Paranormal Activity Review

Paranormal Activity arrives with a massive weight of expectation, a weight that it cannot quite bear, especially in the final few moments where, not really knowing what to do, it drops the ball pretty badly. This wasn't the original ending, apparently various endings have been in flux for a while, but more on that later. For the most part Paranormal Activity is very effective, tense, sparse and very scary.

The story is well known by now. Micah and Katie are a normal couple living in a normal, suburban house. As the film starts, the pair have been experiencing strange disturbances in the house so Micah has bought a camera to document what's happening and that footage is what makes up the film. It's the "found footage" genre of horror film that goes all the way back to Cannibal Holocaust and, most famously, The Blair Witch Project. Paranormal Activity's trump card is that now-famous, locked off shot in the bedroom, wherein Micah and Katie have gone to bed for the night and the camera films them as they sleep. It plays on very base, primal fears to great effect as we watch increasingly creepy events occur around people at their most vulnerable. This is one of those "how has this not been done before" ideas and writer/director Oren Peli squeezes as much tension from it as he can.

What's great about the film is the way it uses what are ostensibly haunted house cliches, banging doors, televisions and lights coming on of their own accord, misplaced objects, and makes them work tremendously. Why they work comes down to two things. Firstly, it's not a haunted house movie. Without spoiling anything, the presence in the house is not a ghost and its objective is much more personal than simply haunting a building. As well as writing himself out of the "why don't they just leave the house" plot hole, this ups the threat and horror in even the most mundane of scares. Secondly, these things work because of that single, sustained shot. Its lighting and composition make you, the viewer, scrutinise every corner of the frame, every shadow and movement, and because of its stillness, any event that happens, no matter how small, has enormous impact. Peli knows that by having the central concept that he does and by putting time and effort into how that shot is composed, he has done 80% of the work and is now free to play with our fears and expectations. The other asset of good horror is the soundtrack and, as much as Paranormal Activity relies on simple visual scares, so bangs and bumps coming from somewhere within the house provide many of the jumps and help sustain the tension. Indeed, the footsteps of the unseen entity approaching the bedroom become increasingly ominous and frightening as we understand more of what it wants.

The two actors, using their own names in the film, are perfectly fine. Micah goes from scepticism to desperation as he tries to be the "man of the house", looking after his girlfriend and sorting out the problem. This notion of the masculine need to control and be in control is interesting and watching it play out adds some character depth to the film. This need manifests in him almost antagonising the entity at times which eventually grates on the nerves and, as he is doing it with the woman he supposedly loves pleading with him to stop, he actually becomes somewhat unsympathetic. The climax of this is when he uses a Ouija Board. Early on, Katie invites a psychic to the house to help them and Micah mentions a ouija board. "Do NOT use a ouija board" the psychic tells him in no uncertain terms. Of course at that moment, we absolutely know he will use one and guess what?! This works to mixed effect. Character wise, it works to turn you off Micah. There is then an overt scare with the ouija board which, for me, is the least effective in the film. However, when the entity communicates with Micah, it gives him a name and the pay-off when he discovers who the name belongs to and then further when we discover what the entity was telling him by giving him that name, is truly disturbing and one of the best moments of the film.

Which brings us to the ending. Had I not been so tense throughout, I would have had a bad feeling that the film might blow it right at the end. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens. Peli has apparently experimented with different endings at different screenings. Descriptions of those endings are freely available online and I'm sure they'll end up on the DVD. Pretty much any of them sound better than the one we're presented with. When Paramount bought the film, they made a few adjustments, most of which are okay, but this ending is also theirs and, by basically being nothing more than a cheap, unearned shock, it goes against the slow build and emphasis on atmosphere and sustained tension that the film has worked so hard to maintain up to that point. It doesn't ruin the film but it is a definite let down after everything that has come before.

All the trailers have shown members of the audience screaming in terror and the film arrives in the U.K. marketed as "one of the scariest films of all time." Is it THAT good? Probably not. But it's frightening, tension filled and without question the scariest film this year. If you're a fan of Saw (one through six) or the Hostel films, then maybe this is not for you. But if you like your horror psychological, subtle and insidious in a way that makes you question your assumption that those strange noises you've been hearing are just the pipes rattling, then Paranormal Activity is a must see.

7.5/10