Paranormal Activity
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Oren Peli has always been afraid of ghosts. So much so, in fact, that he decided to make a movie about his spooky phobia. After researching his subject matter, Peli finally cranked out a script, and eagerly set out on the path traveled by so many other low-budget indie filmmakers before him. He bought a video camera, remodeled his own San Diego suburban home to use as a set location, hired a couple of actors via Craigslist, and shot his movie in 7 days. Once all the post-production editing was completed, Peli’s offered up his fledgling film, Paranormal Activity, to the film festival circuit in 2007. To make a long story short, Sundance didn’t pick it up, but Screamfest and Slamdance did. Desperate for a distributor, Peli started handing out DVDs to anyone and everyone. A year later, one ended up on the desk of Steven Spielberg at DreamWorks. Spielberg was so freaked out by Peli’s film he thought the DVD itself was haunted. Unfortunately, DreamWorks was in the process of dissolving their partnership with Paramount at that time, which left Paranormal Activity stuck in distribution limbo for another year and a half. But, instead of sitting back and waiting on the Hollywood cartel to straighten out their legal holdings, Peli negotiated a test screening for his film that changed everything. Within 24 hours of the screening, it gained so much internet buzz, that Paramount sold out all the international rights to the film in 52 countries, and scheduled a nationwide theatrical release of the film. [1] Obviously, the biggest story surrounding Paranormal Activity is its unorthodox marketing and distribution. But, why all the hype? What is it that has audiences so scared that they’re getting up and leaving in the middle of the film? It’s not necessarily the story itself, but the way in which it’s told. The biggest reason this film is scaring the crap out of everyone is because Paranormal Activity focuses on suspense over gore. Another reason is due to the fact that most of the scary stuff happens off camera, leaving the viewers to create all the terror elements within their own minds. For those of you not familiar with the plot, Paranormal Activity is the story of Micah (Micah Sloat), his live-in girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston), and the ghost who has been obsessed with haunting Katie most of her life. Soon after things start going bump in the night at her current residence, Katie contacts a psychic, Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs). Upon assessing the situation, he explains to the couple that the ghost is not really a ghost. It’s a demon, who will continue to follow Katie wherever she goes. Skeptical Micah laughs it off and rushes out to buy a home video camera in hopes of capturing evidence of Katie’s supernatural tormentor on film. Reluctantly, Katie agrees to let Micah set up the camera on a tripod in the bedroom to record them at night while they sleep. To the couple’s surprise, the camera documents much more than they bargained for: strange sounds are heard, objects move without rhyme or reason, lights turn on and off by themselves, even some inhuman footprints are captured on film. Micah’s camera also documents Katie eerily standing and staring at Micah for long periods of time. These and other creepy incidents continue to escalate until the film climaxes in a shockingly abrupt ending. Yet, as much as Peli got right in the film, anyone who has had their own personal experience with the supernatural (or at least seen a few episodes of A Haunting) can tell you he’s missing some key ingredients in this ghost story. I’m not going to point them out here, but without those missing elements, some of the story’s credibility is left by the wayside. Another factor to take into consideration is whether or not you even believe in ghosts. If you happen to be one of those who don’t, there’s a good chance you’ll find Paranormal Activity more amusing than terrifying. Speaking of humor, the unscripted dialogue between Katie and Micah is downright hilarious at times. The actors have such a natural chemistry and play off one another so well that you actually believe they really are a couple. Kudos to Peli for casting them. But, how much is too much? Personally, I found myself laughing at the funny verbal banter so much that I forgot to be scared by the terror they were supposed to be experiencing. Overall, Paranormal Activity will scare those who want to believe in its subject matter. It’s also one of those films that have more of an impact when seen in the theater where audiences are more able to lose themselves in the diegesis of the film, especially if they haven’t read too much about it beforehand. If nothing else, it’s definitely worth a trip to the local Cineplex to watch a first time filmmaker with no formal training scare the crap out of Hollywood…literally. © Kelly Bartley 10/16/09
[1] http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-paranormal20-2009sep20,0,843011,full.story
Release Date:	October 16, 2009 (wide)
Running Time:	1 hour 29 minutes
MPAA Rating:	R (language)
Distribitor:	Paramount Pictures