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Get your poison pens ready! The Movie Man is sticking his lovely neck out again, just as he did with Contact (1997, Movie Man No. 189, a 9) and The Grinch (2000, MM #337, 9).
Some readers are going to be aghast that the Movie Man has awarded a rare 8 to Paranormal Activity. Others will have a very hard time sleeping after seeing it – the hallmark of a great scary movie.
About the film Paranormal Activity cost all of $17,000 to make in 2007. An ingenious marketing program – where filmgoers were requested to “Demand it!” online for the movie to come to their area – fueled interest in the picture. (If you smell some Blair Witch Project fumes here, you’re right; aside from the online frenzy whipped up by both, the films share NSCS – nauseating shaky camera syndrome.)
Initially, PA was only released at midnight showings in very few cities. People went crazy, selling out every show. Coupled with a terrific trailer where an audience is filmed shrieking in terror and a slow “roll-out” to more theaters, PA has become the promotional hit of the year. The Movie Man had to traipse to Hurst to see it and the matinee was jammed. Exiting the theater, people where whipping out cell phones, calling their friends about this “awesome” scary movie. PA finally gets a wide national release this week, and it’s very much worth seeking out. There’s one more similarity between Blair Witch and PA: the backlash. Now, moviegoers are expecting something colossal from PA. And many will wonder if the Movie Man has lost his mind with this high rating. But, the Movie Man, perhaps the most veteran horror movie attendee in cinematic history, had something occur to him in PA that has never happened to him ever – a scene gave him chills. Twice. The plot (spoilers – PA is more effective if you don’t know what’s coming so you might want to go see it first) Katie (Katie Featherston) admitted to her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) that she has been haunted since she was eight years old. To document the event, the live-in lovers set up a camera in their bedroom that runs through the night. Then, each day, they review what happened while they slept. A few creepy things occur – doors opening, knocking noises, lights flicking on and off – enough that they contact a ghost exorcist (Mark Fredrichs). But he tells them they’re messing with a demon and that’s “not his expertise.” Sloat steadily gets more perturbed at the goings-on and one time calls the demon out, to show itself – that was a very bad idea. Things get even worse when, against Featherston’s wishes, he brings in a Ouija board. Soon, nocturnal events are keeping both awake as unseen attacks become more frequent. They decide to stay one more night – a humongous mistake. What works Most of this movie is just two people wandering around their house, usually in their bedroom. Still, Featherston and Sloat make the young couple believable most of the time. They bicker and joke – and get truly terrified. The trick of showing the couple asleep then advancing the camera shot via time-lapse is very effective, especially when it zips from 1:15 a.m. to 3:25 then slows down. Something creepy is about to happen... When Sloat taunts the unseen demon, the audience moaned; everyone knows you don’t taunt a demon! The fact that PA unspools slowly with the eerie events unfolding at a snail’s pace builds tremendous suspense. As incidents escalate, the atmosphere gets taut – many in the audience with the Movie Man screamed and several “brave dudes” cussed out loud at sudden revelations. (This is a movie that works really well in a packed house.) Best scene The ending. Wow! (Two other endings were filmed; this one, suggested by Steven Spielberg, is tremendously effective.) Unlike Blair Witch, PA’s conclusion isn’t ambiguous. (Even though the Movie Man loved the way Blair Witch ended, too.) Good luck not tripping out at the end of PA! What doesn’t work Some of the conversation between the lovers is stilted. But these aren’t seasoned actors. There’s also little reason to have other actors in the movie – even if they’re barely in it. Like Blair Witch and Cloverfield (2008, MM #755, 8), there’s a ton of hand-held, carrying-the-camera-while-running-down-the-stairs activity. It can be nauseating, certainly. The rating The R is for language. PA is almost totally gore-free and generates its scares via unsettling images and noises. Summing up Christian moviegoers will find this film more frightening than non-believers (much like The Exorcist). Where you stand on unseen entities will affect what you think about PA. Some will laugh this “boring” and “stupid” movie off. But lots of people won’t be able to sleep at night for a while when they hear a bump in the night. The Movie Man warned you! Next up Where the Wild Things Are. |
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