movie screen, as the small screen doesn’t do the film justice. The subtle chilling effects – such as the door opening and closing by itself or a faint shadow on the door – emphasis the need to see this in theaters.
BAD: Unlike the aforementioned films (‘Blair Witch’ & ‘Quarantine’) — the film’s back story is the real star here. Originally shot in 2007, ‘Paranormal Activity’ was made on a $11,000 budget. Two years later and some millions in domestically grossed box office cash and folks are saying this is the second coming of the fright films. Not to give away the movie, but if I was the male lead in the movie, I wouldn’t be with Katie too much longer, no matter how good the loving is. Really that’s one of the major things that doesn’t make any sense. Is it Micah’s belief that he can save her from the spirit (or spirits) the reason why he goes in so for the good part of an hour? For those who have seen it, would you do as much as he did for her, or would you be out in a flash? The day-in, day-out adventures of the couple may bore those horror junkies looking for pop-outs and quick scares, but this is the only fault that I’ve been able to find with this flick.
UGLY: In short, ‘Paranormal Activity’ is executed creatively. Full of some shock and awe, the reworked version has audiences jumping out of their seat. Me, I wasn’t really phased, but fans of the horror genre will find some pleasant relief in knowing that this is not ‘Cloverfield’. You should most definitely go see this in theaters and make your Halloween a frightful one!
Clark Kent says: And if that doesn’t convince you to go see it, just know that THIS is NOT the ending you’ll see when/if you decide to go see it in theaters.
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The general slasher/gore movies just aren't my style one bit. Truthfully they almost made me abandon the genre all together. However, this movie was epic in suspense, while still have enough of a storyline and real human interaction to feel real. Scary stuff, and a must see.