....Paranormal Activity has done for sleeping in your own bed. And that kinda sucks for me because sleeping is pretty much my favorite thing to do - now I can't even do that! I'm not trying to be a tough guy by saying that movies do not often scare me, but movies do not often scare me. The last movie that really put the fear in me was REC (the end) and before that, The Eye (OG) several years back. It seems that a movie comes along about once every five years, if that, that really manages to do it and Paranormal Activity is most definetly one of those rare movies. It's not a perfect film but any movie that prevents me from taking that dark and lonely walk down the hall from bedroom to bathroom to take a squirt is more than worth all of my praise. So congratulations, Paranormal Activity.
So how scary is it? Pretty damn scary. There are several moments that are INCREDIBLY fucking scary and there are many stretches of the film that are so intense that I was literally gripped to the edge of my seat (cliche but true) and that is not an easy thing for a filmmaker to accomplish. So congratulations also to you, Oren Peli, for taking a mere $15,000 and one week's time and giving us one of the only true horror films in recent years. You have proven that talent and a good story are far more important than an excessive budget. You could learn something from this guy, H-Wood.
I have never in my lifetime experienced the theatrical experience that I experienced last night, and I loved every second of it. I never got the chance to see Blair Witch in theatres but i'd imagine that was very similar to the madness that ensued last night. First off, the 11:40pm showing that Jen and I planned on going to was sold out. That's the first time i've actually seen a horror flick sell out in my area. Secondly, there was a policeman outside of the theatre that the movie was playing in to ensure that nobody would fight over seating. He made us form a line outside which quickly wrapped around the building and then when we finally got inside the theatre, there was another line of people that had already been let in a bit earlier. We took our seats and within seconds the entire theatre, and we're talking a BIG theatre, was completely filled to capacity. The anticipation was palpable and the theatre erupted in applause when the previews ended and the movie was about to begin. When does that ever happen!? I hope you all get to experience the same thing I did because something like this doesn't come along very often. This was truly a special night and a great day for the horror genre.
You may have noticed that i've typed a bunch but haven't really gotten into the movie itself - well there's a reason for that. PA is the kinda movie i'd rather you go into not really knowing what to expect and if I were to talk about things that happened, and aspects I liked and didn't like, i'm afraid it would kinda take the piss out of it. So we'll save that kinda stuff for the comments section. When you see it, come on back and leave a comment with your thoughts and we'll get more into it in there. I will say that the only gripe I have with the movie whatsoever is the very end aka the "Spielberg ending", which comes off way too Hollywood-y and way too generic horror movie-y. From what i've read, the original ending sounds far superior - but the grass is usually greener, right? The only other fault I can find is that the hand-held thing has already been done a million times before, but so have zombie movies and I loved Zombieland so how can I criticize that? Besides, the non Hollywood looking cast and the acting make this one of the more believable and 'real' feeling entries in that overdone sub-genre anyway.
This past Summer may have sucked for theatrical horror, but this Fall is doing a pretty damn good job of making up for it, eh? Last week we got Zombieland, one of the best zombie flicks to date, and this week we got (or some of us got, rather) Paranormal Activity, one of the better haunting/hand-held cam films i've seen. The good news is that by popular demand, PA is opening wide as a saigon whore next Friday, so EVERYONE's gonna get the opportunity to see it! And believe me, this is the kinda movie you want to see with a jam packed audience full of screaming girls - so get out to the theatre while the buzz is still hot and have the daylights scared outta ya this Halloween season! I personally am more prone to being scared watching a movie alone in the dark at my house, rather than in a packed theatre, but the screams of underage girls were music to my ears last night (that sounded bad) and it really made the whole experience quite memorable. One last piece of advice - sit next to a scared looking female!
I leave you with a couple things I heard from fellow audience members as we were walking out of the theatre -
"I think I peed my pants....no really, I think I peed my pants."
"I'll tell ya one thing....I am not comfortable sleeping by myself tonight."
The former of which came from a full grown man and the latter of which is a sentiment that I, a full grown man, was totally agreeing with last night. I rest my case.
8 comments:
I'm seeing it today, I saw an earlier cut of it back in December 2007(!) so I'll be curious to see if the new ending works better.. But I second ya, scary stuff. Great actors.
I can so write my thoughts while keeping it spoiler free. ;)
With such a low cast I believe it was two things that made the movie. The suspense and the way they portrayed it as well as the character's interaction with one another.
The suspense, with the build up they used, was pulled off perfectly. Not enough horror movies these days use actual build up. It's all about the overkill on gore (which is ok) and the cheap thrills (which is boring most of the time.) The suspense and the building up of the suspense is what is needed and PA delivers in spades.
The most important was that the characters were believable. If someone told you a year ago (aside from those who had already seen this on the circuit) that someone was going to do a horror movie, with this cast size, that would be amazing- would you have believed them? So.. onto the characters; I've known people who are like the couple. I'm pretty sure we all have to one extent or another known couples exactly like this. They didn't FEEL like they were acting. It was the interactions between the two that truly shined in helping us better experience the suspense factor I mentioned above.
Great movie, I'm not sure how well it'll hold up to a second showing but I know I'll find that out when the wide release hits next week!
Hahaha. I loved this movie. I admittedly had a hard time going to sleep and that hardly ever happens. Agreed that the ending was hokey compared to the original, but I'm sure they will release the "alternate ending" on DVD...or at least I hope they will.
One of the things that bugged me about the movie was Micah. He was hilarious, but I think pushed it a little too far with calling out the entity. Although it did succeed in making things so much more tense, so maybe it was worth it.
The other issue I had is whenever Katie has the camera, I'm not really sure why she would continue to hold it and film when she's scared. I'm willing to forgive them though because without the camera, there's no movie.
Becky - I also felt Micah pushed it a little far but you're right, it made things more tense, so I ended up not minding it.
Loved this movie. After catching the boston midnight debut a few weeks a go, I saw it for the second (and a half) time last night with my wife.
Oddly, we caught a 5pm, then a 640 and both were mostly empty.
The first screening was ruined by aholes talking over the movie so we walked out, got a refund and passes for the enxt showing. It's one of the rare horror movies where the scares hold up on the second vieiwng.
I loved that Micah and Katie come off as people we know in our own lives and while attractive, they're not "Hollywood ordinary". (Micah actually looks like and reminds me of one of my clients).
Clare found the movie scary, but she was UBER freaked out that night when she was trying to sleep and heard the house settling and the cat scratching on the door. Gotta love the rare movie that sticks with you hours later.
I liked it but only found a few parts actually scary (including the ending).
I thought it was good, it definitely doesn't live up to the infamous hype its been getting from...well all of us. I gotta say Micah being an arrogant SOB worked for me. Usually the characters in shaky cam movies have no lionheart. I'm glad Micah didn't give a sh*t and broke down that generic rule.
Amityville for the new jaded/reality tv generation!
I must admit though, it was thoroughly enthralling! Watching it in the dark, gives it that extra charm!
I am very curious cause you told me I got the older ending, I wanna know what happens in the theatrical version.. Perhaps I shall go research..
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