Every so often, a film comes along and frightens audiences in a strong and profound way. “Paranormal Activity” is one of those films.
Not since “The Blair Witch Project” has a movie terrified audiences into believing what they were seeing on the screen was actually true. “Paranormal Activity,” directed by Oren Peli, used a budget of $15,000 and a unique marketing approach to lure young moviegoers to the nearest theatre.
The trailer for “Paranormal Activity” mixes the actual film with footage shot from a Los Angeles premier. Along with a preview of the horror film, the trailer shows the reactions of the crowd that sat through the movie.
I checked the movie out a few weekends ago in Columbus at Cinema 35 and the show was sold out through the weekend. Only released in a handful of major college cities, “Paranormal Activity” quickly spread thanks to social networking-crazed college students.
The movie takes place in a three-bedroom, San-Diego suburban home occupied by Micah and Katie. After a couple of odd occurrences in the home, Micah decides to invest in a costly, high-definition video camera in an attempt to capture a spirit on film.
Let’s just say the spirit isn’t camera shy, and we’ll leave it at that.
As the movie escalates, we learn that this spirit has followed Katie from house-to-house since her childhood. As Micah continues to antagonize the spirit, it grows angrier by each passing night.
The build-up during the film was unbelievable. The movie captured the entire audience as every one in the theatre was seemingly attached together by clutching on to the person beside.
With Halloween approaching, I recommend every horror fan to go as far out of their way as possible to check out this movie.
“Paranormal Activity” is the most terrifying cinematic experience I’ve ever been a part of.