Paranormal Activity review

Showcased two years ago at various independent horror festivals, "Paranormal Activity" was never released to the mass market. This was not because the movie was poorly done or because it was panned by critics. Rather, it had terrified audience members so much that some had to leave the theater (and we are talking about horror film fanatics here).Thankfully, due to word of mouth and an online poll, "Paranormal Activity" is getting the big screen treatment it deserves, and let me tell you, it delivers.

The story revolves around Katie and Micah, a couple living together in San Francisco. Katie has been complaining about strange noises that wake her up at night so Micah decides to set up a camera in their room. The movie borrows its style from recent films such as "Cloverfield" and "Quarantine," in which the entire film is supposed footage of the incident taken by the witnesses. It's a bit of a hate it or love it technique but "Paranormal" successfully combines it with traditional film styles to deliver the best of both worlds. The acting is believable and the couple has their sweet moments, giving the audience a chance to relate to their chemistry. The dialogue is natural in a way that you forget this is a movie and start to believe it could honestly have happened.

The reason the film deserves all the hype is due to its pacing. Rarely do we run into a movie that isn't scared to keep the audience waiting. The titular "activity" begins as very subtle disturbances in the night and remains this way for most of the film, yet it never gets old. You begin to dread the scenes in the bedroom, since you know nothing good can come out of it. "Paranormal" takes time to build up its thrills, so much that the anticipation itself is enough to drive you crazy. It is a different kind of horror, the psychological kind that you think about when you go to bed that night, not because of how scary that one scene was but because you are genuinely afraid it could happen to you.

With its $15,000 budget director Olen Peli did not have many special effects to work with, but the simplistic design of the ones used succeed in making you believe this truly happened. It breaks most horror movie clichés and provides a refreshing take on the already stale "actual footage of real events" genre. Like all good horror movies, "Paranormal Activity" really benefits from the context in which you watch it. If you watch this movie on a Saturday afternoon you wont think twice about it, but snuggle yourself on the couch with a group of friends during a late night sleepover and it won't let you go.