Paranormal Activity (2007) Review

Paranormal Activity

It is not an over statement to say that Paranormal Activity changed horror forever.

Yes, found footage films had been causing controversy since Ruggero Deodato still disturbing Cannibal Holocaust was released in 1980. However, with the exception of gross-out fake snuff film Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood in 1985 and jet black faux doc Man Bites Dog in 1993, it was an under-utilised tool for filmic storytelling.

The Blair Witch Project blew people away in 1999, keeping audiences unaware what was reality and what was fiction and revitalised found footage for a whole new audience. Although it spawned a slew of copycat cash-in’s it wasn’t until director Oren Peli’s perfectly formed Paranormal Activity that film makers and viewers alike saw the true chilling potential of the genre.

Bringing in a whole new set of conventions and creating some sensational standalone scenes that have often been mimicked but never out-done, Paranormal Activity slammed together elements of the classic haunted house and possession stories and dragged them bang up-to-date with a couple’s horrifying account of a supernatural encounter that no one could ever forget.

Set in San Diego in 2006 in a seemingly boring and mundane neighbourhood, we meet Katie and Micah (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) on the day that Micah has purchased a new video camera. Having recently moved into a new home, the pair have been aware of strange occurrences that they believe to be a restless spirit. Micah is excited and insistent on documenting every moment in their investigation into what is going on, much to his partners chagrin.

When a psychic visits, we learn that Katie is no stranger to the paranormal occurrences, having experienced similar things since her childhood. We also find out that the supernatural force that inhabits the the house is aggressively unfriendly and the expert who visits advises the pair to do everything possible not to anger the entity and also contact a demonologist as soon as possible.

While Katie takes this advice to heart, Micah is less convinced, adopting a cavalier attitude towards the haunting, calling the spirit out and constantly provoking it. Things get worse when, utterly ignoring his girlfriend’s pleas, Micah brings a Ouija board into their home and from here the nightly visitations turn more and more vicious.

As Micah becomes more careless in his attitude and more caught up with capturing every moment, Katie spirals into a manic panic. Driven by utter fear and a realisation that there is no escape from this increasingly more dangerous situation, just like us, all she can do is watch and wait for what is to come.

The first triumph of Peli’s movie, which he also wrote, is the seamless way the video camera is woven into the story. Unlike so many other found footage films, every scene we see videoed by Micah makes sense and the constant re-watching of some of the more spooky moments only enhances the reality of the situation and ingenuity of the special effects.

In fact, his unhealthy obsession with taping the couple’s torment is in itself a major, dramatic, vein pulsing through the picture. And massive credit is due to Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat who deliver brilliant performances.

As a perfectly normal couple in an extremely awful and abnormal situation, they are utterly convincing. Learning about each other at the same speed as the audience, the deterioration of their trust in each other is sad and slowly played-out, with the demon dividing them by forcing them to reveal their true natures.

The whole film works wonderfully as a discussion of gender politics and attitudes, with the haunting functioning as an extreme prompt to force the pair to face their real beliefs and biases. Mirroring the male and female divide when it comes to sexism and sexual abuse, Katie who has experienced discomfort, dread and paranoia her whole life just wants it all to go away.

Although she has far greater experience and understanding of the situation, she is constantly ignored by her partner and Micah’s mansplaining and aggressive overprotectiveness is perfectly summed up when he yells “Nobody comes in my house, fucks with my girlfriend, and gets away with it.”

The other important and impressive element of Paranormal Activity is how much tension and fear the film achieves with so little. Many of the movies most excruciating moments simply involve watching two people asleep in bed with a time code ticking by in the bottom corner.

It is the watching, the waiting and ultimately the unknown which scare us the most, and Paranormal Activity toys with this throughout its taut running time, knowing exactly when it needs to deliver something sensational to shock us but also when it can sit back and let us scare ourselves.

Paranormal Activity is one of the best examples of the found footage genre and deserves this latest limited edition Blu-ray treatment, from expert in the field, Second Sight Films, packed with excellent extras. Just like the other horror movies on that shortlist, it is still as powerful and petrifying today as it was when it was first released.

Movie Rating:★★★★½ 

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Alex Humphrey

Alex studied film at the University of Kent and went on to work for Universal Pictures in their Post Room gaining an inside look at the movie industry from the very bottom. Constantly writing reviews in everything from local magazines to Hip Hop sites Alex honed his critical skills even spending a brief period as a restaurant critic. Read more

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