Paranormal Activity

[Moviefreek]

I'm actually going to get a chance to see this this weekend. It's limited in about 12 cities and Baton Rouge, Louisiana is actually one of them. This never happens, but it is going to be showing at midnight tomorrow night. I'll try to have my thoughts of it up right after.

Here is a longer trailer than what was shown earlier on this site:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/paranormalactivity/medium_t1.html

[Bourne101]

Definitely looking forward to this one. Hopefully it generates a ton of buzz so it will expand into a wide release.

[LordSimen]

Seein' it tonight at a free midnight screening. Can't fuckin' wait.

[LordSimen]

Just got back from the midnight screen. This is a solid contender for my favorite movie of the year. Drag Me To Hell, you have met your match. :D

[EDsoulsurvive*]

So I tried to go to the screening in NYC last night, showed up at 11:15, and met a line that probably extended four blocks. Needless to say I didn't wait around to get denied entry, but my interest in this movie has peaked. My friend tried to get into the Boston screening last night to similar results. Paramount's got a massive hit on their hands if they play the distribution right, IMO.

[BankaiZaraki]

Im seeing this movie tomorrow night in Orlando..Making the 2 hour drive just to see it. So fucking pumped for this movie!

[Moviefreek]

This film was a breath of fresh air in the horror genre, one that comes along every so often and never often enough. A film that is simple yet very effective. Not very often can I say a film gives me scares me, chills me, and makes me jump out my seat, this film did just that. It goes to show how a low budget can make a great movie going experience.

The theater was packed and there was a line formed before they even let us in. If you don't get this film in it's limited run check it out once it hits a wide release.

You can also go to the website and DEMAND it be shown near you.

8.5/10

[Film Fan BeAm2k]

Haha! I was going to go demand it and then I was pleased to see that out of the select few cities they are releasing this in, mine is one of them! Woo-hoo!

[dellamorte dellamore]

They did a Quarantine with the trailer

[Venus Venusia]

Agh! It's playing in Orlando, but I'm a bit far from the theater, and my roomies (I don't have my own car) don't want to make the trip. Suckage!

[BankaiZaraki]

Agh! It's playing in Orlando, but I'm a bit far from the theater, and my roomies (I don't have my own car) don't want to make the trip. Suckage!

I live in Jacksonville and im making the 2 hour trip on the 1st to see it with a buddy. They sold out the tonight's midnight showing.

[LordSimen]

Got my paid tickets this time! Seein' it again midnight Friday morning. :D

[Samfilms]

Amazing film , it is really that damn good , def check it out... Really creepy and eriee ....

[LordSimen]

I love it when a perfect film holds up on a second viewing. :D

[SkyNet]

so forgive my ignorance... and dont jump down my throat for this inquiry..

is this supposed to be real footage ala Blair Witch? Or is it a MOVIE just filmed like a documentary??

I requested it for the Baltimore Area.. we got it in Washington D.C (Georgetown).. didnt get a chance to see the midngiht of it... hopefully we can get it a little closer to baltimore. Def wanna check it out.. sounds like all the sold out shows means the release should continue to expand

[LordSimen]

is this supposed to be real footage ala Blair Witch? Or is it a MOVIE just filmed like a documentary??


It does do the Blair Witch thing in that the movie plays it all off like it really happened. It doesn't even include any credits.

[ToddRH]

Like "Blair Witch", it's supposedly footage "found" after-the-fact!

[ilovemovies]

If this movie is half as good as Blair Witch then it'll be awesome.

[MisterTwister]

If this movie is half as good as Blair Witch then it'll be awesome.

I've talked to a few people who have seen it and that say it's MUCH better then The Blair Shit Project.

THANK GOD.

[ilovemovies]

If it's MUCH better than Blair Witch that must mean it's a masterpiece or at the very least a near masterpiece, since I personally though Blair Witch was GREAT! It's one of the best horror movies period. Let alone one of the best in the past 10 years.

[MisterTwister]

If it's MUCH better than Blair Witch that must mean it's a masterpiece or at the very least a near masterpiece, since I personally though Blair Witch was GREAT! It's one of the best horror movies period. Let alone one of the best in the past 10 years.

To each their own man because I feel Blair Witch is one of the biggest wastes of time I've ever seen.

[BankaiZaraki]

Ok guys just to clairfy on if it is better than the Blair Witch Project-It is. I saw the midnight showing of it down in Orlando last night and it it without a shadow of a doubt the best horror movie ever made. It is perfect in the sense of the chills you get, the "acting", the suspense..Everything about this movie scared the holy hell out of me. There were a few scenes that made me literally jump out of my seat and when the lights go out and they go to bed..You know something is about to happen..You just dont know what..I used to think The Strangers was the best horror movie ever but after seeing this and walking out literally petrified and shaken I must say this is even better than Signs and The Exorcist. 5/5 *****

[jessicasprocket]

This movie looks really creepy. Can't wait to check it out.

[LordSimen]

If this movie is half as good as Blair Witch then it'll be awesome.

Definitely superior to the Blair Witch project.

[RedHead]

I'm a little slow on this...but I just heard about this movie the other day, and after reading all the the positive comments, I am really looking forward to seeing it. I might have to take a trip to the Arclight in L.A. to see it soon....

[Moviefan02000]

I'm definitely very interested in this, though I'm still quite skeptical. THE BLAIR WITH PROJECT is one of the best movies ever made and one of the only films that scares me on repeat viewings. I can't imagine this coming anywhere near how scary that film is. Also, I've never had a ghost film scare me. They are usually incredibly corny.

Still, I will definitely see it when it opens here. I'm excited for it. Hopefully I get the terrifying movie everyone else seems to be seeing.

[nisa]

Saw this at the Sydney Film Fest a few months ago and the cinema was pretty packed for a first viewing... Scared the crap out of me, I was so edgy and tense, my heart was still pounding after the movie! It's definitely better than Blair Witch, and actually the only similarity really is the whole gimmick of "found footage from a handy cam after the event" kind of thing. It was really hard trying to tell people just how scary/eerie this movie is (scariest movie of all time for me), and the trailer doesn't do it justice. I recommend anyone to go see it, whether you're a horror fan or not!

[Man With A Harmonica]

Don't know when it's coming out in the UK but would definitely go see it even though I'm starting to get fed up with these Blair Witch style movies.

[MisterChristian]

Hope this comes to Toronto next. Please.

[LordSimen]

Convinced a couple friends to go see this with me Wednesday. My third time out! :D

[dellamorte dellamore]

I don't know about the Blair Witch style, it doesn't seem like it as anything to do with it. I see this as a culmination of all those ghost caught on camera videos and the Ghost Hunter shows.

Also, what could be scarier than getting spooked in your own bed, it goes right to the heart of personal safety, that's the one place most people feel secure, it's probably one of the reasons the film is resonating so intensely with the public. With a film such as Blair( not comparing them), you could walk out of the theater feeling somewhat relieved, when would be the next time you would be in the woods or a creepy, dilapidated house, with this film, you have your own bed to look forward too after coming home, a bed that will seem way more imposing than it ever did before:).

That right there is the ingenious set piece, the bed.

Then again, you could always sleep on the couch.

[Cunning Visions]

I don't know about the Blair Witch style, it doesn't seem like it as anything to do with it. I see this as a culmination of all those ghost caught on camera videos and the Ghost Hunter shows.

Just came back from seeing this, and it's actually VERY similar to Blair Witch in tone and structure (trapped with seemingly no way out, finding weird crap laying about, things getting progressively worse each night). In fact the whole theater experience reminded me of when I first saw BW back in '99, except there seemed to be more of a positive buzz with this one when it was finished.

It's a simple but very effective movie. If you haven't seen the trailer though, I'd recommend you don't, as it unfortunately gives away much of the film. The entire theater was silent during each of the night scenes, it was a great experience. Also kudos for not having any ending credits, kept the "is this real?" vibe going. 8/10

[Ender]

EDIT: By the by, I saw this film in San Francisco, for anyone nearby looking for a showing and not aware that it's playing here. I don't know what the release schedule looks like at this point, but it appears it's moved out of the "college towns" circuit (seriously, what was up with that?).

Knowing nearly nothing about this movie except for the uncommon level of interest its generated, I bought a ticket at the spur of the moment (I had gone to the theatre with the intent to see THE INVENTION OF LYING) with no clue what to expect, which I would say is likely the best way to experience the film.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is...okay. Not great, barley even "good", in fact, but it's certainly a decent, well-made film that does a lot with a little and knows how to play on the natural anxiety and atmosphere of the theatre space and audience. The movie is basically just an extended build-up to one enormous scare, which I won't reveal except to say that it had folks literally leaping out of their seats.

Micah Sloat portrays what filmmakers seem to think is a "normal guy" these days...confident and charismatic, but also quite stupid and obnoxious, the sort of guy who is entertaining to be around for about fifteen minutes but rarely much longer (including, I would say, the length of a feature film). Katie Featherston's part is a little more complex, with several "levels" of behavior going on.

Much to my annoyance, the theatre was full of idiots, the couple next to me loudly asking over and over "Why don't they just leave?" even though the movie bends over backwards to tell us repeatedly that that wouldn't help. As the credits rolled some rocket scientist behind me yelled "Fake!" as loudly as possible, as though the rest of us lacked the basic comprehension skills neccesary to reach that same conclusion about an hour before he did.

Idiots aside, the movie is best experienced in a crowded, late-night theatre setting, or perhaps alone in the dark at three AM once it's on DVD. Whatever you do, don't wait for the DVD and then pop this one into the player on a Saturday night in a room full of smartass friends. The illusion will be utterly crushed and you'll be wondering what the big deal was and why you just wasted ten bucks.

[LordSimen]

EDIT: By the by, I saw this film in San Francisco, for anyone nearby looking for a showing and not aware that it's playing here. I don't know what the release schedule looks like at this point, but it appears it's moved out of the "college towns" circuit (seriously, what was up with that?).

You're in San Francisco too? :eek: I had no idea.

[Ender]

Even as we speak.

Now, after just reading up on this movie for the past hour or so (having intentionally avoided doing so before seeing it), I was interested to discover that the theatrical ending is apparently not the original. Rumor has it that in the first cut of the film...


***MAJOR SPOILERS!!!***






...Katie simply walks back into the bedroom covered in blood and sits down next to the bed, apparently catatonic.

I actually think I like the present ending better, even if it is a little more "Hollywood" and does contain a CGI effect (albeit one that's on screen for about a twelfth of a second).

The original ending, if it's being accurately described, was too predictable, as people in the theatre were literally yelling it at the screen during the build-up. This ending takes the predictable event and (quite literally) throws it in the faces of the smartasses who thought they were smarter than the movie....and gives us one of the best jump scares I've seen in many years. So, despite the commonplace stereotype of studio meddling ruining the climax of a good indie film, in this instance it seems the studio knew a thing or two about what they were doing.





***SPOILERS END***

[LordSimen]

I've actually read of quite a few different endings and while I would still like to see them (hopefully an eventual DVD release will contain them), on paper the one that I like the best is the one I saw.

[jackson13]

Even as we speak.

Now, after just reading up on this movie for the past hour or so (having intentionally avoided doing so before seeing it), I was interested to discover that the theatrical ending is apparently not the original. Rumor has it that in the first cut of the film...







SPOILERS FOR MY POST, OH GOD, LOOKOUT!!!!!!!









So, in the tv spot I saw last night, some dude goes flying backwards from the other room clear into the camera. Is that the new ending? It wouldn't surprise me if they showed the ending in the trailer, as Quarantine did that themselves (hell, they even made the fucking poster out of the ending).

[someguy]

Paramount is trying out some lame new distribution method where the expansion of the movie is decided by a website where you can request that it play in your city. Every week the top 10 or 20 cities are chosen and the movie expands out some more, but now Paramount is saying that if the movie gets over a million demands it'll open nationwide. If you want to see the movie play near you then I guess you'll have to 'demand' it and help the numbers get up. Here's the link

www.eventful.com/paranormalactivity

Man that post sounds spammy

[JCPhoenix]

Hope this comes to Toronto next. Please.

I'm going for the midnight screening tonight, are you goin?

[Bourne101]

Paramount is trying out some lame new distribution method where the expansion of the movie is decided by a website where you can request that it play in your city. Every week the top 10 or 20 cities are chosen and the movie expands out some more, but now Paramount is saying that if the movie gets over a million demands it'll open nationwide. If you want to see the movie play near you then I guess you'll have to 'demand' it and help the numbers get up. Here's the link

www.eventful.com/paranormalactivity

Man that post sounds spammy

I kind of dig this whole 'demand' thing. It gives an opportunity for buzz to be created and word of mouth to spread. People who are aware of the film and want it to expand will tell their friends so they will demand it, and that could, as a result, get them interested. It could end up being a pretty big box-office hit when all is said and done. And the number of demands went from under 400,000 to over 600,000 in less than a day, so I expect it will be going wide quite soon.

[Cunning Visions]

SPOILERS FOR MY POST, OH GOD, LOOKOUT!!!!!!!









So, in the tv spot I saw last night, some dude goes flying backwards from the other room clear into the camera. Is that the new ending? It wouldn't surprise me if they showed the ending in the trailer, as Quarantine did that themselves (hell, they even made the fucking poster out of the ending).


Yes. There's a little something after that, but yes that's part of the new ending.

[Cop No. 633]

I finally got to see to see this last night. I'll be honest, this was a half good film. There were parts that worked and were interesting, mostly the night terror moments. But then all of that work the director builds up is mostly lost because of the character Michah. He's the boyfriend with a weird name who is written as an annoying douchebag boyfriend, which is typical in horror movies. He is so condescending to his girlfriend (of three years no less) and he does every stupid thing you could do in a ghost movie that it took me out of the movie and made me laugh at his stupidity.

There's literally moments where he challenges the spirit as if he's in a bar fight: "Come on, you fuck!" I was groaning at the movie. Was the director really that lazy that he had to resort to dumb cliches to get the plot rolling? Say it ain't so. I thought this film was all about keeping it real. I was rooting for Micah to get his ass handed to him because of the cliches that sprang up. He literally got a Ouija board to talk to the damn thing after being told not to... Oy!

He is the Achilles' heel of the movie. If he wasn't written so dumb, a lot of what happens would have never happened. And I hate that in movies. It's weak writing at the end of the day. Say what you want about the style, the plot was scripted. And Oren Peli should have delivered something better. They both should have been a couple I was terrified for, but that never happens.

I talked about this movie afterward with my friends and we pretty much agreed that it should have been a lot shorter. There was so many extra scenes of them lounging around that added nothing. I say the less Micah the better. Just keep the scares consistent without having to sacrifice their effectiveness. This movie had so much potential to be great but it sadly trips over itself. I hope the director hires a better writer next time.

6/10

I recommend it becauseI have a feeling people won't be as annoyed with Micah. I simply hated the character. I kept thinking, "What a dick" at almost everything he did.

[LordSimen]

Seen it 3 times. Goin' for a 4th showing today and it's still perfect with no flaws whatsoever. God I love this movie. :D

[AceD]

Seen it 3 times. Goin' for a 4th showing today and it's still perfect with no flaws whatsoever.

Honest question: About how many "flawless" movies have you seen?

Because while I liked this movie a ton and found it quite spooky, I also found a decent number of what I would consider flaws. So rather than jump on your statement, maybe we just have different standards? So seriously, what other "flawless" movies have you seen?

As I said, I thought this was quite good. I agree with Cosmic that the Micah character was a bit weak and too often a plot device instead of a person. But for what it was I thought it was well done and well paced for the most part.

[JCPhoenix]

I think the release strategy for this film is actually quite smart. They're building hype while at the same time, ensuring the theatres are packed for every screening. Really, they're maximizing their profit in every way possible.

The first midnight screening tonight in Toronto at AMC Yonge & Dundas is already sold out and due to the demand, AMC is allotting at least two more screens (and possibly more) for the film...

[LordSimen]

Honest question: About how many "flawless" movies have you seen?

A shit ton.

Because while I liked this movie a ton and found it quite spooky, I also found a decent number of what I would consider flaws. So rather than jump on your statement, maybe we just have different standards? So seriously, what other "flawless" movies have you seen?

I found nothing that I would consider a flaw. Most likely it is different standards. As far as what other flawless movie's I've seen, my top 10 are clear examples of flawless movies. But there's hundreds of others out there. :D

[gazzi]

They did a Quarantine with the trailer

thx for the spoiler

[LordSimen]

4th times the charm. Damn good movie. :D

[AceD]

I found nothing that I would consider a flaw. Most likely it is different standards. As far as what other flawless movie's I've seen, my top 10 are clear examples of flawless movies. But there's hundreds of others out there.

Fair enough. Personally, I only use the terms "flawless" or "perfect" when I literally can find no fault or flaw in any facet of the film. I don't know that I've seen 10 perfect films, you've seen hundreds, clearly we have different standards so I won't get into it here since it won't go anywhere (but please don't take that as an insult towards you or your taste or anything, there's just no point in getting into a back-and-forth).

[someguy]

Simen's just being his old self again, he loves to express his opinions with declarative sentences that treats what he believes as fact. Even though he says Paranormal Activity is a flawless movie, what he really means is that it's only what he thinks.

The demands are up to 800k+ now so expect a nationwide release before Halloween.

[Mystique963]

While I can not comment on the movie itself, I have to say that I watched the trailer and that in itself was one of, if not the most, creepy trailer i've ever seen. Holy crap. When a two minute preview gets me turning on all the lights in my apartment, the final product has got to be wicked. :)

[dellamorte dellamore]

I think what LS means is that it was a flawless cinematic experience, once he settles down off of his high i'm sure he will start to realize flaws.

[LordSimen]

Even though he says Paranormal Activity is a flawless movie, what he really means is that it's only what he thinks.

Of course it's only what I think. I'm sorry, Someguy, but I was always taught in school that putting "in my opinion" before my words simply cheapens any statements I make, so I don't do it. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the school system. :D

I think what LS means is that it was a flawless cinematic experience, once he settles down off of his high i'm sure he will start to realize flaws.

I've seen it four times already and nothing has changed yet. I highly doubt this is simply a "high." ;)

[AceD]

Is there anyone else, anywhere, who claims to have seen "a shit ton" of "flawless" or "perfect" movies?

Clearly Simen's standards are more lenient than most. That's his right.

[DME]

One of the most fun horror flicks I've seen in a while. Saw it with a great audience that actually applauded when the film was done. Great atmosphere and an excellent way to really kick off October. Good times...

[EDsoulsurvive*]

Just got home from seeing this, and I have to say that PA completely lived up to the hype that's built up (to this point, at least). It was an incredibly effective horror movie packed with laughs, relatability, and a killer final 20 minutes. I think that as far as comparisons are concerned, this was definitly a better movie than Blair Witch. While PA probably won't have the same impact, it's definitly the more well rounded of the two films. Surprisingly great performances too. The girls I saw it with couldn't stop talking about how much they loved Micah. My one friend actually thought it was real too (lolz). I'd give it an 8/10, the scariest movie I've seen since The Strangers. I'm actually still pretty creeped out and am pissed that all my roommates are asleep.

[Tonkuro]

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but in a good way.

One of the most unnerving movies I've ever seen.

[LordSimen]

It's getting a wide release baby! Officially it's reached over 1 million demands! :D

Maybe I'll have to go for showing number 5. ;)

[BakeTheMooCow]

I thought it was a very effective horror movie. Very simple things like lights going on and off and creaking of staircases go a long way to be really creepy. I wish more traditional horror movie makers would learn that a lack of score during boo! scares is much more unnerving, although movies like this and [REC] have a reason for the silence. The coolest moments for me were when the woman is standing by her bedside and the clock on the bottom right fast forwards through a couple of hours. There were a couple of things I didn't enjoy like the opening and end titles trying to sell this as a true story. But knowing its origins and budget, they could not have anticipated this getting such hype and a wide release, so they must have felt the campaign would be more intriguing this way. There was also the very last shot that was a bit 'eh' and I would have liked for it to have cut out unexpectedly or something. It's not the scariest movie ever, or even one of, but thoroughly enjoyable for what it is.

7/10

[jz68]

8/10

I wish I had not seen this movie in the theater and waited for the DVD release. I can't think of a better movie to sit and home and watch on a dark, rainy night with all the lights turned off.

[Mr.HyDe807]

Thank goodness for the wide release. I can finally check this bad boy out!

[JCPhoenix]

I pretty much agree with everything Bake said...specifically in the last shot, there was a bit of CGI work that was just cringeworthy and unnecessary. It's not outright terrifying but it did creep me out.

I also gotta agree with jz68 - in a way, I think this movie would play better at home, at night, without an audience. I saw this at a Thursday midnight screening and the audience just kept whispering and talking through all the silent parts (there were definitely people that were freaked out and kept talking or making nervous jokes cause they were freaking out) which made them half as effective as they probably would have been with complete silence.

7/10

[MarcoG]

*****************MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*********************





I saw this about 2 nights ago.

Yes, it's very effective and creepy and entertaining and intense. All of the above.

But scary? As in -I fear for my safety and well being- scary?

No, not really.

I think a lot of people are easily mistaking CREEPY and OMG THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN! with actual FEAR.

I really enjoyed this film, and I would happily add it to my DVD collection. However, it is what it is, and that's a cheap trick - the very thing horror fans are always complaining about. The majority of the scares, sorry to say, ARE in fact loud noises, regardless of what some ppl may say. A door moving, a light turning on, a loud THUMP! Effective yes, but to the point of "O-M-G I CAN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT NOW!!!!" ? Really?

My major irks with this film is that everything looks too Hollywood for such a simple, "realistic" hand-held attempt. I'm not a big fan of The Blair Witch Project, but that movie OWNS this one when it comes to actual believability. Maybe everything would have looked more REAL had the camera they used wasn't so high-budget. I'm almost thinking the $15,000 it took to make the film went to buy that camera alone. Also, everytime something was about to happen, they had to add the stupid heavy sound of the ghost approaching. WHY? Why not take us by surprise? Why must we be force-feed to know the haunting is about to start anew almost every single time? I felt that tactic really made everything anti-climatic for me. The Ouija Board part was so typical and done to death. OF COURSE the cursor was going to start moving by itself. Why not have something the entire audience isn't looking at move instead? Trick us a bit, keep it refreshing, SURPRISE US OUT OF LEFT FIELD!

And the ending. Those 3 seconds completely killed it for me.

The performances were genuine, and I'm glad the main girl wasn't too much of a Hollywood bombshell to try and sell this piece. The psychic himself was very believable and well played. So, I liked this film. Maybe not as much as everyone else did though. I just don't get what the big deal is since everything that's in this film has been done to death. Is this film really scary, or is everyone just scaring themselves? There are Youtube videos that are far more frightening.

3/5

[SkyNet]

just got back from seeing this at my local theater... one that i SWORE i would never go to again because of the clientele and how you really never get a good experience there due to these people.

Well, the theater did not disappoint, and ruined what should have been a perfectly eerie and creepy movie going experience. Fucking people man, pisses me off. And it is to note that the onloy reason i went back was because it was the only theater playing the flick.

but for the movie, i will say it is fucking Creepy. Now, i am in the camp that rank Blair Witch Project as the all time scariest flick i have ever seen. This movie certainly gives it a run for its money, but as i sit here typing it, only 20 minutes after seeing it, im not really scared... after Blair Witch, i was freaked the fuck out. This may be to the fact that i am 10 years older, and when BW was originally released, i saw it opening night when it was still hyped as being real (and i was 14).. that may factor into it.

But it is an insanely creepy flick, and had the audience i saw it with (sold out audeince on a sunday night show, not bad) was just full of the typical movie ruining type that accompany that theater.

SPOILERS

as for whoever posted the original ending, first, thank you, i had heard it was changed and was wondering what it was... i am certainly happy that they went with this ending as opposed to the other one.. it left with a jump and not a thud... BUT i wish they wouldnt have shown that part in the trailer... showin a white shirt fly towards the camera took me away from it, as i was waiting for that part to happen the entire flick.

END SPOILERS

if this movie is playing in your area.. go check it out.. its well worth the money and the hype,.... just pray you get an audience not comprised of dumbasses.

[Ender]

I simply hated the character. I kept thinking, "What a dick" at almost everything he did.

Boy it's nice to hear someone else say that. Why do moviemakers equate "Regular guy" with "douchebag" these days?

Here's a question for the group; must a horror movie be scary to be considered "good"? My answer is "no", on the grounds that so few movies incite real fear, that inciting fear is probably the single hardest thing to do in any form of entertainment, and that many of my favorite horror films are far from scary and are frequently instead funny.

I thought for the longest time that this was almost everyone's opinion, but I so often hear people say they disliked the new horror movie out simply because it "Wasn't scary" that I've come to realize I'm in the minority.

[LordSimen]

It's interesting because I know some people who refer to Micah as a dick and others who actually were pretty much with him the entire time, and it's lead to some pretty interesting discussions about the movie as a result. I also have a female friend who saw it with me who loved him and found the girl annoying, so, I suppose it's safe to say the character didn't grate everybody as much as some.

[optimusprime24]

I can't wait for this.

[Brendan M.]

It's interesting because I know some people who refer to Micah as a dick and others who actually were pretty much with him the entire time, and it's lead to some pretty interesting discussions about the movie as a result. I also have a female friend who saw it with me who loved him and found the girl annoying, so, I suppose it's safe to say the character didn't grate everybody as much as some.

I felt the same way about the Michah character. I was definitely rooting him on to provoke the ghost mostly because I was bored and wanted something cool to finally happen. I'm not sure I liked him though cause I also couldn't wait to see him die.



I thought it was a very effective horror movie. Very simple things like lights going on and off and creaking of staircases go a long way to be really creepy.

I thought it was cool at first, but half way into the movie I couldn't help but think to myself that there was some crew guy on set who's job it was to walk up and down the stairs off screen and turn the lights on and off. The movie was a little to simple for me. I love [Rec] because that movie was like a roller coaster ride. This is just a slow series of home movies where every once and a while Satan shows up invisible.

[Cunning Visions]

Went to see it again today (took some family to see it, they loved it), and I must admit...it holds up surprisingly well. The hour and a half seemed to fly by. Can't wait to get this on DVD and hear the subwoofer whenever the "activity" starts. What an awesome sound.

Also loved...
the scene right before the climax, when Katie is lying in bed telling Micah that she wants to stay. When she says "everything's going to be OKAY"...it freaked the crowd out. Heard a lot of holy shits being uttered.

Something else I didn't notice first go-around, since there are no ending credits, the screen goes black...and you hear that rumbling sound for a good minute or two. Thought that was great.

Still an 8/10

[Ender]

Yeah, I'll go on record as saying that small scene scared the crap out of me too. It's the eyes, mostly.

[MightyCelestial]

I wonder how many people who saw this movie,
are going to wake up in the middle of the night because they're sure they heard footsteps in the dark.

[LordSimen]

I wonder how many people who saw this movie,
are going to wake up in the middle of the night because they're sure they heard footsteps in the dark.

Happened to me twice the first night after seein' it. :D

[MightyCelestial]

Happened to me twice the first night after seein' it. :D

Yeah, it just happened to me too.
I also felt like my something was tugging at my leg.
So, since I couldn't sleep anymore, I decided to go to roam around here on this site instead.
And to be honest, as I type these words, I've begun to feel that tugging sensation on my leg again.
It's frustrating because, I know that it's not real, that it's all really just in my mi

[LordSimen]

Looks like we lost another one, boys. :(

[dellamorte dellamore]

You people are such wussies, Twilight probably scared you.

Just teasing i haven't seen this yet but the trailers alone had me jumping at every sound when i went to bed

[corgee]

Just opened up in my city and I'm excited to finally see it. Hope it's as good as everyone is saying.

[Ender]

Twilight scares me. But for all the wrong reasons.

[Z_oasis]

Got done seeing it and really, i have to agree with a lot of what people say. It was creepy, not really scary, funny, not that terrifying. Entertaining nonetheless. Living in San Diego, it didnt get the REALISM that i loved about The Blair Witch. It was like "What, i dont remember reading about this, its fake". It DID not have that WHAT IF like Blair Witch did where they went out, interviewed and built up the legend, which made it more scarier. But i digress, i want to know how they made it look so smooth of how the "demon" scenes worked. im intrigued on that level. But i was yawning and waiting and never really cared about the storyline. Eh...

Overall...its ok. Slow start, but ok. Entertaining....but ok.
2.5/5

[ScaryFreak1827]

Please come to my local theater soon! The trailer is creepy and it seems like a fun horror film.

[Mr.HyDe807]

There is a midnight showing for this flick on Thursday at my nearby theater, but also for Where the Wild things Are, so I may have to check out WTWTA first before seeing this bad boy.

[UniqueAlias]

From what I heard this is supposed to be an amazing low-budget film. I'm looking forward to seeing it somewhere but I don't think it's showing on any of my local theaters. I found it online at Movieyay (http://www.movieyay.com) though.

[Brendan M.]

Twilight scares me. But for all the wrong reasons.

I'd like to do some scary things to Ashley Greene.

[echo_bravo]

Like others said, this is a really effective horror film. I liked it.

And I agree that it would probably be better suited to watch at home in the dark. That would be pretty freaky I think.

Luckily, the crowd I saw it with was eating it up and loved it. No one was acting like a jackass or anything. Some screams and "holy shits!" here and there.

8/10

[HurricanesR1]

Isn't it opening wide this Friday?

[InvaderZim]

Saw this at a midnight screening weeks ago. I'm a horror buff. Love em. This movie scared the dogshit outta me.

11/10

[Bahs]

Seeing this tomorrow at the Mall of Ga right after Where The Wild Things Are.

stoked!

Hopefully this will be better than the amazing double feature I did earlier this year: Up then Drag Me to Hell

[BankaiZaraki]

Dont know if anyone knows this but it HAS a nationwide release now. Just got here in my local city. I can tell everyone went to see this movie ahead of Law Abiding Citizen.

[Mr.HyDe807]

Yeah, I was planning to see Where the Wild Things Are, but as my friend Tom and I were on line waiting to get a ticket, I figured that it's midnight, so why not check out a possibly effective horror movie that was being well received by critics, and possibly get the willies tonight. So, I decided at the last minute to save the wild rumpus for the first showing tomorrow, and check out this bad boy to see if it lives up to the hype.

Well, considering I was entering my dark house a little jumpy at the time, I think the movie definitely laid it's effect on me. The movie follows a couple who been having strange occurrences in the house while they are asleep, preferably to the girlfriend, Katie. So the boyfriend, Micah, decides to buy video equipment to investigate the happenings. The result....well, c'mon, you know some crazy shit is going to go down!

If you were one of those people growing up who got freaked out by your house with creaks and rumbles, this movie will defintiely effect you. Director Oren Peli defintiely builds the tension thick, with the simple creepy moments, slowly building to moments that will have some of you just freaking out. To be honest, I thought the first moments were alright, expecting to be consistently scared throughout. Then I knew Peli was trying buttering me up for the weirder moments, the ones where I just sit there in bewilderment, just waiting to see what happens next.

The actor playing the girlfriend is definitely the more sympathetic of the two, whilst the actor playing the boyfriend, Micah, just seems to be a catalyst towards all the creepy events to take place. Don't get me wrong, the events were pretty damn effective, but most wouldn't happen if it wasn't for him anyway. Yet, despite those flaws, the movie was still reeling me in to see what other creepy hijinks would ensue.

So, all in all, I think this movie was defintiely one of the creepy horror movies, next to REC, that I have seen a while. It's defintiely attains the vibe of The Blair Witch Project, only settling in the comfort of the only place you feel safe, your own home. I would defintiely try and check it out at night at the movies, but if you don't have the time to see it in theaters, I think seeing it at home on DVD will be just as, if not more effective.

8/10

[vesaker]

Saw this last night and thought it was really good. Nice slow build, the boyfriend was pretty funny at times and the pic in the attict really creeped me out.

8/10

[Mr. Fred Krueger]

It takes a really special horror movie to scare me. I'm a horror addict, and really can't get enough of the stuff. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th: you name it I've probably seen it, and I've probably had fun watching it.

Then you have other movies like The Exorcist and The Omen, films that aren't enjoyable to watch because they're fun, but because they're scary.

And that's what Paranormal Activity did for me...plus some. What makes Paranormal Activity so effective is the fact that it's filmed as cinema verite. The acting isn't overdone, but rather done in a realistic fashion, which made me able to relate to these two characters--Katie and Micah--easily.

The director manages to make the simplest of things creepy. Things start slowly with creakings here and there...a door moving...and from there on things begin to escalate. It's not too long before you anticipate and dread Katie and Micah's bedroom videos. Anticipate because that is where the nitty gritty of the film lies...but dread because you don't know what is going to happen next.

Definite thumbs up and a high recommendation for anyone looking to get scared. But do be careful. As someone who thought he was desensitized and could no longer be scared...I had a very hard time sleeping last night.

9/10

[Mr.HyDe807]

After thinking it over, I gotta give Paranormal Activity an 8.5 at least. No movie has freaked me out like this in a long time.

[SkyNet]

just saw it again in a theater that has a better client base than the previous theater i saw it in.

MUCH better experience.. the things were still creepy, unfortunately the initial reaction of the flick was 100% ruined for me by the previous theater, but it was still entertaining as hell the second go around... but after this time, i will watch it on DVD when it comes out and i buy it.. but from there, i will have to vault this one for years at a time between viewings.

[ElderPredator]

Okay ladies and gents...I just got back from seeing the movie up in Mississauga, Ontario. Not sure if anyone else here is in Southern Ontario that has seen it yet.

I have to first of all tell you that while I type this review, I still have chills running up my spine from how insanely creepy and scary the movie was. I honestly don't think I'll be sleeping very much tonight, I'm that freaked out. I like all of you thought I was desensitized....that is no longer the case.

I don't think there has been a single horror film in my life that has scared me this much apart from The Exorcist. The build up of tension throughout the film had myself and the entire theatre holding onto our seats for dear life. I was so sympathetic to the characters and that made the experience so much more terrifying. There was a point in the film where I actually forgot I was watching a film but seeing real footage...it's that well done.

For those of you who have seen it, you know how fucking scary the last half an hour is of this flick and I'm not ashamed to say that I shivered for about 2 full minutes after the screen finally went to black.

Thanks to to the filmmakers of the film for creating what I consider to be one of the Top 5 Scariest Movies I've ever seen in my life.

Final Rank: 10/10

[PSUDelVec]

Wow. Sometimes an emotional response to a movie can surprise you.

I can consider myself a reasonable person; I know its just a movie. I don't even believe in this like ghosts, demons, and the such. But I'll be damned if this movie didn't freak me the hell out.

I hadn't really bought into the hype at all; not even through the first hour of the flick. But, wow, the last couple of scenes startled the crap out of me. I can't remember the last time I was scared even a little by a horror movie, but this made up for that. I didn't get freaked out by most of it, but I jumped and am currently a little haunted by the scenes from the last night.

My one major problem was that structurally, the movie was annoyingly repetitive. Most day scenes seemed like carbon copies of each other. But its the night scenes that sold me the ticket, so its not a big deal.

8/10 and special mention to the actress who played Katie, for giving us THE MOST CHILLING HORROR SCREAM in a long time.

[LordSimen]

Just saw this for the fifth time with a date. It was awesome. :D

[ElderPredator]

8/10 and special mention to the actress who played Katie, for giving us THE MOST CHILLING HORROR SCREAM in a long time.

I agree, I could feel her final scream in my bones...it was so horrific.

[ElderPredator]

At the end where you suddenly see Micah flying against the camera scared the living shit out of me. That and the camera falling back revealing that it's Katie who did it. Scared me senseless!

[PSUDelVec]

At the end where you suddenly see Micah flying against the camera scared the living shit out of me. That and the camera falling back revealing that it's Katie who did it. Scared me senseless!

Completely agree. What's most amazing about that particular scene is that, if you've ever seen a horror movie, you knew something was about to happen. But it still surprised me. I had a lot of flashes of assumptions about what I was about to see and I couldn't have predicted that if given 100 chances. It was like I was looking curveball and I got a fastball up and in, for you baseball fans.

[jekupka]

Again I wanted to walk out of a movie theater, this movie sucked. Mainly due to the main guy being a freakin douchebag that I wanted to impale 5 minutes in, the horrible "Ghost Expert" and the fact it was about 20 minutes too long. The ONLY thing this movie had going for it was the pretty solid performanace by Katie Featherston, at times she was off but mostly pretty damn awesome, really wish we could have seen her twins, would have taken away a bit of the hostility I am currently feeling. Instead I'm typing this, wishing for the last 2 hrs of my life back. Seriously wait for the Halloween week edition of Ghost Hunters you'll save your money and probably have a better time.

[SkyNet]

haha right on.. not for everyone!

but i fully agree... she has a very nice chestorial area!

[LordSimen]

Katie was definitely a beautiful woman. :D

[dellamorte dellamore]

I finally caught up to this thing and i was impressed. Simple but effective scares. Now, i did spoil some of the scarier scenes by reading spoilers, so the impact was lessened and i was somewhat let down by the pacing, but it was well worth the wait.


Spoilers(don't know how to use the spoiler tag:))







Here's where some people may think i'm bonkers, the scares are genuinely cliched, it's not the content that makes this an effective haunting yarn but the execution. The jump scares consist almost entirely of loud noises, mixed with some creepy images of shadows, time lapse trickery, borax with footprints, lights going on and off( i was thinking it was the motion sensors going off?), and doors opening and closing. There is one bravuro sequence that has to be seen to be believed. Put it this way, i would love to see how they pulled it off without cgi( i'm stumped as to where the wires were hidden).


Allright so we also have the entity manipulating the woman's sheets, once ever so slightly, then in a very obvious fashion( stumped again, i'm thinking they used compressed air to move the sheets or wires again or a combination). We also get the entity breathing on her and the immediate area begins to chill( yes that's a cliche but once again it's the execution that makes it so effective).


Here's how i see this film, the director had a checklist of effective ghost stories and cliches, all he did was create a genuinely believable setting and he manipulated how these apparitions are filmed, you become voyeurs but not the detached kind much like you would if this was a traditional horror film that doesn't break the fourth wall, you are engaged on another level, a more intimate one because of the realistic foundation.

This isn't a knock against the film, but it didn't scare me, at first. Not a once did i feel the need to clutch the person i saw it with. I wasn't shaking with fear or trembling from fright. It's not exactly scary, it's creepy. It works on a subconscious level although i can see where the visceral chills would unsettle certain people. For some reason i was thinking of how i make my curry, it doesn't burn your tongue, it scorches your throat about a minute after you ingest a serving, and that burning sensation lingers, much like the frights that are to be found in PA.

This is quite simply a delayed response to the tension that you have just witnessed, at least for me. Once you leave the theater and process the events that have taken place in the film, the real terror starts.

To explore the realistic atmosphere once again, i went with someone who loves mainstream films, i had to somewhat beg them to see this, but they genuinely thought the film was real, that was further confirmation the film's greatest strength, much like Blair's before it, was the feeling that it was so real, so terrifying, you won't believe it didn't really happen.

I'll chime in a bit more later, i'll just leave it at this for now, i'm a low rent, youtube reject, so i got the whole obsession with filming everything, i understood the characters even if there are times when they ring false( the acting devolved into Soap Opera territory at times) and i had that nagging feeling that it's preposterous they would film some of these things, especially when they found themselves in potentially dangerous situations( i wondered why they didn't get a guard dog also or even call the police?). The character's in Blair didn't ring one false note from the moment the first frame came into view, that is the main detriment to this film, the realistic atmosphere is shattered at times and you realize you are watching another low budget creepfest. I also have an issue with the ending, with all the subtlety and restraint the director exhibited throughout the entire running time, he decides to pull an Adobe After Effects trick in the last moment. I imagined something more cunning, it amounts to seeing the " witch " in Blair, i just wish he would have ended this on a more low key and mysterious note.


Other than that, this film gets DD's highest recommendation, the content may not be different from other "ghost" stories( or ghost caught on camera videos that flood the internet) but it's still a unique horror film that eschews style for substance.


Just a side note, i see we will get to compare what the film may have looked like if the studio remade it, The 4th Kind, it appears to be similar to PA with a much higher budget.

[CaptainGyro]

I found it pretty underwhelming honestly. I thought it took way too long for anything genuinely creepy to happen, and by the time it did it was too little too late. some of the first "creepy'' things that happened in the movie were cliches that have happened in a million other ghost stories before. Nothing wrong with that, I guess , they don't have to make a totally new genre or anything. But maybe if the whole mood and atmosphere made for up the cliches, I'd still find it scary, however I just wasn't feeling creeped out by that either. The last few minutes of the film were creepy, but as I said before it was too little too late.
I'm completely baffled on how someone can think this movie is the best horror film of all time


I'm gonna declare it vastly overrated. 6/10.

[CaptainGyro]

*****************MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*********************







However, it is what it is, and that's a cheap trick - the very thing horror fans are always complaining about. The majority of the scares, sorry to say, ARE in fact loud noises, regardless of what some ppl may say. A door moving, a light turning on, a loud THUMP! Effective yes, but to the point of "O-M-G I CAN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT NOW!!!!" ? Really?

Also, everytime something was about to happen, they had to add the stupid heavy sound of the ghost approaching. WHY? Why not take us by surprise? Why must we be force-feed to know the haunting is about to start anew almost every single time? I felt that tactic really made everything anti-climatic for me. The Ouija Board part was so typical and done to death. OF COURSE the cursor was going to start moving by itself. Why not have something the entire audience isn't looking at move instead? Trick us a bit, keep it refreshing, SURPRISE US OUT OF LEFT FIELD!



That exerpt pretty much sums up how I felt about the movie. So much of it felt predictable

[Sgizzy316]

There were so many times that this movie could have taken the easy way out and fell to the typical, gimmicky horror style that we see all the time now. The quick camera movements, the potential to see what we were all scared to see. But it didn't, because this movie had patience. Few directors have the self restraint to do what was shown in this movie. I thought that the dialogue was good, didn't seem forced or try to be overly funny. The actual shot of the bedroom was set up perfectly. The only knock I had on the movie was the last 2 seconds and those of you that have seen it probably know what I am talking about.

Overall 9/10

[Lisness]

This was a breath of fresh air for anyone jaded by the running disappointment in the horror genre. Any horror film that can prove their scariness without a score definitely gets a thumbs up in my book. Films that have a sort of realism to them scares the bejesus out of me right alongside anything creepy based on a true story. Since this is the former the way it was shot, the way the actors were able to improvise during scenes was absolutely amazing. I would see it again.

[dellamorte dellamore]

I agree about the low rumble that was present when the demon was present, it would have been way more effective if we weren't given a cue as to when something would happen, even if it was obvious when it would the majority of the time, the rumble was akin to cheesy music that plays when something bad is about to happen in a conventional horror film, it's like Jason's theme from the Friday series in PA.

I somewhat understand it's meaning. A demonic presence doesn't make breathing noises like us, but it does breathe in a spiritual manner, this is the sound we are hearing, heavy otherworldly breathing and a displacement of the air that encompasses the real world or this plane of existence. It was giving off an energy that shook whatever area it occupied, the more sadistic it became, the more powerful the belligerent spiritual energy became. Now i don't remember if they heard that rumble when they would play back the recordings, so maybe it's just something the director decided to utilize in order to heighten the suspense, most likely that's all it was.


Please don't think i believe in ghosts and goblins now, i'm simply pontificating about this fictional story:)

[Cosimo]

watching at mo, about 10 minutes in and i'm totally spooked!

she's brushing her teeth, her teeeeeeeeeth!!!!

[Cop No. 633]

If that scared you, you should watch the Dentist starring Corbin Bernsen. Now that was a scary movie!

[Cosimo]

yeah cosmic the teeth brushing was all kinds of scary but in all seriousness shit like this freaks me the fuck out! blair witch scared the bejesus out of me when i was a youngster. tonight i sleep with the table lamp on, just to be safe

[therealjohng]

Screener online fyi

[Cosimo]

it does have flaws and unnecessary cliches but it certainly has creeped me out so i got to give it props, job well done you fucks i live in a spooky house as it is, and i have to sleep now!

[miguel_montes]

Screener online fyi

I think the ending is not the same as the one playing in the US theaters. Unfortunately, I have no idea when (or if) this movie will be coming out in Portugal. I've been reading a lot of good things about it, so I didn't resist and watched the DVD-scr that's making its rounds on the internet.

The ending I saw is the one with the police officers

It's the most scary movie since Blair Witch (I found it extremely scary at the time because of that viral marketing, telling it like it was true). I literally screamed during the most terrifying moments, and had goosebumps throughout.
Really, people, if you want to see a damn good movie this Halloween... skip Saw, see this instead. I cannot point out this enough. This movie WILL scary you.

Nevertheless, I would say this is a movie better enjoyed at home, in a proper environment (no lights on during a raining and thunderous night), but the movie theater is the best next thing for now.

9/10

[Preston_79]

All he had to do was kick his annoying girlfriend to the curb and problem solved. The boyfriend is a dim bulb and his girlfriend is just whining the entire time. I won't say it was disappointing, but it's about what you'd expect from a movie with a $15,000 budget. I wasn't even remotely scared till at least an hour and 15 minutes into it. All it was was slamming doors and footsteps for the most part. Boring. That batshit crazy girlfriend has got to go.


5/10

[Reigh Kaufman]

WHAT A LOAD OF FUCKING SHIT!

The scene where he goes into the attic should have been a turning point. Alas, it was a cue for another boring chat, leading to another boring argument, followed by boring, boring, boring, boringness until the boring, boring end.

The whole movie could have been superceded by a movie about two Foley Artists playing a practical joke on two pish actors with a wonga board, a bag of flour and a pair of nail-tack boots.

Hated this shitty fucking movie. Fuck it right in the earhole.

[Danger^Cart]

5/10

Fantastic rack. Really good stuff.

[FireCaptain4]

A friend of mine told me he wasn't impressed with it at all and advised me not to see it.

I'm still holding out for Zombieland.

[Reigh Kaufman]

A friend of mine told me he wasn't impressed with it at all and advised me not to see it.

I'm still holding out for Zombieland.

Go.

Go.

G...o...

[LordSimen]

A friend of mine told me he wasn't impressed with it at all and advised me not to see it.

I'm still holding out for Zombieland.

Paranormal Activity owns Zombieland by leaps and bounds, but I suppose that depends upon whether you like scary movies or funny movies more.

[Sigur509]

After years of waiting, FINALLY a horror film that scares the hell out of me.

9/10

[someguy]

Gotta go with Reigh and the naysayers on this. If the daytime scenes were building tension then Oren Peli has no idea how to do it properly because they ended up being repetitive and grating.

So there's a haunting during the night and then the day basically has Katie demanding they listen to the psychic while Micah says I CAN HANDLE THIS in between taunting the demon. It might have been fine if there was any progress going on but the obvious acting only made things worse. Like Reigh said, all we really got were boring arguments with a few okay scenes peppered throughout. I didn't even give a shit about Micah, Katie or the demon stuff anyways.

And what about the hilarious scene with the psychic towards the end? I got reminded of when James Woods went into Regan's bedroom in Scary Movie 2, took one look and said 'fuck this.' The scares may be effective but I don't want to wade through awful acting/writing for it.

If you want to see horror movies pull this format off properly check out Blair Witch again, [REC] or even the underseen/underrated Noroi. I might be seeing the theatrical soon so I might end up liking it more if it's paced better but the problems I had seem like they can't be fixed with a few edits.

[Cop No. 633]

It's nice to know I'm not crazy. I thought I was the nutty guy walking around in a trench coat carrying a bunch of "work papers" talking about how I've got this important meeting to go to in my torn socks.

I think they should have gone further with Micah. They should have had him sitting on the couch, eating chips, watching TV: "Babe, I got this, okay? Just chill out. The Chargers are on! Relax!"

Then later, he hears noises upstairs so he grabs a broom and starts pounding the ceiling, "Chill the fuck out! You want me to come upstairs?! I'll do it!"

[therealjohng]

Just saw this for the fifth time with a date. It was awesome. :D


What did he think?

[LordSimen]

What did he think?

I see what you did there. ;)

[CaptainGyro]

The whole movie could have been superceded by a movie about two Foley Artists playing a practical joke on two pish actors with a wonga board, a bag of flour and a pair of nail-tack boots.


I'm uneducated so I have no idea what any of this means, but I am gonna say I agree 100% anyway since you didn't like the movie either

[therealjohng]

I thought the movie was ok. I actually thought a lot of the scenes during the day time/not in the bedroom at night, were good because to me the movie evoked the feeling that anything could've happened at anytime. So I was constantly on edge. However, when it came the actual set pieces/scares, they were pretty bad and not scary at all.

And the boyfriend, don't get me started. He was just another pathetic horror movie character. Challenging a ghost? Really? Bad.

The movie is ok at best, definitely not worth the hype, which I don't think influenced my opinion. The movie just wasn't scary.

If I had to rate it, it would get the following:

Movie: 7/10
Scariness: 5/10
Creepiness: 8/10
Katie's Chesticules and Bondonkadonk: 10/10

[LordSimen]

I'm uneducated so I have no idea what any of this means, but I am gonna say I agree 100% anyway since you didn't like the movie either

Foley artists work in the sound department, they essentially record sounds. He's basically taking a crack at the fact that most of this movie is in it's sound design.

[fooknasty]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Saw it the other night. The first 30 minutes or so were somewhat boring, with nothing really happening and a lot of pointless chattering.

However, the last 20-25 minutes really had me on the edge of my seat. Little things like Kate just standing for several hours at a time is beyond creepy. I won't even get started on the major scares (getting drug out of bed and the final scene....holy shit!).

Overall, 7/10. I need to give this a re-watch, but I am afraid that it won't be as effective as the first time.


Also, can anyone explain to me the other endings that were shot?

[Cunning Visions]

Also, can anyone explain to me the other endings that were shot?

http://daveguzman.blogspot.com/2009/08/endings-of-paranormal-activity.html

[Tagia_Romero]

I would like to see this for myself.

[Venus Venusia]

I JUST saw this movie, so I was way behind on all the hype. I was actually expecting to be let down, and I'm barely scared by anything anymore, so I pretty much dared Paranormal Activity to bring it on.

The scene where Katie is dragged out of the bed was so unnerving and I had chills thinking about it well after the movie ended. Also, the noise of the demon's "presence" in the room won't leave my mind. My heart would race whenever I heard it.

It worked very well. I'm too afraid to get up and pee in the middle of the night. Yikes!

[Brendan M.]

Paranormal Activity owns Zombieland by leaps and bounds, but I suppose that depends upon whether you like scary movies or funny movies more.

Well what if you're like me and you have a variety of tastes in movies including both funny ones and scary ones?

I saw both movies in the theater on the same day and was bored to death during Paranormal Activity, where as Zombieland constantly delivered with every scene. The last time I had that much fun in the theater was at District 9, and before that it was Drag Me to Hell.


And to keep things simple, Zombieland wins over Paranormal Activity simply for having a topless zombie stripper chasing after a dude in slow motion as her titties bounce around to Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls.

[therealjohng]

And to keep things simple, Zombieland wins over Paranormal Activity simply for having a topless zombie stripper chasing after a dude in slow motion as her titties bounce around to Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls.


I've been teetering on whether or not to see Zombieland, but this seals the deal for me. I'm fucking going.

[HurricanesR1]

First 30 minutes were fairly slow, mostly giving out a lot of info regarding Katie's history of being haunted.

Next 50 minutes were ok as the scary and creepy scenes really picked up.

The last 10 minutes were downright disturbing. Best part of the movie.

Overall...B-

[LordSimen]

May have to see it again this weekend as I have a feeling it's success is going to drop dramatically now that the backlash has officially begun.

[Cosimo]

there's a backlash?

aint sure why folks be hating on this. it aint the greatest film of the year, it's a 7 at best but the filmmaker deserves a lot of credit for making a proper horror film. zombies, slashers and all that malarkey do not frighten me in the slightest, but there's something about not seeing the thing, as with blair witch that i find the most terrifying, my imagination runs wild. i picture a cross between the marshmallow man and dr death

my mum is watching this film at mo, ha!

[SkyNet]

ive noticed the backlash has begun as well.

Now we are getting to the point where ppl are seeing it based solely off of the hype and not off of them seeking the flick out.. which means ppl are going into it with expectations that no film can ever live up to

ive noticed a few ppl i know have come out of it saying they didnt like it... it was bound to happen!

Doesnt make the film less as awesome in my eyes!

[LordSimen]

True, Skynet. I was just hoping this movie would make more of a statement to the industry, but it won't if it's word of mouth starts getting killed off by the people now saying "Don't waste your money on it," instead of "see it and judge it for yourself." :(

[Venus Venusia]

It's funny...now that I've FINALLY seen it and admit to liking it, almost everyone I know who has seen it are saying how much they thought it sucked and how it wasn't scary.

But I really don't care...because I know the effect it had on ME. I've seen it twice already, and it held up just as well the second time.

Also:

Remember in the beginning when Micah was waving the knife around in the kitchen? Did anyone else see that as an indication of what would happen at the end?

[Heisenberg]

True, Skynet. I was just hoping this movie would make more of a statement to the industry, but it won't if it's word of mouth starts getting killed off by the people now saying "Don't waste your money on it," instead of "see it and judge it for yourself." :(

This logic could be used to rate any movie though. I'm sure you have advised friends not to see movies in the past. I don't see why it should be any different here. Big budget or no budget.

[LordSimen]

This logic could be used to rate any movie though. I'm sure you have advised friends not to see movies in the past. I don't see why it should be any different here. Big budget or no budget.

I can't say that I have, at least as far as I remember. But whatever you say, sir. :p

[Yggdrasil_Mjötv]

Honestly I didn't expect much at first, although I fear of any Paranormal Activity (always have) I expected this to be just another "fright on sight" kind of thing and then leave my mind later.

I saw this last night not once but TWICE!!! back to back, in the comfort of my own home, lights off and around the time I head to bed and it proved to be very effective, not to the point of paranoia but enough to really send chills down my body all through the night, and I am happy on the way it ended, if it was up to me more horror films should end either abruptly or very dark, Lately the fact that the "hero" always wins is too cliche.

Another note is this is another film that I payed little attention to other opinions, I heard amongst my friends that it sucks, mostly because of either not having taste for that type of film or it was a bad crowd that evening, so the way I felt through the whole film was genuine to my liking. I can see myself adding this to my collection!

[Shockwave]

8/10

The final 30 minutes were outstanding horror.

With this and Zombieland both owning in different ways(and FINALLY seeing the wonderful Trick or Treat! 8/10) , i have had a blast with horror this fine month of October.:D

[therealjohng]

I like how I didn't like it because it wasn't a good movie, but to the people who loved the movie, I didn't like it because it didn't live up to the hype.

[Yggdrasil_Mjötv]

I like how I didn't like it because it wasn't a good movie, but to the people who loved the movie, I didn't like it because it didn't live up to the hype.

screw the hype, it's a sad excuse to always blame "the hype", Thats nearly always guarantees a let down, your first opinion is what I can respect though, but "the hype" is just plain stupid.

[Nazgul]

Never go with the hype. I am going to watch it this Sunday without any hype in my mind.

[Cunning Visions]

there's a backlash?

Check out the IMDB boards, they've been eviscerating this movie for about 2 weeks now. It's really out of hand over there.

[Brendan M.]

screw the hype, it's a sad excuse to always blame "the hype", Thats nearly always guarantees a let down, your first opinion is what I can respect though, but "the hype" is just plain stupid.

Meh... I'm not a fan of this movie at all, but I'll still root for it simply because I want more original horror movies to be released around Halloween time that isn't a goddamn Saw sequel, and this movie might have the chance to make that series make less money.

Still a bit surprised that I'm in the minority of people who weren't impressed by it.

[Yggdrasil_Mjötv]

Meh... I'm not a fan of this movie at all, but I'll still root for it simply because I want more original horror movies to be released around Halloween time that isn't a goddamn Saw sequel, and this movie might have the chance to make that series make less money.

Still a bit surprised that I'm in the minority of people who weren't impressed by it.

I have a few friends that felt the same way, and that's cool, really it draws down to a matter of taste, some people like it/love others hate it or found it boring.

And I agree with you about having more original horror films out there, this one took me be surprise simply because "the hype" wasn't what I was comparing it too and really it's been awhile since I've sat down and digest a film by trying to find clues or hear them.

More or less any film can be a hit or miss to some.

[dellamorte dellamore]

PA jumped to number one on Wednesday, beating out Wild Things. It stands at 38 mil soon to be 40. Is there anyone that still doubts it's hitting 100 mil plus by the end of it's run. It's snagging almost 2 mil a day during the week, that's crazy for a film that's still in limited release.

With another expansion this weekend, the film could be at around 60 mil by Sunday nite.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, considering how impressive the house is that this movie was made in, the director was already loaded before he made this.


Another random thought, the film starts off like an amateur porn film.

It's still a terrific, triumphant low budget horror film, we need films like these to remind us imagination can go a long way.

[DorkisFig]

Just got back from the theater.

You have probably already seen it if you are reading this but just in case, SPOILER ALERT




I thought this was a decent flick. All the hype made me feel like I was gonna come home terrified to go to bed but I was definitely not that scared at all.

I didn't like when Katie convinced Micah to stay after she was "bitten" and when he leaves the room she gives this ridiculous smile. Hello, Captain obvious. Why not just say that she is gonna do something crazy in the next scene as a subtitle or something!

I was very pissed when I found out the finale was included in the preview. Anybody wanting to see this movie probably saw the preview first and then waited all 86 minutes to see someone fly at the camera. Everyone in the theater jumped except me because I knew it was coming.

REC was insanely better (and no, I don't mean Quarantine). I thought it was well done but just not as good as everyone said it was. The patience to lead the audience little by little was good but everything was so anti-climatic and the so-called scares weren't as effective.

Then the last couple of seconds with the whole, "her whereabouts are unknown" nonsense was just dumb. They should have just ended it without the text at the end, letting the audience decide what the hell happened.

I will say that when Katie gets pulled out of bed and dragged down the hall I was freaking out! That was not expected at all. Kudos.

I will probably see this once it comes out on DVD but I wouldn't pay to see it again. If you liked this and have not seen REC, go get it and watch it, I think you will really enjoy it.

7/10

[Spidey]

Damn, I didn't sleep much last night, after seeing this movie.
One of the most scariest movies I've seen in a long time ! 10/10

For those who want to see the original ending :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQwqkkAVGQ

[Donnie_Darko]

Saw this yesterday (for free... screw you Paramount), and loved it. Totally my kind of flick. I thought the tension was done very well, and the acting was natural and very good. It had a few small moments that didn't flow, but overall, I was totally digging it. The boyfriend was THE WORST BOYFRIEND EVER! LOL! Katie really looked like Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) in this flick, and it was a little distracting at times. She'd be upset and scared, and she really looked like Pam a lot! Not complaining, cause I love Jenna and Katie's got the body for sure... love some meat on them bones... or my bone on them meat. ;)

I saw the original version (screener rip), and didn't really like the ending all that much. I was hoping for...

Her to kill him, then come upstairs and kill herself, which is apparently a 3rd ending... which if true should make the DVD/BD release

I'll end up seeing this at the theater this week (screw you Paramount), so I'll see the theatrical ending. I know I could look it up and find out, but I'd rather see it then read about it.

Overall, great flick and a deserved

Paranormal Activity - 8.5/10

[fooknasty]

That's an interesting alternate ending.

I liked how right when the police come upstairs, the demon releases Katie from it's possession and it becomes Katie stumbling toward the cops and eventually being shot and not the demon (which would have been far less dramatic if she had charged at them possessed).

However, this alternate ending didn't have 1/2 the creepy effectiveness as the theatrical one.

I have found myself thinking about this film all week, so it must have had a greater impact on me than I am giving it credit for.

[dellamorte dellamore]

Spoilers



I have a question, is this supposed to be found raw footage, or, in the context of the film, supposed to be an edited version for the purpose of investigation.

I don't get the whole time lapse aspect. Was the demon speeding up time? :).

Even when it was apparent Micah was out of his element and he realized it was time to leave, when he came to the realization he was just making things worse by challenging and recording the ghost, he still kept on filming.

After all that had happened, he was still motivated to film everything and he still somehow had the presence of mind to hook up his cam to the laptop.( once again, knowing full well it was making the situation more precarious)

Why didn't he call the men in the white coats when he realized his Gf was totally bonkers, most normal people would have.

When that parapsychologist, psychic/new age vegan earth child dude refused to help them anymore and when the demon expert was unavailable ( you knew that was going to happen), why didn't they at least try to find someone else to help out.

With how scared both of them were, why did Micah still shave. That would be the last thing on my mind if i was being haunted by a demon. He should of had a full beard by the end of the film


What was the purpose of her friend, with this new ending she was the very definition of a throwaway character( still was in the alternate ending but at least she had a nice scream), served absolutely no conceivable purpose save for taking the crazy lady out for some fresh air.

Did Micah have any relatives, if so he didn't reach out to any of them


How come they never thought to at least leave the house together and take a little drive, get away from the madness, go see a horror move or something


With all the noise coming from their house at the time of night these things were happening, i find it hard to believe the neighbors never went to investigate or call the police. Even in the original ending, we are supposed to believe that the cops didn't show up until some time after her friend came and discovered Micah's body.

She was never found in the theatrical version, okay, so she either disappeared into the spirit world or somehow left the house in demon form, drove down south, crossed the border into Mexico and took up residence in Tijuana. If she did leave the house, i'm sure someone would have seen her and they would have noticed all the blood and the adobe after effects transformation that had taken place.


Why did the computer stop recording when she lunged at it. Did she stop it, it was the blue screen of death i guess


Don't worry, i still think it's a great film, i just have some nagging questions

[kobe8byrant]

Sorry guys but what is the rating for this film?

[CreeperBEATNGU]

I thought it was listed as "unrated" actually.

Great movie, the best documentary style horror film and film dealing with demons that I've seen.

It's subtle enough without taking the "it's better left to the imagination" concept overboard to the point of absurdity as the Blair Witch Project did, and it doesn't have the ridiculously over the top silliness from The Exorcist.

Out of the three ending I've heard, I'm glad that they one with the one they did. This plays more effectively with a packed theatre than any horror film in recent memory.

[MarcoG]

Damn, I didn't sleep much last night, after seeing this movie.
One of the most scariest movies I've seen in a long time ! 10/10

For those who want to see the original ending :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQwqkkAVGQ


Much better ending than that crap we got.

[jekupka]

That's an interesting alternate ending.

I liked how right when the police come upstairs, the demon releases Katie from it's possession and it becomes Katie stumbling toward the cops and eventually being shot and not the demon (which would have been far less dramatic if she had charged at them possessed).

However, this alternate ending didn't have 1/2 the creepy effectiveness as the theatrical one.

I have found myself thinking about this film all week, so it must have had a greater impact on me than I am giving it credit for.

Actually the demon left shortly after they arrived, if you watch in the background the light to the closet where the attic entrance is goes on and then turns off, showing that the demon has gone back to the attic yet Katie is still acting possessed. I liked this ending more 'cause it has more of a "F-You" feel rather than what I feel is the cliched, ...and the woman was never found ending.

[Brendan M.]

Much better ending than that crap we got.

How so? It makes the movie even longer and more boring.

[someguy]

I saw the theatrical version tonight (After hearing about some criticisms on the new cut I wanted to see the original version first) and it's slightly better than the original cut. The best thing about it is that it's paced much better. Obviously all of the cuts are for the daytime scenes and there's one or two new segments thrown in that keeps a better momentum. The new ending I'm split on because it followed up a nice payoff with a bad jump scare. I'd probably give the original version a 4 or 5 out of 10, the newer one would get a 6.

[BakeTheMooCow]

The alternate ending is interesting, but then goes on too long. It would be better if:

Katie had returned and rocked near her bed and the movie ended there
Someone asked me about the movie today and I tried desperately to recall some of the stuff that happened but was drawing a blank. It really didn't stay with me at all and I have to wonder how good a film is when I can hardly remember it.

[LordSimen]

However, this alternate ending didn't have 1/2 the creepy effectiveness as the theatrical one.


I'm going to have to agree with this, and it's pretty much why while it's an acceptable ending to the movie, the theatrical ending is ten times more effective and much better than the original ending.

[dellamorte dellamore]

Spoilers


I was thinking the perfect ending would be the same exact setup, but when she looks up at the camera and smiles , something hits it( not her), we lose video but not audio. Now we hear one last spine tingling scream, a moment of silence, then we hear some unintelligible demon speak and we hear footsteps leading out of the room, the end.

It would have kept the mystery going instead of the Spielberg approved wrapped in a ribbon ending. The most effective aspect of the movie was not showing anything, at least whatever it was that was terrorizing the both of them. Once you get a glimpse of what happens to her, it shatters the meticulous suspense that has been built up. Sure, it's a crowd pleasing ending but it's so disappointing considering all that has come before. Let our imagination run wild, don't show us what happens to her.


Or, in line with the original ending, the police enter the room, shoot her for not complying with their drop the knife order, one of them kneels down to check her pulse, the door slams behind them and something hits the camera. Once again, no video but audio. We hear some shots fired, a physical struggle, the two cops scream, the silence and then the demon voices. Still keeps the mysterious aspect and let's you imagine what happened. What a kick in the head that would be if you start to feel everything is resolved, the police are here to save the day, nope, nobody is safe.

I still enjoyed the ending, but it could have been so much more effective, not merely a boo scare to please the masses.

[someguy]

The thing I liked about the new ending was that it had a payoff of some sort to the tension being built up before with all of the hauntings. Micah being thrown at the camera was a well done jump scare. The demon shit was just awful though, I would have preferred her smiling at the camera before it shut off or something like that instead of the lame CGI face. It seemed like the original ending was trying to keep things more restrained/realistic but anyone watching it will know the movie's fiction. I prefer the straight up horror movie ending than the original one, I just wished that it was executed better.

[sbunn10]

Possibly the most over-hyped film of all time. The first hour is completely boring, and the scares, when they come, are nothing new, and nothing too scary. It's something special when a low budget film rises above their expectations and kick ass, but when the limited capital is obvious, it's hard to enjoy it. Every major "spooky" occurrence took place off screen, and the biggest scene was given away in the trailer. I laughed more than I was scared.

4/10

[fooknasty]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS


In the alternative ending, I would have loved it if after the two cops shoot Katie and they turn their backs to her and enter the back room, Katie stands up and follows them into the room, door slams shut, and all we hear is screams.

[jekupka]

Possibly the most over-hyped film of all time. The first hour is completely boring, and the scares, when they come, are nothing new, and nothing too scary. It's something special when a low budget film rises above their expectations and kick ass, but when the limited capital is obvious, it's hard to enjoy it. Every major "spooky" occurrence took place off screen, and the biggest scene was given away in the trailer. I laughed more than I was scared.

4/10

Finally someone agrees with me. THANK YOU! =)

[Mystique963]

Sadly, I think the hype is what kept it from being an absolutly amazing film for me. The movie is creepy, but I was building it up to be something much more impressive.

I absolutly hated Micah. He drove me crazy the entire movie and I usually ended up feel sorry for Katie, not just due to a demonic stalker.

Then again, I may have just hated it because of the loud mouthed 14 year old sitting next to me who was letting the entire theatre know how big his pre-pubesent balls are. Fucker.

[InvaderZim]

Spoilers


I was thinking the perfect ending would be the same exact setup, but when she looks up at the camera and smiles , something hits it( not her), we lose video but not audio. Now we hear one last spine tingling scream, a moment of silence, then we hear some unintelligible demon speak and we hear footsteps leading out of the room, the end.

It would have kept the mystery going instead of the Spielberg approved wrapped in a ribbon ending. The most effective aspect of the movie was not showing anything, at least whatever it was that was terrorizing the both of them. Once you get a glimpse of what happens to her, it shatters the meticulous suspense that has been built up. Sure, it's a crowd pleasing ending but it's so disappointing considering all that has come before. Let our imagination run wild, don't show us what happens to her.


Or, in line with the original ending, the police enter the room, shoot her for not complying with their drop the knife order, one of them kneels down to check her pulse, the door slams behind them and something hits the camera. Once again, no video but audio. We hear some shots fired, a physical struggle, the two cops scream, the silence and then the demon voices. Still keeps the mysterious aspect and let's you imagine what happened. What a kick in the head that would be if you start to feel everything is resolved, the police are here to save the day, nope, nobody is safe.

I still enjoyed the ending, but it could have been so much more effective, not merely a boo scare to please the masses.

You know.. I dig all your suggestions... well done

[InvaderZim]

Paranormal Beat out the bullshit Saw movie on Friday.. Good

FUCK THE SAW MOVIES THEY SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wish Trick r Treat had been released. It would have made a good amount also.

[ilovemovies]

A surefire candidate for the most overrated of 2009! Seriously, people actually found this movie to be scary?! I've seen disney movies that have more chills!

The ending is mildly effective, but by then it's too little too late. The ending kind of worked but it's not worth the loooooooooong wait to get there.

Between a 4 or 5/10. Not sure which one.

[dellamorte dellamore]

Paranormal Beat out the bullshit Saw movie on Friday.. Good

FUCK THE SAW MOVIES THEY SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wish Trick r Treat had been released. It would have made a good amount also.


I agree, hopefully it can take the weekend now, no doubt it's a victory in the faceoff regardless of what happens now.


If anyone is wondering why i even care, it's because for every tired franchise that just won't end, something like PA may get overlooked, not this time. Do we really need a Saw every damn year, if it was even every 2 years i could handle it, but this is monotonous now.

Every damn commercial i stumble upon freezes up my innards:).

I'm glad you liked my ideas for the ending, i'm not sure what a focus group would have thought, but i still can't get over how they botched the last couple of frames. With Blair people were dissecting what happened to the 3 campers for months after, with PA it was essentially resolved as to what happened. Don't show it dammit, just don't:)

[Brendan M.]

A surefire candidate for the most overrated of 2009! Seriously, people actually found this movie to be scary?! I've seen disney movies that have more chills!

The ending is mildly effective, but by then it's too little too late. The ending kind of worked but it's not worth the loooooooooong wait to get there.

Between a 4 or 5/10. Not sure which one.

has this been the first time I've agreed with you on one of your opinions on a horror movie? Wow, now that is scary.

[InvaderZim]

I agree, hopefully it can take the weekend now, no doubt it's a victory in the faceoff regardless of what happens now.


If anyone is wondering why i even care, it's because for every tired franchise that just won't end, something like PA may get overlooked, not this time. Do we really need a Saw every damn year, if it was even every 2 years i could handle it, but this is monotonous now.

Every damn commercial i stumble upon freezes up my innards:).

I'm glad you liked my ideas for the ending, i'm not sure what a focus group would have thought, but i still can't get over how they botched the last couple of frames. With Blair people were dissecting what happened to the 3 campers for months after, with PA it was essentially resolved as to what happened. Don't show it dammit, just don't:)

I actually enjoyed the ending because it scared me but


Spoiler



I was a little distracted by the cg when I thought about it later. This movie had no need for that. Still in my top 10 horror of all time with exorcist, Texas chainsaw and pumpkinhead

[franky4fingerz]

I caught the midnight show last night hoping that the fucking kids would not be there. I was wrong. I loved the movie. I'm going back sometime next week when the loudmouth fucks are in school. God, I fucking hate bitch ass kids.
9/10

[dellamorte dellamore]

Spoilers


IZ, i admit it somewhat startled me, but no more than a screamer video, i'm desensitized to demon transformations now, i've seen too many of them. I still think back to Blair, an example of a complete mystery from beginning to end. Imagine if they showed a glimpse of the Witch or whatever it was that was stalking them? I'm just glad they didn't have access to high powered effects programs back then because they might have done something of the sort.

It's allright 99 percent of the film is effective with terrific editing, sound design and foreshadowing.


Here's why i think either one of my endings work, especially the one that have nothing to do with the police. The demon burned her house down, he was trying to kill her entire family, but she escaped. His main goal at first, i'm thinking, was to finish the job all these years later.

Now Micah is involved, so he/she breaks her down spiritually and emotionally in order to complete the possession, the purpose of which is to get her to murder him. She does this, now it's her turn( in one of the original endings she slashes her own throat). So she comes back into the room and it leads into the first ending i imagined. This ending does not break the mystery, it enhances it.

[InvaderZim]

Spoilers


IZ, i admit it somewhat startled me, but no more than a screamer video, i'm desensitized to demon transformations now, i've seen too many of them. I still think back to Blair, an example of a complete mystery from beginning to end. Imagine if they showed a glimpse of the Witch or whatever it was that was stalking them? I'm just glad they didn't have access to high powered effects programs back then because they might have done something of the sort.

It's allright 99 percent of the film is effective with terrific editing, sound design and foreshadowing.


Here's why i think either one of my endings work, especially the one that have nothing to do with the police. The demon burned her house down, he was trying to kill her entire family, but she escaped. His main goal at first, i'm thinking, was to finish the job all these years later.

Now Micah is involved, so he/she breaks her down spiritually and emotionally in order to complete the possession, the purpose of which is to get her to murder him. She does this, now it's her turn( in one of the original endings she slashes her own throat). So she comes back into the room and it leads into the first ending i imagined. This ending does not break the mystery, it enhances it.

I agree that either of your endings are better than what they used. I still think what they used was better than the original.

It's odd in that i usually never ever agree with you on anything. that's why we've never had a discussion. Welcome to the Neutral Zone

[InvaderZim]

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

Paranormal Spanked em' all badly this weekend... Yay! There is a god

[MarcoG]

Ok.
I like Saw.
The first one is the best one.
I don't like the others.
Not even 2.

And PA was entertaining. But overhyped by ppl who are scared of..........................
Nothing.

Audiences wanted cheap gimmicks this weekend.
And they got it.

You guys complain about Saw 6?
Wait till we get PA 6.

You're all gonna cry.

[Brendan M.]

Ok.
I like Saw.
The first one is the best one.
I don't like the others.
Not even 2.

And PA was entertaining. But overhyped by ppl who are scared of..........................
Nothing.

Audiences wanted cheap gimmicks this weekend.
And they got it.

You guys complain about Saw 6?
Wait till we get PA 6.

You're all gonna cry.

I don't think we're going to see a Paranormal Activity series. I do think we're going to see a lot more horror movies though done in the same style as Paranormal Activity. Especially since the director's next movie Area 51 has already been announced and sounds basically like the same thing only with space aliens.

[dellamorte dellamore]

I agree that either of your endings are better than what they used. I still think what they used was better than the original.

It's odd in that i usually never ever agree with you on anything. that's why we've never had a discussion. Welcome to the Neutral Zone

Yeah, like i know what i'm doing, that's why the director is fielding offers all day and i'm posting on Joblo;). Hey, at least we found some common ground because of this film, it seems to be having far reaching and unexpected effects

[MarcoG]

I don't think we're going to see a Paranormal Activity series. I do think we're going to see a lot more horror movies though done in the same style as Paranormal Activity. Especially since the director's next movie Area 51 has already been announced and sounds basically like the same thing only with space aliens.


UGH. I rest my case =/

[LordSimen]

Fuck yes! Paranormal Activity owned the fuck out of the weekend and I'm not only a happy camper cause of it, I'm also a happy horror fan. :D

[ericdraven]

Fuck yes! Paranormal Activity owned the fuck out of the weekend and I'm not only a happy camper cause of it, I'm also a happy horror fan. :D

Yeah too bad for one original horror movie, there are hundreds of PG-13 crap horro.

[LordSimen]

All the more reason for people to support this movie.

[echo_bravo]

The folks behind this film have to be laughing all the way to the bank. Holy shit its making a killing at the box office considering it had a very low budget.

[optimusprime24]

Really enjoy this movie. 10/10

[ScaryFreak1827]

Still haven't seen this yet and definitely plan on it soon but for those who've seen it, how does it compare to a flim like [REC]? I realize they're different plots (zombies/demons) but would you say it's as scary or in the same vein as that film? [REC] IMO had a great claustrophobic, realistic and tense atmosphere and when I see the previews for PA I'm reminded of it. How do they compare?

[echo_bravo]

Still haven't seen this yet and definitely plan on it soon but for those who've seen it, how does it compare to a flim like [REC]? I realize they're different plots (zombies/demons) but would you say it's as scary or in the same vein as that film? [REC] IMO had a great claustrophobic, realistic and tense atmosphere and when I see the previews for PA I'm reminded of it. How do they compare?

REC is far superior in everyway, but I still enjoyed Paranormal Activity a lot.

REC is much more intense IMO.

[InvaderZim]

Still haven't seen this yet and definitely plan on it soon but for those who've seen it, how does it compare to a flim like [REC]? I realize they're different plots (zombies/demons) but would you say it's as scary or in the same vein as that film? [REC] IMO had a great claustrophobic, realistic and tense atmosphere and when I see the previews for PA I'm reminded of it. How do they compare?

Paranormal is far superior in every way. Way more scary and far far more tense. But I did like rec.

See what I did there. Lol.

Everyone has thier own opinions but if you like one chances are you'll like the other. I like Paranormal way more.

[Mystique963]

what the hell is REC?

[ilovemovies]

what the hell is REC?

An infinitely better movie than Paranormal Activity. That's what it is. ;)


REC is about a reporter following a group of fire fighters who respond to a situation in a building. The building is eventually blocked and quarantined with the reporter and fire fighters still inside with people being infected with some kind of virus that basically turns you into a zombie.

The movie is played, much like Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield, as lost footage found from the cameraman.

[Mr.HyDe807]

While I was a fan of Paranormal Activity, I gotta say that [REC] is defintiely much better than this. It's tighter, more intense, and definitely more entertaining.

[ScaryFreak1827]

Thanks for the reply, guys. Hope to check out PA soon...

[Heisenberg]

WOW! Great Movie!


POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!







I didn't find this to be boring at all, it was really entertaining throughout. It went from creepy to scary to downright terrifying.

Both characters were likable I thought, Micah was fairly idiotic but he was funny too. I felt sorry for katie, mainly cause Micah made things worse.

The first thing that really got me freaked was the first whispers, my hair arms were on end. Fucking freeeeeeeekaaaaaaay :p

The one after than was the footprints and the pictures, by this point I was scared, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It fucking freacked me the FUCK out. Seriously.

I thought that would of been the highlight, but fuck was I wrong. Katie being dragged, is one of the most effective scenes in any horror movie I have ever watched. And easily the scariest. If I had been alone, I would probably of had a pillow over my mouth, screaming like a startled puppy. But I was with family, So I watched in terror without making a movement.





End Spoilers

I don't wanna go on about it cause there isn't anything to discuss. Go and see this movie, just do it. Make up your mind, seriously do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.

As for the REC topic, I enjoyed this a hell of a lot more. This was more effective imo. Don't get me wrong though, REC was amazing.

10/10 Scariest movie ever, imo.

[Bob Loblaw]

Wow, scariest movie ever my ass, it was a fucking episode of Ghost Hunters at best. The god damned Blair Witch all over again.

The film starts off with the obligatory lame & mundane exposition (mundane because this is supposed to be people playing with a camera. So you're supposed to ignore the cheesy & cliche horror movie dialog :rolleyes:). Then after a very weak exposition we get to hear an endless barrage of bumps in the night. We get to see the main characters scream, then cry, then scream (honestly, this is all they do). The main dude constantly shouts "whats that! who's there!" long after he knows perfectly well what 'that' is. He keeps investigating the noises LONG after he know what they are. It was asinine. Then the film ends with the one of the most overused effects ever. "You've got to be kidding me" was all I could think of while leaving the theater.

If it wasn't for most of the audience believing this to be "real" (and being mostly easliy spooked teenagers), there wouldn't be any way in hell that this film would have that kind of box office. Like The Blair Witch project, this film relies on false advertisement to sell its hype machine.

[InvaderZim]

If it wasn't for most of the audience believing this to be "real" (and being mostly easliy spooked teenagers), there wouldn't be any way in hell that this film would have that kind of box office. Like The Blair Witch project, this film relies on false advertisement to sell its hype machine.

Bullshit... I read quite a few stupid assumptions here and this is one of them. They never say the film is real. The technique looks that way but it never said based on a true story. Your just sour grapes because its awesome. It's the titanic effect all over again.

[sbunn10]

Ok, I, for one, don't dislike it because it's 'awesome'. And they do set the film up to seem like true events. They have the fake 'true-story' intro and ending, and have a picture of the couple at the end. I know people who thought that it was real. (Dumb people)

That's the reason I thought the film sucked. For most of the film, it relied on spooks that would only be scary if it were real, such as the lights turning off and on, or the door moving. Big fuckin whoop. It built up so much to show these little things happen that are scary on GhostHunters, because they don't use effects to make them happen, or a guy standing down the hall flipping the switch.

By the time serious shit started happening, I was bored out of my mind, and everything happened off-screen- all we heard was screams and got to see the aftermath. I know the budget was limited, but it just seemed SO FAKE, and that's not what they were going for.

[LordSimen]

Bullshit... I read quite a few stupid assumptions here and this is one of them. They never say the film is real. The technique looks that way but it never said based on a true story. Your just sour grapes because its awesome. It's the titanic effect all over again.

Agreed. The marketing for this movie has been entirely about how scary it is and how the audience has reacted, not whether or not it's real. There's been no question that this movie is fictional, and everyone I've taken it to who've been scared shitless knew that before hand. If you thought it was real, I don't know what to tell ya. You made that assumption yourself. The movie's style is set up realistically, but it does not try to trick you into believing it's real. "We'd like to thank the police department" and the lack of credits are no more telling you it's real than the opening title scroll of Star Wars for fucks sake.

[InvaderZim]

Agreed. The marketing for this movie has been entirely about how scary it is and how the audience has reacted, not whether or not it's real. There's been no question that this movie is fictional, and everyone I've taken it to who've been scared shitless knew that before hand. If you thought it was real, I don't know what to tell ya. You made that assumption yourself. The movie's style is set up realistically, but it does not try to trick you into believing it's real. "We'd like to thank the police department" and the lack of credits are no more telling you it's real than the opening title scroll of Star Wars for fucks sake.

Id like everyone who has seen a horror movie that was real footage in the theater to please raise their hand..

Enough said.

[SweetEnLow]

The god damned Blair Witch all over again.



That's what I'm afraid of, I thought the Blair Witch was shit.

[Badbird]

Wow. A scary movie that is actually scary.

This movie was great. Very effective. Very creepy. I've always thought that one of the scariest things there is would be to wake up and realize you are not alone.

The comparisons to Blair Witch are obvious, and justifiable. I liked Blair Witch, but I thought this movie was easily better. For one thing, there is less screaming. Yeah, the couple arguing got a little annoying, but not nearly annoying as Heather screaming "JOSH!!!" every five seconds for the final twenty minutes of that movie.

Blair Witch also had a much longer build up to the creepy stuff, and still took until almost the very end to go completely over the edge. Where as Paranormal got things going fairly quickly and still made it work. It was great at building the tension and making every encounter more and more scary.

I think one of the scariest moments was when the door was slammed for the first time. That was when you understood how powerful and angry it was.

The scariest parts were definitely near the end:

1 - When she gets dragged out of the bed

2 - When it breaths on her during the daytime

3 - When she says "Everything will be okay" and you can hear her voice warp.

4 - And the last scene. The scariest moment is when the screaming stopped. You could hear a pin drop in my theater when that happened.



There were a couple funny parts (for me, anyway). I liked when she said something like:

"I told you not to get a Ouija board and you go and get the most detailed Ouija board I've ever seen!"

Then, at the theater I saw it at, there was a framed picture of Marlon Brando on the wall outside the auditorium that looked like it had been punched. - Uh-oh, the demon hates Marlon Brando...

Also, I have the exact same coffee table they had in the movie. Though mine is brown, not black (I wish I could have found a black one).

All in all - 9/10



PS - I can't believe there are a bunch of morons on IMDB talking about how "fat" Katie was.

[Venus Venusia]

PS - I can't believe there are a bunch of morons on IMDB talking about how "fat" Katie was.

I KNOW!!! :rolleyes:

[Brendan M.]

Well her rack was really the only thing I found attractive about her.

[Pentangeli]

One of the worst films this year, Paranormal Activity makes The Blair Witch Project look like a masterpiece.

1/4

[Tagia_Romero]

Then, at the theater I saw it at, there was a framed picture of Marlon Brando on the wall outside the auditorium that looked like it had been punched. - Uh-oh, the demon hates Marlon Brando...


Haha. :D

[Heisenberg]

Well her rack was really the only thing I found attractive about her.

I didn't notice her large boobz till near the end. Her face was soo pretty. I guess I'm a gentleman :p.

@Badbird

Thpart you were talking about with the ouija board was nearly right. She does infact say.

"I told you not to mess with that stuff and you go and get the best looking fucking Ouija board I've ever seen!"

And yes, I laughed at that part. :)

[Brendan M.]

I didn't notice her large boobz till near the end. Her face was soo pretty. I guess I'm a gentleman :p.


http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p102/RubiconM3/SmellsLikeBullshit.jpg

[NuclearMisfit]

First thing I noticed about her lol. She also looks like a meatier Jenna Fischer me likey!!!

http://editorial.sidereel.com/Images/Posts/jfischer.jpg

Anyhow I wish she would have told Micah to piss off when Around Night 4 when the door swung back and forth he was kinda being a dick to her "I have a say in what we do".

The best parts of this movie is the nighttime bedroom footage with the demon. They were really well done and I loved how the attacks got more severe as time went on, my favorite scenes were when Micah put powder down and there were three toed footprints and the part where Micah wakes up as the footsteps sound like they come into the room followed by the sound of it hauling ass out out slamming the door.




If anyone has seen the alternate ending answer this for me.
Before the cops arrive in the room we see the light down the hall turn on, was that the demon returning to the attic?

[Bourne101]

Paranormal Activity - 7/10

One of the absolute worst movie going experiences I have ever had, and unfortunately my rating may be a reflection of that. To my left were four ditsy, immature girls who giggled at every single fucking thing that happened. Not to mention they burped probably a dozen times. Then there was the fucking gangster wannabe douche bag behind me who had his feet on my seat and then started kicking my seat. Then he proceeded to start flicking his soda cup, and at every creepy moment he would blurt out something stupid which would send the ditsy girls into hysterics. Thank god he left after about twenty minutes due to his attention span that was the equivalent of a two year old. Then there were two guys in front of me who must have gone to get popcorn and drink refills five times, on top of going for two smoke breaks. All of this bullshit seems a little ironic since I saw it at 2:00 in the afternoon. Oh yeah... and on top of all that shit, the lights came up with about ten fucking minutes left in the film. I realize there are no credits, but that doesn't mean you have to bring the lights up with ten fucking minutes left in the film.

As for the movie, I thought it was quite good. Very creative and quite creepy in the last quarter. I loved the slow burning mentality it used to really build up to an awesome ending (even if the last shot was unneccessary). The two performances were pretty good, even if the Micah character was a bit of an unsympathetic douche bag. I really liked the back story and reasoning for why they couldn't leave the house. So overall, it was a pretty solid horror film that actually managed to have a handful of scary moments. But if I were you, I would not waste my time seeing it in the theatre. Wait until it hits DVD and watch it in your room in bed with the lights off. That way you get the scariest possible atmosphere to watch it in, but you don't have to deal with the idiocy that accompanies seeing it at the theatre.

[dellamorte dellamore]

I disagree, the theater is probably the best place to watch it. This is a film that relies heavily on sound design and most people will probably not have the proper equipment to experience the masterfully nuanced sound mix, that's one of the reasons i can't take seriouly the complaints from people that say they watched the screener on their computer and didn't like it, you simply won't get the full sonic impact.

Spoilers

They could leave the house, but it wouldn't have made a difference, it wasn't the dwelling that was cursed, it was the woman, it would have followed them wherever they went. It was a bit of genius narrative, since someone couldn't just say leave the house, there was nowhere to go and no escape.

[Cop No. 633]

I wouldn't say it's genius narrative. The writing was probably the worst thing about the movie. Nobody would have honestly stayed at the house all the time the way they did. Even with that warning. You'd go outside, you'd experiment to see if the statement was true. Why would they listen to that bit of advice when Micah clearly wasn't following any other advice?

The story was actually boring because the director never changes the scenes. Every daytime scene was the same (they argue) as every night time scene was as well (they get attacked). They could have at least had them go to the friend's house to really show that they were fucked. They could even have the friend get freaked out and kick them out. That would be an interesting dynamic.

A line of dialogue isn't as effective as actually showing it.

I think Oren should consider working with a writer. He doesn't seem to show that he can fully explore a concept. There was a lot of potential with the movie but it just scratched the surface.

[LordSimen]

I wouldn't say it's genius narrative. The writing was probably the worst thing about the movie. Nobody would have honestly stayed at the house all the time the way they did. Even with that warning. You'd go outside, you'd experiment to see if the statement was true.

Only if you were a moron. They knew it wasn't the house, it was made clear from the get go. That would make me scream at the screen if they had done that in all honesty.

The story is perfect. Two people. One house. All the movie needs. Over complicating it would ruin the whole flow of the movie.

[Cop No. 633]

Well, Micah was clearly already a moron. At least it would have been nice to see a change of scenery. You really think them going to another house would be dumber than him getting a Ouija board?

The story clearly isn't perfect when the writer/director has to create a paper-thin character in order to progress his so-called story.

Also, haven't you heard that a change of scenery can actually do a person good? This thing fed on bad energy. The house was already associated with this bad energy, so why wouldn't a change of scenery be good for them? Oh right, because they're morons. Thanks for clarifying that point man.

[Brendan M.]

If they had flown to Australia to get away from the ghost and it had followed them, than that would be a whole lot cheesier to see than to watch them remain in the same house. So I prefer what they did in the movie.


You really think them going to another house would be dumber than him getting a Ouija board?

That was actually a good quality about the character in that he didn't really believe in all this stuff at first and wasn't taking it serious at all. He had fun making a challenge out of whether or not this ghost was for real, and the Oujia board was the best way to show he was crossing the line.

[Cop No. 633]

Yeaaah, Australia. That's not an extreme example of what I was talking about. Why not Ethiopia or Hong Kong? Those are also perfectly suitable places to run away to.

Why was that a good quality though? You can be a skeptic without having to be act dumb. I was laughing that they actually went with the Ouija board. The entire movie they just wrote Micah as this obnoxiously dumb guy who makes everything worse. At least older movies know that nobody wants to spend a whole movie with the jerk off. It made what was happening much less interesting.

[LordSimen]

Well, Micah was clearly already a moron.

Not really. I liked Micah.

At least it would have been nice to see a change of scenery.

No it wouldn't, the house was the only scenery the story and the movie needed.

You really think them going to another house would be dumber than him getting a Ouija board?

Are you being serious with this question? Yeah, that would have been much dumber. Micah was a skeptic who didn't take the thing seriously at all, his choices made sense. Leaving the house wouldn't have made sense, given that the girl herself knew that it was following her, not the house.


The story clearly isn't perfect when the writer/director has to create a paper-thin character in order to progress his so-called story.


What paper-thin characters are you talking about? The psychic? Cause the two leads were anything but paper-thin. They were quite well developed, as well as consistent and their choices made sense given who they were.


Also, haven't you heard that a change of scenery can actually do a person good?

They left the house plenty of times during the movie and yet the demon still kept on coming. Interesting how that works.

The house was already associated with this bad energy, so why wouldn't a change of scenery be good for them?

Why? So they could go to a hotel and have the ghost attack them? It would both pointless and stupid to do, and would have added nothing to the movie as a whole.

[Brendan M.]

Michah's stupidity was the only thing I liked about the movie for the most part. Since I walked away from the movie feeling unimpressed by the scary moments, at least I got a few laughs here and there thanks to him.


You can be a skeptic without having to be act dumb.

Like do nothing and make the movie even more boring than it already was.

[Cop No. 633]

Michah's stupidity was the only thing I liked about the movie for the most part. Since I walked away from the movie feeling unimpressed by the scary moments, at least I got a few laughs here and there thanks to him.

Like do nothing and make the movie even more boring than it already was.

I'll concede my point of having them leave. I suppose it works to keep them in the house but I guess I had a problem with it because of Micah's character. He was so annoying that I felt like I needed breathing room from that guy. I was like you, I was waiting for him to die. I didn't him so enjoyable though.

As for the concept of doing nothing, I disagree that it's the only other route they could have taken instead of doing the dumbest things possible. What if they did everything the psychic suggested? What if they actually tried to fix the problem how it's "supposed" to be fixed but nothing ever works and their attempts keep backfiring? That would have been more interesting and at least Micah would look more sympathetic since he's actually trying to help and console his fiancee and not just act like a douche bag. It also would've shown that this entity was more powerful than they imagined.

[Brendan M.]

Cause you could always just go back and watch The Exorcist if you wanted to see the family do what they're supposed to do.

[dellamorte dellamore]

Sheez, the guy made an excellent film with a production budget that wouldn't even be the equivalent of a catering budget on a studio backed film and now we are complaining he didn't include scenes of Micah and Katie going to Sea World to get away from it all?

We have people complaining the film was boring and took too long to get to the genuine frights now we have people saying they should have taken a narrative detour away from the house.

Spoilers

Here's what i think, Peli probably did have some other ideas in mind, but because of the budget restrictions he decided to focus his tale entirely on what was happening in and around the house. Of course you do bring up some good points, it would have been cool to see them spend the night in a hotel( Micah wanted to but Katie refused and he acquiesced to her demand) and have some disturbances take place there or any other off place site, but the film works just fine without any of that. Since it was already understood it would not make a difference where she was, it would have been superfluous to show scenes in some other location.


What is weird is that when Micah finally accepts the fact that they were outclassed by this presence, he tells Katie they should leave the house and stay in a hotel, knowing full well it's futile, but i still thought he would have argued the point a bit more forcefully just in case they could have received a reprieve from all the terror. Also, what i think is a possibly major plot hole, he finally admits the situation is hopeless but he still keeps taping, i would think a normal person would have been too distraught to motivate themselves to continue documenting these events, especially with the knowledge that it was antagonizing the entity more each night. Could have been a situation where someone is emotionally exhausted, recording the terror is all they have left to deal with the situation, like in Blair. A sort of digital/technological security blanket.

Overall i felt his actions were consistent with someone who at first was sceptical of the supernatural and then convinced it exists. I didn't think he was annoying. Brash, a bit arrogant, confident, yes, but he seemed like any other attractive 20 something. His actions and his decision to challenge the unknown was realistic, sometimes ego gets in the way of reality.

It started as curiosity, evolved into a slight to his machismo, then frustration and finally ended with a sort of resignation.

Through it all i got the sense he genuinely loved Katie and was concerned for her welfare. It ultimately was about defending someone close to him that he did not want to see come to harm.

Unfortunately, someone else wanted her also, something he could not defend her against, that is every man's greatest fear, or at least one of the greatest fears, not having the ability to take care of loved ones.


I responded to that dynamic, that subtext, it was masterfully executed, if anything, that was the foundation to the picture, their precarious relationship, a sort of doomed romance that could never be

[sbunn10]

On the podcast with JimmyO, Jim Law and Johnny Moreno more verbosely described the exact feelings I have for this flick. They have a pretty good, 35 minute or so conversation about the film, if you haven't listened yet.

[someguy]

Hahaha, I love how Cosmic brings up a completely fair point and then people run with it and come up with insane exaggerations.

I thought it was stupid how they decided to stay in the house. All they really had was the psychic telling them it would follow Katie wherever she went but they just assume it has to be true. After the stuff going on in the house I'd think that they could have at least tried to get out of there for one night and see if it would have made a difference. And no, when I say leave I don't mean they should go to CHINA or ATLANTIS. They could have gone to a friend's house, a hotel, somewhere close.

I saw this movie two weeks ago and it's getting worse to me the more I think about it. It was just lousy and forgettable. I don't feel like fully trashing it though because it has good intentions and is a good example of how you can still pull things off with no budget and a good amount of creativity. I'd prefer horror movies like Paranormal Activity being part of the mainstream than the Saw series and other shitty movies like it.

[Katel2]

I loved this film. It was simple- it creeped me out- it creeped the other theater goers out. It shows the imagination that only a low budget can give you. Not relying on special effects- big sets- big name actors. This is also the kind of film that people like to tear apart after the fact. If you want the two hour bludgeoning of Inside (and I often do) then this is not the film for you.

[LordSimen]

H
I thought it was stupid how they decided to stay in the house. All they really had was the psychic telling them it would follow Katie wherever she went but they just assume it has to be true.

Were you watching the same movie I was? Because the movie I saw made it very clear that the girl was experiencing phenomena with this "demon" before she ever even meet Micah, with the events dating all the way back to her childhood. Meaning, she already knew it was going to follow her every where, because it already was.

So, where's this "fair point," again? That they should leave the house, even though they already know from both past experience, and from the psychic and from their research that it was going to follow them no matter what? That would have been pointless.

[Brendan M.]

Hahaha, I love how Cosmic brings up a completely fair point and then people run with it and come up with insane exaggerations.

Oh c'mon now, I exaggerate for the sake of humor. You know you find me funny.

I think we all overlooked the most fair point of criticism for the movie though. And that's if this movie REALLY wanted to go for realism, after Katie told Michah that she was being haunted all her life by a demon, he should've been like "Sorry babe, its not you, its me." and gone out of the house without her.

[SkyNet]

ya.. i dont understand the "Why didnt they leave the house" argument


SPOILERS (although at this point in the discussion that should be obvious)

a HUGE plot point of the entire movie is that the Demon was with HER not with the house. So leaving the house would have done nothing to alleviate the problem, only made it happen in an unfamiliar territory. It had nothing to do with the psychic, Katie was smart enough to know before hand that the demon was within her. Micah could have left and seen if the demon kept haunting him or her... but from there it seemed like the demon was interested in killing him, as evident from the broken picture and the, you know, fact that the demon killed him!

[Cop No. 633]

SPOILERS (although at this point in the discussion that should be obvious)

a HUGE plot point of the entire movie is that the Demon was with HER not with the house. So leaving the house would have done nothing to alleviate the problem, only made it happen in an unfamiliar territory. It had nothing to do with the psychic, Katie was smart enough to know before hand that the demon was within her. Micah could have left and seen if the demon kept haunting him or her... but from there it seemed like the demon was interested in killing him, as evident from the broken picture and the, you know, fact that the demon killed him!

We already covered this.

I'm in the same court as Some Guy. I think it's great that a low budget horror movie is doing this well. I just wish it was a better movie. I see too many flaws to go with the consensus that it's great. The close circle of people I know feel the same way. We're all sort of scratching our heads on this one. I still am to be honest.

What's funny is that everyone who talks about how going anywhere is pointless happens to ignore the fact that it feeds on bad energy. It seems highly unlikely that they could boost their spirits by staying in the house all day and night. Some Guy brought up a good point in that they don't listen to the psychic except for one piece of advice, "Doesn't matter if you leave."

It really has to do with the movie being too gimmicky for me. It felt like Oren Peli was checking off a list of things that he read about instead of weaving a personal horror story about a couple.

"Door closes, check, sheets move, check. Guy buys Ouija board, check..."

[someguy]

Were you watching the same movie I was? Because the movie I saw made it very clear that the girl was experiencing phenomena with this "demon" before she ever even meet Micah, with the events dating all the way back to her childhood. Meaning, she already knew it was going to follow her every where, because it already was.

So, where's this "fair point," again? That they should leave the house, even though they already know from both past experience, and from the psychic and from their research that it was going to follow them no matter what? That would have been pointless.

You also seem to forget that Katie was TELLING MICAH SHE WANTED TO LEAVE but Micah, the guy who had no past experience with the 'demon' beforehand, was the one telling her it didn't make a difference. So if Katie is the one who has all this experience and knows it doesn't make a difference why was she the one repeatedly telling Micah they have to get away?

With these kinds of movies I'm not looking for 100% realism, if it gives off something believable then I'm fine. A movie like [REC] isn't realistic at all but the acting, reactions, events, etc. had a natural feeling and I was able to go with it. I didn't get the same thing in PA. The longer the movie went on the more I had to stretch out what I thought was plausible.

The last straw was probably Micah deciding to listen to Katie when she said everything was fine. He knows that this demon has the ability to possess her, he just saw her with a bloody hand from the crucifix she was clutching but once she just goes 'no it's fine' he's all okay with it. I know that Micah was all about protecting Katie and making her feel better but I didn't believe that he would not be a little suspicious about her sudden change of heart.

It's clear that some people here thought differently and found what happened in the movie to be plausible enough for them. That's fine, the movie does a decent job at getting across the naturalistic look but for me (and I suppose Cosmic too) it just started to feel more and more like a very set-up movie by the ending.

[dellamorte dellamore]

Every movie is set up, some just seem more realistic depending on how it's filmed and directed.

The acting did seem to be on a porn level at first but once things start to cut loose i felt their reactions and the sense of fear they conveyed was about as realistic as it gets.

I'm not looking for logic in a film such as this because there is some suspension of disbelief that goes along with the premise.

Some of their actions may have seemed out of place but in the world Peli created it all makes sense. Do we even know how we would have reacted, of course how do you answer that question since ghosts don't exist, that's why this is an imagining, a fantasy, a what if scenario pertaining to otherworldly beings, one of which is emotionally and physically molesting a young woman.

[Heisenberg]

You also seem to forget that Katie was TELLING MICAH SHE WANTED TO LEAVE but Micah, the guy who had no past experience with the 'demon' beforehand, was the one telling her it didn't make a difference. So if Katie is the one who has all this experience and knows it doesn't make a difference why was she the one repeatedly telling Micah they have to get away?

Micah didn't believe a word the psychic had to say, he even tried to talk katie our of consulting him. Micah wanted to prove to Katie that he was macho, and I think he honestly thought he could get rid of it himself, which was why he was stupid. It was only when Katie begged Micah for them to leave, when he used the psychics thoughts against her, he didn't give a shit what the psychic thought, he was just too determined to get rid of the Demon himself.

[LordSimen]

You also seem to forget that Katie was TELLING MICAH SHE WANTED TO LEAVE but Micah, the guy who had no past experience with the 'demon' beforehand, was the one telling her it didn't make a difference. So if Katie is the one who has all this experience and knows it doesn't make a difference why was she the one repeatedly telling Micah they have to get away?

She was fuckin' emotional and it wouldn't have made a difference, thus there's no point in the film exploring a stupid plot point such as that just to satisfy people who weren't paying attention.

Micah didn't believe a word the psychic had to say, he even tried to talk katie our of consulting him. Micah wanted to prove to Katie that he was macho, and I think he honestly thought he could get rid of it himself, which was why he was stupid. It was only when Katie begged Micah for them to leave, when he used the psychics thoughts against her, he didn't give a shit what the psychic thought, he was just too determined to get rid of the Demon himself.

Bingo.

We already covered this.


Yeah, and you continue to ignore it and claim your point to be fair, when it's not. The movie already proved you wrong.

[Mr.HyDe807]

Hell, I enjoyed the movie, but when they didn't leave after....

Kate had the bruises and was completely out of it, even I had to roll my eyes. Yeah, the "demon" would have possibly chased them, but if Micah had any sense, he wouldn't have burned the cross. It was just "Micah decides to invoke the demon after how many times it has blown back in his face". I think when Kate was shivering and out of it, that next action was pretty stupid if you ask me.

[LordSimen]

Hell, I enjoyed the movie, but when they didn't leave after....

Kate had the bruises and was completely out of it....

...even I had to roll my eyes.

The demon was chasing Katie, not the house. The movie consistently told us that, and yet people obviously still didn't get it. I really wish people would PAY ATTENTION instead of sitting there trying to come up with problems that aren't actually there, just in their own damn heads.

[Mr.HyDe807]

The demon was chasing Katie, not the house. The movie consistently told us that, and yet people obviously still didn't get it. I really wish people would PAY ATTENTION instead of sitting there trying to come up with problems that aren't actually there, just in their own damn heads.

Give me a fucking break. We are paying attention! Micah took everything with a grain of salt throughout the damn movie, and it blows up in his face. Yet, when it came to the final act, he tries to outdo his stupidity by once again fucking around with the demon. Yeah, it would have been stupid to leave considering what the demon was doing, but the actions that took place in the end were definitely worse, it was as if Micah learned nothing throughout this entire movie.

[LordSimen]

Give me a fucking break. We are paying attention!

No, you give me a fucking break because obviously YOU WEREN'T if you think leaving the house would have done anything to the movie other than add pointless length and filler.

Micah took everything with a grain of salt throughout the damn movie, and it blows up in his face. Yet, when it came to the final act, he tries to outdo his stupidity by once again fucking around with the demon.

Yeah, your point? That's Micah. That's who he is and his decisions all make sense given the character he was defined as through out the movie. A staple of horror is the horror you bring upon yourself and that's Micah's sin.

Yeah, it would have been stupid to leave considering what the demon was doing, but the actions that took place in the end were definitely worse, it was as if Micah learned nothing throughout this entire movie.

Of course Micah learned nothing through out the movie, that was the point.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I put a spoiler tag just in case......

What I'm getting at is that Micah's character never flowed organically with the film. There is no development with his character, he's like every stock character in a movie that only progresses the story through their ignorant actions, rather than actually be part of it. When it comes to some sort of development, it's another shade of "what can I do to make the demon even more pissed off? Thankfully, Kate and the rest of the movie were shining spots that overlooked the sore point of Micah's character.

Hell, they could have had a scene where Micah calls her friend or relatives, showing concern towards Kate. It would have been too little too late, but it defintiely would've wiped some of the stains that Micah's shallow characterization was leaving.

[SkyNet]

i think to have added all the exposition some of you all seemed to want would have taken this movie from a nice tight concise 90 minute flick into a long drawn out and boring 2 hour plus flick.

Micah was shown to be a dude who wanted to protect her, but was still a bit of a skeptic... when things start happening again he becomes that hot headed high school football star who can take care of it all by his self.

To add a scene of him calling her parents to explain it to them would have been boring, especially given the format of the flick, we would have seen a conversation like this

MICHA
Hey Mrs. featherstone, katie is really sick

nothing
nothing
nothing
nothing
nothing

MICAH
Oh okay, so it has happened before

nothing
nothing
nothing
nothing

i think you see what im saying, that would have been Uber boring and stopped the pace of the movie.

Any movie is going to fail upon analysis... are you telling me that the guards at Shawshank NEVER heard anything when Andy was chiseling down the walls?

The movie works the way it was, Micah was a good guy, but a bit of an ass hole. But he would do anything Katie asked for, hence him allowing her to just go to bed after the crucifix scene.

[Mr.HyDe807]

Just in case again...:)

I was going for a more "Micah calls the parents to come over for help" type of thing, perhaps have them be living out of town so it wouldn't ruin the ending. I'm not looking for some overdrawn phone conversation to hinder the story, but I see where you're coming from.

[someguy]

Okay, so now I want the following according to you guys

a) A segment where Micah and Katie take a vacation to Sea World or some faraway land
b) A long extended 30+ minute sequence of exposition explaining that moving doesn't change anything
c) Better focus because I can't pay attention to a shitty use of exposition...by the guy who can't process reading subtitles

I see where this is going now.

[SteeleDude]

The demon was chasing Katie, not the house. The movie consistently told us that, and yet people obviously still didn't get it. I really wish people would PAY ATTENTION instead of sitting there trying to come up with problems that aren't actually there, just in their own damn heads.

I loved Paranormal but I think it's a valid argument about them not leaving the house. I understand that the demon was following her and leaving the house probably wouldn't have worked (though why not take your footage to the police station and show them?), but you have to imagine the human will to survive would propel them to do something. Staying in the house after she was dragged out of bed seems hard to believe.

Not a big deal and I didn't think much about it during the movie. I accepted the logic because I loved the movie and didn't want it to end. But I think the argument here is valid.

If they went to the police station we don't even have to see it. There could be a quick cut and a few hours later they come back from their lack of help. I don't know. Just brainstorming here.

[Heisenberg]

I loved Paranormal but I think it's a valid argument about them not leaving the house. I understand that the demon was following her and leaving the house probably wouldn't have worked (though why not take your footage to the police station and show them?)


What could the Police do? Shoot the demon? Give me a break guy. :):rolleyes:







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Just 50 days till Christmas...get shopping guys :)

[SteeleDude]

What could the Police do? Shoot the demon? Give me a break guy. :):rolleyes:


That's not the point. In a real situation like this where things are out of control, people look for help. The police, for many, represent a sign of protection. Not only from everyday crap that happens to us but from the abnormal. It is completely rational to think people might go to the police.

You're not looking at this from the point of view of two people stuck in this scenario (which we're supposed to do, this movie is supposed to mirror reality), you're looking at it from the point of view of the know-it-all in theater.

Why would it matter if anyone could help them? I don't know anyone who would just stay in a place like that and think "well that ghost guy said leaving won't help, and even though you were attacked physically last night we're going to stay here." Nobody would do that. They would go somewhere, anywhere, just to try. It's not realistic, and this movie prides itself on realism. This is a fairly substantial gap in logic in an otherwise good movie. Dismissing it because you like it seems like to me you just feel agitated that people might level any amount of criticism toward a movie you like. Guy.





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Just 50 days till Christmas...get shopping guys :)

[sbunn10]

What could the Police do? Shoot the demon? Give me a break guy. :):rolleyes:



Wouldn't you show the footage to someone else? He's not saying the police would be able to do anything, but if you were being haunted, I doubt you would sit in the fucking bed all day.

I'm not disputing the reasons why they stayed in the house, but SteeleDude had a valid point.

It's getting a bit ridiculous with the attacking of anyone who doesn't like the film. It seems like everyone who disagrees with the idea that PA is the scariest film of the decade is being dismissed as a "hater" or and idiot. Give me a break. I thought the film sucked. Am I not entitled to that opinion? When I discussed what I disliked about it, nobody responded or explained why they were bad reasons to dislike it, but instead kept up the petty arguing.

[dellamorte dellamore]

I brought up that question also about the police. I even wondered why, with all the noise and commotion, the neighbors never decided to call the police. The houses were so close together i'm sure one of the neighbors would have been disturbed enough to call the men in blue

[Heisenberg]

It's getting a bit ridiculous with the attacking of anyone who doesn't like the film. It seems like everyone who disagrees with the idea that PA is the scariest film of the decade is being dismissed as a "hater" or and idiot. Give me a break. I thought the film sucked. Am I not entitled to that opinion? When I discussed what I disliked about it, nobody responded or explained why they were bad reasons to dislike it, but instead kept up the petty arguing.

It is ridiculous, your right. But I have not attacked anybody for not liking the e film, I'm just trying to argue a point against the one that was raised last page.

[sbunn10]

I wasn't referring to you specifically, my bad. The general feel of the thread has been that way though, that's all.

[LordSimen]

I'm sorry but if I was being haunted by a ghost or a demon, the police would be the last people I'd ever contact. What the fuck could they do, anyway? They'd just think you're crazy and that your footage was faked. That doesn't sound real, that just sounds plain retarded. And I'm sorry, but I think everyone with a logical brain would stay if they knew leaving would not help.

[Reigh Kaufman]

I'm sorry but if I was being haunted by a ghost or a demon, the police would be the last people I'd ever contact. What the fuck could they do, anyway? They'd just think you're crazy and that your footage was faked. That doesn't sound real, that just sounds plain retarded.

Really? The people paid to "protect and serve" would be the last people you would contact if you were being haunted by a ghost or a demon? You would rather contact the Sous chef at The Fat Duck or bring in the London Underground shoeshine man with the squint that says "I am looking for you and looking at you, muddafucka", or even my gran with the artificial hip and what is probably syphillis before you would contact the police force and all of its available resources?

Really, Lord Simen, you have a way with hyperbole that makes the sun shine.

Film was fucking shit and worse to watch than my arse. That, at least, only has one gaping hole.