Post by Eric T. Jones on Oct 16, 2009 17:41:10 GMT -5
The movie that got voted into wide release by 1,000,000 internet users, "Paranormal Activity" is notable in that one can only feel happy that an independent film has already had this much success, after going nowhere for a full two years. An $11,000 film done by someone with no filmmaking experience, only to be praised by the likes of Steven Spielberg? So what could possibly go wrong?
Your answer is if the film in question is "Paranormal Activity", which like "The Blair Witch Project" ten years ago, does everything in its power to convince people all of the footage is real. Paramount decided to be cute with a film whose only charming parts are a few cute gimmicks, like doors that seem to swing by themselves (awww, invisible string) and a Ouija board whose cursor moves independently then spontaneously combusts (which is kind of impressive...). The film features no opening logo, a title card that proclaims the footage was handed down by consent of the victims depicted, and no cast or crew credits, lest the people who suspended disbelief have it all spoiled by being told what they saw was a giant hoax.
Stop me if you haven't heard this one before: a young couple has a house that seems to be haunted by invisible, evil spirits, and weird, coincidental stuff plus weird noises happen. But when they get out of bed and look for the spirits, everything's back to normal. If you're the type who believes real footage, you'll believe this film.
And maybe, quite possibly, consider it the scariest thing you've ever seen. While still in limited release, I've had several people come up to me and say just that.
Not only was "The Blair Witch Project" much more involving, funnier, intriguing, and entertaining, with far more apparent danger within, but there's absolutely nothing in "Paranormal Activity" that you yourself couldn't make with your significant other, a couple of friends, and some string. There's no merit to the writing, which flows through the same predictable pattern of the danger being far less than it seems (except for when it's most convenient, like a too little too late climax), and the only entertaining part of the film is the girl affected by these supernatural occurrences:
Katie, played by Katie Featherson. She can sometimes be funny, but in your home-made version of "Paranormal Activity", you could cast the part with a funny female friend of your own.
My personal comparative to "Paranormal Activity" is not any known camcorder flick, but one that got a similarly ridiculous wide release five years ago: Chris Kentis' "Open Water", which at least had 50 minutes' worth of funny dialogue and a better terror climax. "Paranormal Activity" is only recommendable as the movie you can invite your friends to see and see who can call "B.S." on it the most. Enough to make for a fantastic drinking game.
I award this movie **, exclusively for the reason that it's never unbearable to watch and how easy it is to stare at the film and wonder how so many people fell for it. Rest assured, while "Paranormal Activity" is far more watchable than "Miami Vice", the apparent effort is just about equivalent: the effort to pay for a camera and hit RECORD.
Your answer is if the film in question is "Paranormal Activity", which like "The Blair Witch Project" ten years ago, does everything in its power to convince people all of the footage is real. Paramount decided to be cute with a film whose only charming parts are a few cute gimmicks, like doors that seem to swing by themselves (awww, invisible string) and a Ouija board whose cursor moves independently then spontaneously combusts (which is kind of impressive...). The film features no opening logo, a title card that proclaims the footage was handed down by consent of the victims depicted, and no cast or crew credits, lest the people who suspended disbelief have it all spoiled by being told what they saw was a giant hoax.
Stop me if you haven't heard this one before: a young couple has a house that seems to be haunted by invisible, evil spirits, and weird, coincidental stuff plus weird noises happen. But when they get out of bed and look for the spirits, everything's back to normal. If you're the type who believes real footage, you'll believe this film.
And maybe, quite possibly, consider it the scariest thing you've ever seen. While still in limited release, I've had several people come up to me and say just that.
Not only was "The Blair Witch Project" much more involving, funnier, intriguing, and entertaining, with far more apparent danger within, but there's absolutely nothing in "Paranormal Activity" that you yourself couldn't make with your significant other, a couple of friends, and some string. There's no merit to the writing, which flows through the same predictable pattern of the danger being far less than it seems (except for when it's most convenient, like a too little too late climax), and the only entertaining part of the film is the girl affected by these supernatural occurrences:
Katie, played by Katie Featherson. She can sometimes be funny, but in your home-made version of "Paranormal Activity", you could cast the part with a funny female friend of your own.
My personal comparative to "Paranormal Activity" is not any known camcorder flick, but one that got a similarly ridiculous wide release five years ago: Chris Kentis' "Open Water", which at least had 50 minutes' worth of funny dialogue and a better terror climax. "Paranormal Activity" is only recommendable as the movie you can invite your friends to see and see who can call "B.S." on it the most. Enough to make for a fantastic drinking game.
I award this movie **, exclusively for the reason that it's never unbearable to watch and how easy it is to stare at the film and wonder how so many people fell for it. Rest assured, while "Paranormal Activity" is far more watchable than "Miami Vice", the apparent effort is just about equivalent: the effort to pay for a camera and hit RECORD.