Let's start with a little history, here: this movie follows the same steps as the movie that started the whole "shaky cam" theme, The Blair Witch Project. In fact, Paranormal Activity has also been given the title as the modern Blair Witch, and I believe that it's just that, except much better. This movie has been sitting on the shelf for about two years, now, showing in only film festivals and getting little popularity. But, as it circled around festivals and became known to well-known movie critics, it soon started growing in popularity to the point where they began to show it in more areas. With a budget of only $11,000, this movie has already grossed over a million dollars in the past two weeks that it's been shown, and the number is still climbing. Tickets have been sold out every showing, and the view of the popularity of this movie was extremely underestimated.

The story is simple: a couple, Micah and Katie, have been living with each other for a while now, and have been experiencing some strange happenings, and they believe that there is a ghost haunting their house, mainly focusing on Katie. Micah, a tech-freak, decided to buy a hi-tech camera in order to capture whatever is happening while they sleep, only to view the disturbing and creepy footage caught the very next day. But they realise that whatever is following them grows more dangerous and threatening.

Now, first off, for a film with an $11,000 budget, this was very, very well-made. The location was simple and was set mostly in a bedroom, there weren't any stupid CGI crappy ghost effects or anything, it was all real. You never even saw the ghost (except for one scene), which made it just as creepy, or to me at least, because I believe that if you can't see it, it makes it all the more scary. Most of it is strange noises, scary noises, disturbing imagery or creepy stuff in general, and it just kind of gives you the shivers. And there is one scene with a Ouija board that just really left me perplexed on how the scene was made, because it was really well-done.

The film starts off slow, getting to know the characters a bit, who they are, what they do, nighttime roles around, and that's when things get quiet and you know something is up, but you don't know what. The first few nights, nothing too big happens, and I felt a bit of a let down. But it's just the sense that you know something will happen, and it will creep you out no matter what, is what makes you suddenly grip the armrests and move uncomfortable as they start showing footage while Micah and Katie are sleeping. The night footage is the worst stuff, because that's when everything "goes bumping" around. I went with my friend, and every time the footage of Micah and Katie were sleeping came  up, she'd grab  my hand and squeeze it, because you know something is going to happen, but you don't know what, and your imagination gets to the best of you.

The acting was pretty good for the most part. The beginning of the movie, everything seemed almost real and it felt like we were just watching someone's home movies. But when the characters started getting a bit scared, to the point where they are completely terrified, I felt as though what they were doing was too forced and it didn't seem real, which kind of brought me out of the whole creepy mode. But it didn't make me not like the movie, that's for sure.

The camera work is like no other shaky cam movie, because most of it is with the camera on a tripod so you don't really get sick with all these sharp or shaky camera movements, so you can actually keep your lunch from coming back up.

Although this movie wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be, it still gave me the creeps, and it was a very well-made movie, and I think it is idiotic that they are doing the whole "demand it" thing (to where if it gets one million hits, they will release this movie nationwide). This movie has gotten so much popularity over the past few months that I am sure that if they released this in regular movie cinemas, they would have made so much more money much more quickly. But shows are still selling out, and if they do release it in regular theaters, they will keep racking up the big bucks and this movie will probably go down in history somewhere.

If you want to get scared, go see this movie. If you don't get scared easily, but you still want to be creeped out or admire how well they made this movie seem real with real-looking poltergeist effects, go see this movie. It's great to see how an independent movie that started out with no popularity at all turning out to be one of the most popular movies of the year (I see about 4-5 TV spots a day for this movie). I am sure you won't be disappointed.


Sean

Thanks for the review Sean.

I loved the Blair Witch for many of the reasons you have said above, most notably being that you don't get to see the "bad guy".

As an off note (is that the right term? ... I dunno) I am going to write something similar to this.... I've had an idea of someone entering a cult with hidden camera's in the aim to expose, but get sucked in themselves.

Anyways back to the film.... I think it will be very hard for me to get a copy of this, which is annoying. Hopefully when it comes out on DVD I can grab it.

I say we should have more of these no budget films with high production value making millions.... it's good.

Thanks again Sean.

I got an email today that it did get 1,000,000 demands, so it should be opening wide pretty soon.

Quoted from Tommyp Thanks for the review Sean. I loved the Blair Witch for many of the reasons you have said above, most notably being that you don't get to see the "bad guy". As an off note (is that the right term? ... I dunno) I am going to write something similar to this.... I've had an idea of someone entering a cult with hidden camera's in the aim to expose, but get sucked in themselves. Anyways back to the film.... I think it will be very hard for me to get a copy of this, which is annoying. Hopefully when it comes out on DVD I can grab it. I say we should have more of these no budget films with high production value making millions.... it's good. Thanks again Sean.

You know what? The general and the particular are are completely relatated:

I bow down to the individuals that helped fashion me. And that includes:

Our Michael....

Thank you, Michael!!! I hope you realize how much your work means to us!!!!!

(The following helps me identify an individual that we all must battle!"

As an off note (is that the right term? ... I dunno) I am going to write something similar to this.... I've had an idea of someone entering a cult with hidden camera's in the aim to expose, but get sucked in themselves.

Sandra

Really good movie that's actually most effective hours after it's over and you're getting ready for bed yourself.

I live in a college town and saw it in a packed theater with hundreds of very vocal twenty-somethings. We had a few hecklers, but otherwise, people really got into it. They laughed, they gasped, and during one key scene, screamed their lungs out.

I have no complaints with the film other than the last sixty-or-so seconds. It seemed cheap and was reportedly tacked on as a suggestion by Steven Spielberg. I get what the guy was going for, but the way it's handled isn't exactly successful.

Then again, when you go home and start looking over your shoulder just to make sure you're alone when you should be, maybe Spielberg's suggestion hit the right note after all.

I hope it continues to make the money it deserves, but I think the best viewing environment for this film is at home on the couch with the lights off. Either way, it's a film all horror fans should see.

This movie scared me more than anything in a long time. sure, I mean it was a little slow at times, but what an INTENSE climax!!! and when she got dragged down the hall..just woah.

(major spoiler)

So did Katie (I think that's her name) get shot by the demon or someone else?

Quoted from Aaron This movie scared me more than anything in a long time. sure, I mean it was a little slow at times, but what an INTENSE climax!!! and when she got dragged down the hall..just woah. (major spoiler) So did Katie (I think that's her name) get shot by the demon or someone else?

I don't know what ending you saw, but I heard that that was one of the endings out of three. Someone said that she got shot by the police after her friend found the body, but I am not sure.

Sean

Really? three endings?

Quoted from Aaron Really? three endings?

SPOILERS







Yeah, I heard that there were three endings:

- Katie gets shot
- Katie looks at the camera and slits her throat open
- Micah is thrown at the camera, Katie sniffs him, then transforms into a demonic-looking woman and rushes at the camera for one last scare (the one I saw)


I even stayed after the missing credits to see if there was anything else, but there wasn't.


Sean

Cool, man I was so disappointed that Micah getting thrown at the camera wasn't what I saw.


But I really liked how it was filmed, it was kinda like "WTF" at first, but that style is unique. Reminds me of End Of Tape.

Quoted from Aaron Cool, man I was so disappointed that Micah getting thrown at the camera wasn't what I saw. But I really liked how it was filmed, it was kinda like "WTF" at first, but that style is unique. Reminds me of End Of Tape.

Yeah, that was a cool bit. I still can't figure out any way that they could have done that. Though, it happened so fast, that it's hard to tell if they green-screened it, or CGI-ed it or what. But it was a cool scene nonetheless. The demon effects at the very end, though, were not impressive. It actually kind of ruined it, and it made it cheesy. I was telling my friend that it would have been better if Micah were thrown at the camera, then sat there for 6 hours doing nothing, until finally she looks at the camera and slits her throat. You know, kind of combine all the three endings together.

Sean

That's actually a good idea. This will be a cult classic though

I thought this was a pretty cool movie. Definitely above and beyond what passes for a horror film these days. This one really got to me, although that's not too hard. I'm the first to admit that I scare pretty easily.

A couple of things did bother me though. First of all, the demon's motives seem a little confused. At times it's trying to freak her out and send her insane, other times it's trying to hurt her, other times it's trying to posses her? What's the deal? I also thought it fell apart a little towards the end, when she was so desperate to leave and they packed and got ready to go and then she all of a sudden changes her mind and wants to stay, I thought Micah gave in a little too easily. I would've just bundled her up into the car and gotten the hell out of there.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this movie. Took it's time building up to the scares by establishing a couple of interesting, individual characters who (although they acted a little cliched sometimes) were definitely better written and performed than you'd find in 99% of the horror flicks that will come out this year. The writing was good, the mockumentary style really added to the suspense and the atmosphere. There aren't enough movies these days where something not happening is even more frightening than something happening.

Very glad I saw it.

Saw this yesterday. Not particularly impressed but not particularly turned off. I was, however, turned off by the characters. All three of them. All these "reality-based" ghost stories have the same characters. The believer who are just so perfectly content in being victims, the hardheaded skeptic who ends up talking a lot of smack and making everything worse, and, of course, the hokey specialist. I particularly hated the guy because he just flat out didn't give a shit about his girlfriend who really didn't try to do anything to better her situation. I just had no stake in these guys at all.

The sleep scenes were okay but were never able to find a happy balance between subtlety and intensity. Usually, it leaned too far into the "intense" zone and just came off as hokey, even more so given the film's attempt to be realistic. The final scare also went agains realism. At the same time, I do appreciate the minimalist approach. That's what made Session 9 such an effective ghost movie. PA wasn't as successful IMO but just the same.

Overall, pretty underwhelming although I'm pretty sure I'll forget about it by next week so not as bad as something like Paul Blart which will probably haunt my dreams for a good while.

EDIT: Just read about the three endings. The second one would've been way cool and actually might've made the whole movie better. The other two stink although the one I saw doesn't seem to be the worst.

james you went too easy on this one haha

i absolutely hated this film. it was probably one of the worst movies of the year. never have i felt so cheated out of $8.50 - especially since everyone, including the critics, were raving about this film.

here's a list of all the things that i hated about the film (because theres too many to state in a paragraph)

-there was nothing original about the film
-it wasnt scary AT ALL  
-the characters sucked. i especially loved how the micah tried to bully the demon but then tried to come across as the caring boyfriend at the same time. oh and the doctor was a riot.
-was there written dialogue in the script? because the first half seemed like improv
-it was boring. i was literally fighting off sleep in the theater (and thats never happened before)
-i couldnt tell if the katie was fat or hot
-the filmmakers were just trying way too hard
-it has 3 different endings (i saw the one where katie turns into a demon. ill give you this, micah being thrown at the camera was cool but that whole demon face was god awful)
-the "silent" credits. only incredibly powerful movies can pull this off- because it gives the audience a moment to reflect on what they just saw. at the end, i thought everyone in the theater was asleep

im really sorry for the rant, but i really hated this film. i dont think ive ever hated a film this much which everyone else enjoyed