Paranormal Activity

A woman and her boyfriend are experienced strange, otherworldly events at their house. Deciding to investigate the matter, the boyfriend sets up a video camera in the bedroom to see what happens after they fall asleep.

In genre, the horror genre should accomplish a number of things (not all in the same film, mind you, but in general). It should go down the dark paths other films won't touch. It should gross you out and make you squirm in your seat. It should have the twisted and crazy characters doing bad things to others. Possibly with an ax. And, of course, it should scare you.

On that note, I can say without stuttering that Paranormal Activity is the scariest movie I have ever seen.

A quick bold for emphasis: The scariest movie I have ever seen.

Now, that's big talk, especially since horror is one of the more subjective subjects out there. What may terrify some just makes others giggle. And as I started watching this one, I felt that too (the few fairly effective jokes at the beginning helped that train of thought). But when things really got rolling, well, there's just no doubt in my mind of this film's ability to scare.

That is not to say it's the best horror movie ever made. In terms of characters and plot and whatnot, far better have come and gone. But right on the fright-for-fright level, this is it. No other horror movie that I've seen (and I've seen quite a lot) has gotten to me like this one.

Shot entirely through a handheld camera, Blair Witch style, the first step this movie takes to getting to you is that it feels very real. The main characters act and talk like you think someone would. The girl is nervous, scared, and approaching a mental breakdown (and considering what's up with her, it's perfectly understandable). The guy occasionally is very caring, but spends a lot of his time being a colossal jackass. You will shout in anger at him more than once. But hey, he's a bit of a control freak who's found himself in a situation far beyond the limits of his control, so he's trying his best (and to be meta for a bit, having a character like him is pretty much a staple of the genre by now). They're a fairly average couple, and what happens to them just happens to happen, and could very easily happen to anyone else.

And what exactly happens? Well, to be blunt, scary stuff. And it's rather interesting how said scary stuff is accomplished. Using things like noises in the night, doors opening and closing by themselves, lights flickering (the oldest tricks in the book, as it were), as well as a few digital effects that my movie making friend described as "some of the easiest possible." And hey, with a shoestring $15,000 budget, what did you expect? That is all plays to well is a testament to how big effects aren't needed to drive the scares home.

A lot of the scares come at night when the camera is in it's bedtime stationary position (the angle you see on the poster and a lot in the ads? Get used to it), and I think I know why. With the camera like that and no ambient music, there's nowhere for us, the audience, to hide. To quick jumps or scare chords to take us out of the moment. Just the apprehension of something approaching us in the dark. Sometime dangerous, unavoidable, and with very loud footsteps. To call it chilling doesn't do it justice. Be careful you don't wet yourself.

That is not to say the film's perfect. The daytime segments, while breaking up the tension of the night well enough, tend to drag on a bit. And I'm not a fan of how they investigated the footage from the night before. Sure, it made perfect sense for them to do it, but by the end it seemed to amount to the camera filming a laptop as it played the video (and scares) from the night before. Felt more redundant than anything else.

But, minor trifles. This is a tiny little indie movie that delivers on the scares in every way possible, Nightmare-inducing ways even. Don't plan on getting a lot of sleep after you see it (I couldn't even keep my eyes closed until the sun came up the next morning). It's only in a couple cities right now, but with response as good as it's been, it'll be going a little wider in October. To encourage it to swing by your way, check out the website and click on the yellow Demand It buttons.

And if you don't manage to catch this one in theaters, well, don't stress too much. I mean, it's great there, don't get me wrong. Being surrounded by a group of fellow, generally horror-centric fans, all gasping, screaming, occasionally pleading with the screen is a great experience. But picturing this one in your quiet, dark, empty house, where every gust of wind causes doors to swing shut and pipes are already shaking a bit... that's a nightmare generator if there ever was one.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074