"Well, whatever it is that's following me, it doesn't feel... it doesn't feel human. It feels like it's... it feels like a monster. I mean like, it wants to hurt me."
In the spirit of Halloween (it's tomorrow!) I thought it would be a great idea to focus on a horror film today. Instead of focusing on one of the classics like The Shining or Halloween, I'm going to write about a recent horror film that I think was slightly underrated by movie critics upon its release. 2007's Paranormal Activity, directed and written by Oren Peli, is probably one of the most hyped-up horror films of the past few years. It was theatrically released a year ago in October 2009 and managed to gross over 100 million dollars, ten thousand times it budget of 11,000 dollars. Because of word of mouth and the internet, Paranormal Activity because the most popular film of the 2009 Halloween season.
Much like the film my blogmate mmonty86 reviewed yesterday, The Ring, Paranormal Activity manages to be successful as a horror film because it sets a sufficiently frightening mood. The movie focuses on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are going through problems of the...paranormal...variety in their home. Katie hears voices, they hear footsteps when lying in bed, all classic signs of paranormal...activity. Micah buys a camera to film their room and the hallway beyond, hoping to catch evidence of the entity. The movie is entirely filmed from this hand-held camera, trying to play it off as a true story.
While it very naturally isn't a true story, the way in which it is shot and the fact that it seems so real makes the movie almost instantly creepy. There's a lot of tension as you wait for something to happen each night when the couple goes to sleep. I kept waiting and waiting for the next paranormal event to take place, and even when it did take place it still managed to be frightening.
The film wouldn't work so well, however, if the action and the mood didn't escalate throughout the film. What starts out as footsteps and voices eventually becomes something more as it becomes increasingly obvious that the entity in Katie and Micah's house is not just a ghost - it's demonic and dangerous in nature. It got me to start thinking "What crazy thing is going to happen next?" and it didn't disappoint in that aspect.
If you're looking for a short horror film to watch this Halloween, check out Paranormal Activity. It's not something you are going to be able to watch more than once in a short period of time, but if you want something that's going to get your "skin crawling," so to speak, for an hour and a half, I'd recommend it.
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