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Sadly, most of this isn't true.
While I did witness several people jump out of their seats and scream uncontrollably in a recent screening (the film was made in '07 but is currently doing a tour of college campuses after being picked up for limited distribution by Paramount), I slept soundly after seeing the film. That's not to say the movie isn't scary. It is. But you kind of have to believe in what the film's peddling to really, honestly get the movie's full effect. I'll explain in a minute.
The setup is simple: A couple, Micah and his live-in girlfriend Katie, have a problem. Something is haunting their new, Pottery Barn-styled San Diego home. While Micah doesn't really believe in spirits, Katie is convinced that whatever is in their house has been following her since she was eight years old. And this something, well, it's not very nice. To try and figure out what's going on, Micah buys a video camera (the entire film is from this one vantage point) and cobbles together a mini-ghost hunter set up. He's got the microphone to record 'hidden' voices (EVP), he's got the video camera trained on their bed at night (the paranormal activities are nocturnal), and, most importantly, he's got a healthy dose of skepticism. It only takes a few nights of filming, however, before Micah is a believer.
What really works in Paranormal Activity is that the film relies heavily (most likely due to budget constraints, reportedly the film cost less than $20,000 to make) on a mounting sense of dread. You never really see what is haunting Katie. Every night something new happens -- the door to the bedroom swings open, loud noises are heard on the stairs, strange footprints appear, lights flicker on and off -- and the film is plotted in such a way that the ratcheting up of tension is almost unbearable. It is amazing how something so seemingly benign as the appearance of an old photograph can become so incredibly nerve wracking. By the second to last night, when director Oren Peli pulls out all the stops in a beautifully executed stunt involving Katie being pulled from the bed, I was almost in tears.
Almost.
And there's the rub. I don't think it gives much away to say that the entity haunting Micah, and more importantly, Katie, isn't a ghost. It's a demon. For me, if it had been a ghost, the film would have been that much more frightening. In my mind, a ghost could haunt anyone. Could be anywhere. But a demon? You kind of have to believe in those to be scared by them. By the end of the film, when the motivation of the demon is revealed in all its conniving glory, I was a bit disappointed. So much of the film's running time is so unnerving that if less was explained it would have made the film that much more powerful. It certainly doesn't help that the movie ends with a cheap scare that's not only overplayed but, frankly, makes very little sense.
Paranormal Activity is old school, haunted house horror. It's primal. Raw. If you're like the people I saw the film with, you'll plug your ears, close your eyes, and wish you were home with mommy. But when you do get home, if you're anything like me, you'll lie awake staring at the closet almost wishing you were still scared.
Ah, if only it were a ghost.
The DVD includes the highly-sought-after alternate ending (not as scary as the theatrical ending, I have to admit).
