Strange bedfellows
Oct 28, 2009 |
Like The Blair Witch Project before it, Paranormal Activity is the latest low-budget home-camcorder horror flick to arrive amidst gigabytes of Internet hype. While the scares are a smidgen obvious, the experience is still fun as theater audiences collectively scare each other with their screams.
Micah and Katie are a young couple living together in a tastefully furnished two-story, three-bedroom San Diego home. He’s a day trader and she’s a college student getting her degree in English. The year is 2006, before the economic downturn, which may explain their ability to afford such a lifestyle–an especially sweet deal for Katie, who seems to spend most of her time beading homemade jewelry instead of studying. Perhaps this rather privileged life is why she has been chosen by a demon for haunting.
Since she was 8 years old, Katie has been visited by a dark form that disperses malevolent vibes. No matter where she lives, it seems to follow her. Micah decides to set up a camcorder in their bedroom to record the supernatural occurrences that happen while they sleep.
Although the operative word to describe Paranormal is obviously “scary,” what the film is really good at creating is a sense of dread. Micah is the ultimate knucklehead. His foolhardy, frat-boy bravado inspires theater-goers to groan in disgust at his stupidity as he taunts the spirit–which is part of the fun. The low budget of $20,000 is effective enough, especially in scenes featuring Micah’s stupidity–like on of his ideas involving a Ouija board and talcum powder in an attempt to catch the spiritual intruder’s footprints.
Still, it would have been nice to have some sort of mythology or backstory regarding Katie being chosen. There are throwaway explanations from Micah’s “research” that basically IDs the disturbances as being a random, drive-by act of satanic visitation, which is unsatisfying. The ending, reportedly created by Steven Spielberg himself, gives an appropriate orgasm of loud, horror release, but one can’t help feeling that the events would have been more chilling had more subtle means been applied–as in Blair Witch for instance.
The pacing is also a bit pokey, with too many scenes of the couple just lying around on the couch or chatting with Katie’s best friend. A little already goes a long way in terms of establishing the couple as characters deserving of sympathy. As a collective scream-fest though, Paranormal Activity should definitely be seen in a theater with an audience. On DVD, it may not be quite as jolting. Unless you’re alone.
