Paranormal Activity
- Jayde Walker
- Nov 8, 2009
- 2 min read
Paranormal Activity moves the horror genre away from Saw-style gorno back to slow-burn psychological creeps in this low-budget thriller from first-time writer-director Oren Peli.
What’s the deal?
A young, middle-class de facto couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) buy a camera to set up in their bedroom (hang on, it’s not like that!) to capture some unexplained bumps in the night. Cue squeaky doors, some endurance sleep 'standing', a psychic and an ill-advised purchase of a ouija board. Naughty Casper-style shenanigans thus escalate to fever pitch.
It’s good!
Paranormal Activity is the complete opposite of current gorno trend – more of a thriller, really. The low budget actually works in it's favour, setting up a fantastically creepy vibe. While slower-paced than other genre movies in market, it's well-structured narratively and with a great surprise ending that'll have you high-jumping out of your seat. The two leads are really fantastic – Featherston gives a really understated, natural performance while I absolutely fell in love with Sloat. He is a breakout star.
What’s wrong with you?
There's probably going to be a few disappointed horror fans post-screening, as it's a lot slower than the usual mainstream horror fair of the moment. And Featherston reminded me too much of my ex's new fiance, which made for slightly narky viewing.
Neo-Maxi Zoom Dweeb-ery
It's being marketed as new Blair Witch-esque 'found footage' hit. I actually wasn't a major fan of The Blair Witch Project the first time around (I just thought it was slow and the climax was badly shot) but the good news is that found footage is the only similarity between the two. Paranormal Activity stands on its own and in fact, has redefined it's own sub-genre.
Truth?
A great, creepy little number and a good addition to the possession-horror category. For $15,000 the production values are remarkably solid.
Bender Fist Pumps
4/5
