Horror Review: Paranormal Activity (2009)

July 11, 2010 Horror Reviews, Movie Review, Reviews

This week I’m going to look at a much more recent piece of horror. Unlike my previous review, most people will probably not have seen this movie. I think I’ll hop back and forth between current and dated movies. Once again, I welcome everyone’s opinions on the movie. Feel free to comment on the post.


Paranormal Activity (2009)

Paranormal Activity takes a long, wide walk away from the usual stream of movies that have been pumped out and into the theatres in the past, but firmly hops aboard the “reality” trend made popular by The Blair Witch Project but with the more professional quality evident in District 9.

Paranormal Activity is a horror in the suspense genre, and it’s an excellent example. The movie begins slow and for quite some time has you wondering why exactly you were told it would be a good watch. As things begin to build, the suspense actually had me on the edge of my seat, and that hasn’t happened too often in the past decade. I kept wondering what was going to happen next, when things were going to go horribly wrong, at what point they would finally find out the source of the trouble.

If you’re searching for a gore flick, don’t look at this one. If you’re looking for leap out and scare you moments, there’s a couple here and there, but that’s not what this movie is really about. If you’re looking for a movie with a closed ending, where everything is tied up in a neat little bow, again, you won’t find it here. In fact, it’s the ending itself that causes me more trouble with this movie than anything else. I wasn’t satisfied with the finish, and as a result, was not fully satisfied with the movie.

What really got me good about this movie was its lasting effect. Although I had little trouble with it, my fiancee who is normally as good as I am with horror movies, had trouble sleeping as a result. Her younger sister forced us to stay up with her for a while after she had the chance to see it. The lasting terror of this suspense film is incredible.

Word on the street is Paranormal Activity will be coming out with a sequel set for release on October 22, 2010. Personally, I’m hoping they manage something with the same kind of suspenseful buildup in the sequel that they managed for the original, but with a bit of a bigger budget.

Anyhow, my recommendation? If you’re looking for something to put you on edge, see this movie. It’s worth every cent.

Four and a half skulls (out of five)

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Comments (3)

 

  1. Randolph Lalonde says:
    July 11, 2010 at 8:42 am

    I really enjoyed this movie, especially since I saw it before any of the terrible advertising surrounding the release.

    The most direct comment I have for Paranormal Activity is that it’s a movie for people with adult tastes and more sophisticated sensibilities. Most of the people who I had a conversation with about this film didn’t fall under those categories. In fact, they were so jaded by the face-eating, chainsaw-toting, explosion filled films of today, that they didn’t even understand that this was a suspenseful horror movie.

    This film called back to Hitchcock and the days when audiences weren’t secretly texting behind their popcorn. I admit, I love a great action / adventure / gore flick but this movie is art in another direction. Most suspense films these days fail where this one succeeded.

    I agree that the ending seemed to lack something, but then, most age old suspense films left the audience with questions and a feeling that the story continues as the credits roll.

    I originally watched this film because it came in from Zip.ca and I was having difficulty sleeping. The conditions were perfect: a dark room, late at night, and I was alone – without any of the aforementioned patience-deficient movie goers nearby. Since I barely knew what the movie was, everything was a bit of a surprise, and well, it didn’t cure my insomnia.

    I agree with Shawn, with a proviso. If you don’t have the patience to darken the room, put away all your life interrupting gadgetry, and open your mind for an hour and a half, then go watch something as shallow as you are so everyone else can enjoy this film.

  2. Shawn Gray says:
    July 11, 2010 at 9:06 am

    Thanks for the comment Randy!

    I have to agree, creating the atmosphere and taking the break from gadgetry does make a huge difference when watching this movie. Sabrina’s sister and her friends came over and watched it a little while back, and it worked out wonderfully, but only because they turned off their phones and focussed. Truly a strange sight considering they’re 15-yr old girls and being hooked to the cell phone is their way of life.

  3. Jay Esteen says:
    July 30, 2010 at 2:15 am

    You did it again, thanks.

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