Pop Culture Reviews

Paranormal Activity – Movie Review

Distributor: Icon Film Distribution Released: 2009 Genre: Thriller/Horror Credits: Director: Oren Peli Written by: Oren Peli Starring: Katie Featherston (Katie), Micah Sloat (Micah) Rating: M

Considering the budget for this movie (only $15,000 USD) and the millions it made at the box office opening weekend (9.1 million USD according to IMDB), Paranormal Activity is by all accounts, a blockbuster. Don’t be fooled by the minimal marketing strategy for this (nor the opening credits which look extremely b-grade) – if you’re any kind of horror fan, you’d be stupid to miss it.

The good…

The atmosphere. It will literally scare the crap outta you without even trying. But try not to see this with anyone who doesn’t get into their horror movies – you’ll regret it if someone starts calling out ‘show us your boobies’ during one of the scariest scenes in the movie (and if you’re reading this assuming you can even read, you should die in a fire, dude, seriously…)

The bad…

In all honesty, aside from a few of the acting quirks on behalf of Micah Sloat (maybe it’s just me but when you’re being terrified for nights on end, do you always have to ask ‘what the fuck is that?’ everytime something unexplainable occurs), Paranormal Activity has very few faults for a movie made in 10 days. And bear this in mind when you go to see it – you won’t be seeing Avatar or the Exorcist (which cost millions to make). Nope, this is true-blue homegrown run around with a camera type stuff. And it’s fantastic.

Look out for… (SPOILER)

The dragging from the bed scene – omfg… scary as hell!

A few tips for ya…

To prepare yourself, check out Blair Witch Project. Both of these movies share a whole lot more than just genre. The creepiness that drips from practically every scene will have you well prepared for what’s to come in Paranormal Activity.