Paranormal Activity is a frightfully efficient horror film

Paranormal Activity made $7 Million in its first week... in 170 theaters.

by Ken San Nicolas

Director: Oren Peli
Time: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Genre: Horror
Featuring: Micah Sloat, Katie Featherston

Paranormal Activity is a horror mockumentary that follows the same basic foundation as films like "The Blair Witch Project", "Quarantine" and "Cloverfield" but produces a final product more complete than its predecessors.

Here is a little background on Oren Peli's film. Paranormal Activity was made with a $15,000 budget. It was granted a limited release in 170 theaters and grossed 7 million dollars on its opening weekend. Since then, its garnered plenty of hype and after high demand, has hit local theaters.

The film follows the story of Micah and Katie, a couple that is being "haunted" by some kind of demonic presence. In order to catch this being, the couple set up a video camera on a tripod in their bedroom. When they review the tape in the subsequent mornings, they are shocked by what they see and as the movie progresses, the happenings become both more frequent as well as violent.

The acting in the film is excellent. Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston have strong chemistry and their relationship is believable. This is in part due to the fact that the tension and arguments they have are typically what you would expect if you and your significant other were plagued with the same situation. Katie wants nothing more than to be rid of the demon forever while Micah seems intent on catching the being and taking care of it on his own. This rift grows throughout the movie and contributes to the rising tension in the film which in turn, is the cause for the being's increase in violence.

Let's be frank - the film is scary because everyone who has ever heard a sound in their home or seen something strange can relate to the plot. What if you put a video camera in your room to log while you slept? What would you see? Paranormal Activity takes this question and provides answers that are simple and yet very effective. The footage is full of eery occurences - footsteps, whispers, shadows, creaky floorboards - you name it this film has it.

Also, the film is well paced. At an hour and 26 minutes, the film is short for industry standards and this allows the movie to never lose steam. Viewers are faced with a growing tension that starts off very infrequent and minute but quickly picks up pace as the happenings become much more common and aggressive.

Ultimately, the downfall of all mockumentaries are the shaky camerawork as was the case with the JJ Abrams film Cloverfield. Since much of the premise of Paranormal Activity is based on a tripod-mounted camera, this issue is nonexistent in Paranormal Activity. Also, the content is much more believable. What we have here are occurences in a home that cannot be explained but could be possible - not 5 kids who go on a camping trip, lose the only map, and are killed by a witch (ala Blair Witch).

While the film may not be the scariest film you've ever seen, without a doubt it will play on your psyche. Maybe even force you to keep your ears and eyes open for sounds and shadows that haunt you while you sleep.