Hunting ghosts is at its prime. Many once thought that ghosts and demons were just folklore, that they simply didn’t exist. Anyone who said that they believed in ghosts either was trying to make a buck off their so-called true story or was simply crazy in the eyes of most people. Now, with today’s technology and people creating all kinds of devices, ghost hunting is becoming more accepted and moving into its own. There is countless video and audio evidence that such things may now exist, and more than ever before, people believe in ghosts and demons.
As someone who has had some experience with the paranormal, I went into Paranormal Activity, not listening to what the critics and horror fan boys said about it. Knowing what I know and the limitless research I have done on both human spirits and demonology, I went into this film to see how accurate the filmmakers were going to be with this film. To say the least, they did a good job, although toward the end, it lost all its credibility.
Paranormal Activity is about a young couple who lives in a modest suburban home. From the start, we know that they have been experiencing some paranormal activity, however they are not really sure what is going on. Micah has a fascination with electronics. He buys a state-of-the-art video camera and some high tech audio and video editing equipment, and begins to document the everyday experiences that he and girlfriend Katie are experiencing. Katie thinks that whatever is in the house is attached to her because she has been having these experiences her whole life. She calls in a psychic who determines that a demonic force and not a ghost is haunting the home.
Instead of calling in an expert, Micah decides to provoke the demon, and all kinds of weird things begin to happen in the house. This causes the couple to become victims in their own home and help is not available to them when they need it. The couple will have to try to survive night to night until help arrives, if it arrives at all.
While I admire the film for what it’s worth and really enjoyed how well-written and accurate the story is when it comes to what a real-life demonic haunting should be like, the film fails to keep that accuracy as the story moves along. Most real-life people in the paranormal field will agree with me on this. Essentially this film is a “what not to do” if your home is being haunted by a non-human entity.
I think that the script is well-written for the most part. I had heard a lot of people complain about the acting, but I feel that the actors really don’t need to act because most of the time, they are playing themselves. When they need to act is when the all the activity starts in the house, and I think they do a decent job. What bothered me about the whole film is its style. I am honestly sick of the shaky camera Cloverfield, [REC] style. The problem with this style is that it tries to mimic reality, but it is missing that element of realism. Many are comparing it to The Blair Witch Project, but Blair Witch has a realistic amateur video look. Paranormal Activity does, at first, feel realistic, but quickly becomes just like the other realty horror films that try to scare with the amateur-style camera work, with minimal lighting and showing only what the camera can catch.
I have mixed thoughts about Paranormal Activity. I found the film to be good when it came to its “What not to do if your house is haunted by a demon” strategy. But the film goes Hollywood at the end and it ruins the realism. The film is scary, no doubt about it, but it is not as frightening as most horror fans would expect. It is the people who don’t see a lot of horror films like this who were the ones screaming and hiding their faces in the theater in which I saw it. In a nutshell, Paranormal Activity is a film that really depends on the individual viewer. The majority of people who know nothing about ghost hunting either will not really care for it or will be scared by the film. For those like me, who know a thing or two about demonology, we know that if this were a real life event, it would be considered out of this world, one that many would not take on. We would recommend people not do if they had this problem. In the end, we all know that the film was made for entertainment purposes and for the masses. I am sure it will do well and scare plenty of people.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
