In Theaters: “Paranormal Activity” little spooky, little fun
October 25, 2009
I went into in-theaters Paranormal Activity with pretty high expectations. I’d heard “it’s the scariest movie ever” and the 7.6 rating (which was 8.2 a couple of days ago) didn’t hurt matters, either.
I wouldn’t say I was disappointed; this “found footage” style film in the vein of The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine is definitely spooky. I would just say that it will be very scary for some, and just so-so for others. Perhaps needing to sleep tonight, it’s a good thing I’m among the latter, but that certainly doesn’t invalidate the very many people in the theater who were scared out of their wits.
As odd as it might sound, I think Paranormal will scare women much more than men. The protagonist is the female, for one, and many of the scarier scenes revolve around her and her being vulnerable during sleep, having a lack of brute strength, etc. These unseen, psychological fears just aren’t as prevalent with guys.
The film does require a good deal of imagination, which – more often than not – is right up my alley. In this case, however, despite solid acting and directing, most of the scenes are nothing I haven’t seen on YouTube a hundred times. After all, when unseen forces are the culprit, it invites amateur filmmakers and requires no high-dollar actors, effects, or make-up.
So let’s put it this way: if you go see Paranormal in theaters and it scares the hell out of you: that’s great. It’s supposed to. If you go and feel like there’s something missing, but you like the concept, check out Home Movie instead. It’s much higher on the disturbing scale, and has more visual stimuli. It’s arguable that Quarantine – to the right person – is just as scary as Paranormal; it just depends on how your imagination operates.
In Theaters: “Paranormal Activity” little spooky, little funI will say that – if you have any interest – it’s worth seeing in theaters just in case you’ll really like it. That kind of immersion of sight and sound is often vital for “found footage” films.
Hmm… I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i’ll be your constant reader.