Paranormal Activity - flawed, but fun
11/9/2009
Review by Daniel Pickles
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Directed by: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat
Rated: R
Run Time: 99 Minutes
The found-tape genre is a fairly recent addition to the growing family of horror sub-genres. The premise is as it sounds: tapes are found containing a series of recorded scenes in which the fate of their subjects is revealed.
Early examples include The Last Broadcast, The Blair Witch Project, and more recently, Cloverfield.
Often characterized by their divisiveness amongst horror-nerds (such as myself, who will inevitably harbor a deep, abiding love for them, or hate them more than anything, ever), and their nausea-inducing camerawork, these films have come to be known as a problematic genre.
Despite that (or perhaps, because of it), I recently forked over my hard-earned $8.00 to watch the newest addition to the found-tape family -- Paranormal Activity.
The plot is simple: Micah and Katie experience odd phenomena in their home. Katie, having experienced similar things earlier on in life, calls in a psychic to provide guidance; Micah buys a camera to attempt to catch the phenomena on film. The thrust of the story surrounds the reactions of the couple as they grapple with how to handle the increasingly intense presence of the strange being that haunts them by night.
The plot is sparse, which is fine; the true point of the film is to provide a voyeuristic window through which we can watch Micah and Katie as they are terrorized by the unexplainable being in their home.
The premise is made especially effective through the prognosis of the hired psychic that the being is most likely fixated on Katie rather than their house. In other words: for Katie, there is no escape or reprieve; she has a supernatural secret admirer that may never go away.
The helplessness created by this revelation is a double-edged sword that allows us to be fearful at the sight of Katie’s disrupted normalcy while simultaneously comforting ourselves with the fact that it’s not happening to us -- such are the ingredients for successful horror.
So, is the movie good? Yes, to a degree. As a couple, Katie and Micah can be somewhat grating at times. Micah is protective, macho, and ignorant in his maleness. Katie is convincing as the victim of the haunting, but her deference to Micah seems odd at times given the gravity of her situation and the distinct absence of substance in any of Micah’s advice.
It’s clear that more attention was paid to the haunting portions of the film than the characterization and plot, and the movie suffers a bit for it.
Having said that, though, the movie does handle the frightening sequences with an elegance that you don’t often find in modern horror. The effects are subtle and effective, and I was pleased to find myself wondering how they were done. In an era where it’s becoming increasingly easy to chalk everything up to CGI, it’s nice to have the wonder restored, if only for a moment.
All in all, Paranormal Activity is flawed, but fun to watch. Does it live up to the hurricane of hype surrounding it? Probably not.
Once the fact of its budget (which, according to IMDB.com, was only $11,000) is overlooked (which it should be, unless you’re a Paramount shareholder), it falls only a measure beyond mediocrity. A good measure, mind you, but well shy of excellence country.
Watch it and enjoy it, but don’t go into the theater expecting to see the genre reinvented or perfected.
Directed by: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat
Rated: R
Run Time: 99 Minutes
The found-tape genre is a fairly recent addition to the growing family of horror sub-genres. The premise is as it sounds: tapes are found containing a series of recorded scenes in which the fate of their subjects is revealed.
Early examples include The Last Broadcast, The Blair Witch Project, and more recently, Cloverfield.
Often characterized by their divisiveness amongst horror-nerds (such as myself, who will inevitably harbor a deep, abiding love for them, or hate them more than anything, ever), and their nausea-inducing camerawork, these films have come to be known as a problematic genre.
Despite that (or perhaps, because of it), I recently forked over my hard-earned $8.00 to watch the newest addition to the found-tape family -- Paranormal Activity.
The plot is simple: Micah and Katie experience odd phenomena in their home. Katie, having experienced similar things earlier on in life, calls in a psychic to provide guidance; Micah buys a camera to attempt to catch the phenomena on film. The thrust of the story surrounds the reactions of the couple as they grapple with how to handle the increasingly intense presence of the strange being that haunts them by night.
The plot is sparse, which is fine; the true point of the film is to provide a voyeuristic window through which we can watch Micah and Katie as they are terrorized by the unexplainable being in their home.
The premise is made especially effective through the prognosis of the hired psychic that the being is most likely fixated on Katie rather than their house. In other words: for Katie, there is no escape or reprieve; she has a supernatural secret admirer that may never go away.
The helplessness created by this revelation is a double-edged sword that allows us to be fearful at the sight of Katie’s disrupted normalcy while simultaneously comforting ourselves with the fact that it’s not happening to us -- such are the ingredients for successful horror.
So, is the movie good? Yes, to a degree. As a couple, Katie and Micah can be somewhat grating at times. Micah is protective, macho, and ignorant in his maleness. Katie is convincing as the victim of the haunting, but her deference to Micah seems odd at times given the gravity of her situation and the distinct absence of substance in any of Micah’s advice.
It’s clear that more attention was paid to the haunting portions of the film than the characterization and plot, and the movie suffers a bit for it.
Having said that, though, the movie does handle the frightening sequences with an elegance that you don’t often find in modern horror. The effects are subtle and effective, and I was pleased to find myself wondering how they were done. In an era where it’s becoming increasingly easy to chalk everything up to CGI, it’s nice to have the wonder restored, if only for a moment.
All in all, Paranormal Activity is flawed, but fun to watch. Does it live up to the hurricane of hype surrounding it? Probably not.
Once the fact of its budget (which, according to IMDB.com, was only $11,000) is overlooked (which it should be, unless you’re a Paramount shareholder), it falls only a measure beyond mediocrity. A good measure, mind you, but well shy of excellence country.
Watch it and enjoy it, but don’t go into the theater expecting to see the genre reinvented or perfected.
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