Unlike what you’ve seen in its brilliant marketing campaign over the last month, the events that take place in Oren Peli’s “Paranormal Activity†aren’t in the least bit scary.
However, the fact that he was able to create a film on a shoestring budget, with a plot as thin as Nicole Richie after a weekend bender- and have it work on the big screen- has Hollywood shaking in its collective boots.
For that element alone, “Paranormal Activity†is a success at the box office. Nonetheless, just because a film grosses millions of dollars doesn’t mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that it’s a quality piece of cinema.
In the case of this flick, fun is a word that will come up quite a bit, but developed, and downright terrifying? Well, they leave themselves at the door before you pick up your popcorn.
An eccentric study of personality clashes, “Paranormal Activity†is ultimately a test of will between two people who, by all means, shouldn’t be together. Had Micah [Micah Sloat] accepted the fact that his girlfriend had a dilemma that he couldn’t fix and had Katie [Katie Featherston] separated herself from the man she loved for his own benefit, the story would have never advanced past the first 15 minutes. Regardless of this, their descent into madness is one of the driving forces of the film and one that you want to see them deal with.
Horror is no place for rational thinking-especially when the horror isn’t happening to you.
Sloan is hilarious throughout the film, as he never second-guesses his ability to take care of the “problem†his girlfriend, Katie, has with her own personal demon. His consistent need to tape everything he sees is the catalyst in the film and his almost Wile E. Coyote ways of getting things done, ranging from taping them in their bed room and putting powder on the floor, are more like a comedic treat, rather than anything close to terror-inducing.
His later dealings with psychic Mark Fredrichs [who is absolutely hysterical in his small role] cement the notion even more, making the audience feel that he is not someone to be taken seriously and his end is in the cards.
For this, you can say “Paranormal Activity” fails in creating a truly solid horror film, as you know they are encompassed in a battle they can not win. Nevertheless, it makes for some fun train wreck cinema.
The same thing goes for Featherson, as her desires to get to the bottom of the situation are continually repressed by the smirky Sloat, who again, feels he is the man in the relationship and will do anything to get the demon away from “his girl and his home.†This creates several interesting scenes where Sloat is forced to act and indeed defend his home and his lady. These droplets in the film are some of the most intriguing and fill out the story as much as it possibly can be. Throughout the film, you’ll want to know more about the characters, as you never find out what Sloan’s job is or how the couple is able to afford the sweet home they live in. You do know the important things like Featherston’s lengthy demon chronicles that have followed her for over a decade, though and that is in effect, all you really need to know.
Being able to give the audience just enough information to keep them captivated is an arduous task and here, Peli has done an exceptional job. Throughout “Paranormal Activity,†you’ll be hesitant to blink, as the feeling of “something about to happen,†never wains. Never more present than during the multitude of bedroom scenes, Peli plays with perspective and creates illusions that send quick chills up the spine. Seeing Katie’s later trials and tribulations are also worthwhile, and give this flick a creepy factor and up the anticipation even more.
Nonetheless, that feeling is never fully reciprocated to a level that separates it from the ever-growing pack of horror films shot in this fashion.
It may be fun and it may have accomplished so much more than its budget called for, but in the end, “Paranormal Activity†is nothing more than a slightly better than mediocre effort. It’s great with friends that don’t need to be scared and just want need to be entertained, but true horror aficionados will be disappointed, as the great advertising for this film blew it up bigger than the “Good Year†blimp. While it doesn’t deflate and sink to nether regions of the genre, “Paranormal Activity†is stuck in traffic with the rest of us.
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