Movie Review – Paranormal Activity (2007/09)
It’s not uncommon to hear mysterious creaks and groans in a house at night.
Homes often “settle” at night, making odd noises as the structure cools and slightly shrinks in size. Generally the older the home, then the more likely it is to make noises. This can be further compounded with squeaky floors and stairways. If a person were to climb out of bed and walk around the house in the middle of the night, those sounds may inadvertently echo throughout the entire home.
But what if those mysterious noises have something else to them? What if you hear scratching sounds on the walls or disembodied footsteps walking down the hallway? What if lights would suddenly turn themselves on and off, or things of that nature?
And here’s the kicker. Would you have the guts to videotape yourself sleeping at night and seeing if there’s anything, anything at all, making those strange sounds?
That’s basically the premise of 2007′s hit supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. (NOTE — Although the movie was made back in 2007, it was NOT released nationwide until the fall of 2009.)
Paranormal Activity is a low-budget horror film that uses the “found footage” genre made famous by films such as The Blair Witch Project and more recent films such as Apollo 18, Chronicle and Project X. We see places and locations as they were seen through the eyes of the characters. There’s no evidence of a film crew making a full-length movie. The main actors are unknowns in Hollywood, making the reality-style film that much more effective on the audience.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
Paranormal Activity is set in San Diego, California in the fall of 2006. We meet Katie and Micah, a semi-wealthy boyfriend and girlfriend that live alone in a moderate house. Micah works at home as a day trader, and Katie is a full-time student at a local college. The two of them enjoy a quiet lifestyle until things literally start going bump in the night.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
One evening we see Katie and Micah spending time on the couch when they’re startled by a strange noise. Micah investigates and determines that the noise came from the home’s heating system. The two of them want to capture video evidence of whatever makes the strange noises that they occasionally hear at night, so Micah sets the video camera on a tripod in the bedroom. He positions it so that we can see the bed and also out into the hallway, the area where most of the sounds seem to occur. Sure enough, that first night we hear some disembodied footsteps walking down the hallway.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
The footsteps are interesting, but it’s not enough evidence. Katie wants more proof that something may be residing in the house with her and Micah. She invites Dr. Fredrichs, a psychic, into their home to get his opinion. While being interviewed by the psychic, Katie admits that this isn’t her first experience with a supposed haunting. Strange occurrences have been part of her entire life no matter where she lives. Dr. Fredrichs informs them that they don’t have a ghost in their home but rather a demon. The demon is following Katie and feeding off of negative energy. He advises them not to taunt or attempt to communicate with the demon, and to consult a demonologist for further assistance. Dealing with such powerful creatures is out of Dr. Fredrichs’ realm of expertise.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
While Katie takes Dr. Fredrichs’ advice seriously, Micah doesn’t. He almost thinks of it as a game. He wants to try to research the creature himself instead of consulting with a demonologist. Micah continues recording the bedroom at night. One night the bedroom slowly closes and then opens, and another night they both hear sounds from downstairs. Micah investigates, but of course nothing is found out of place. The house seems empty.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
Katie has a friend visiting the house when Micah is reviewing audio tapes from the previous nights. He shows them audio evidence of a demonic grunt that was captured last night.
That night, both Katie and Micah are awakened by more sounds. The house is still empty, but this time a chandelier is swinging wildly from the ceiling. The next day Micah conducts an EVP session in the bedroom, feeling foolish while doing so. That night (the fifteenth night of recording), Katie wakes and stands beside Micah for a few hours. She then walks outside and sits on a chair. Micah awakes and searches the house for Katie, finding her outside. He tries to convince her to come back to bed, but she refuses. Micah hears a bang from the bedroom and finds the room empty but the TV turned on. Katie suddenly appears in the bedroom and goes to bed. The next morning she doesn’t remember anything.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
After Katie’s late night stroll, Micah takes things up a notch by bringing a Ouija board into their home against Dr. Fredrichs’ warning. Katie is furious and Micah leaves the board on the coffee table. We see the two of them leave for the evening as the board and planchette sit there. And then it begins to move on its own. The planchette moves around the board and then the board catches fire. The fire extinguishes itself before Katie and Micah return home.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
The following night Micah attempts to use talcum powder in the upstairs hallway to track the demon. Sure enough, that night they hear the creature walking around again. Micah finds powder footprints in the hallway. He follows the footprints to the attic and climbs up there to check for more evidence. In the attic he finds an old photo of Katie from when her home burned years ago. How that photo got to their house today is a mystery.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
Micah examines the video and shows Katie a clip of the footprints magically appearing on the floor. That next night even more events occur. Lights turn on and off in bedrooms and doors open and slam close. Micah and Katie are unable to see anything as their tormenting by the demon increases.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
Micah finally agrees to seeing the demonologist, but he’s currently unavailable. They invite Dr. Fredrichs back to their home for more help. He arrives and feels the heavy presence of the demon. Dr. Fredrichs refuses to help and needs to leave the house immediately. That night, Katie is dragged out of bed by the demon and pulled down the hallway. Micah hears her calls for help and rescues Katie from the demon.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – (c) Paramount Pictures
The next day, Micah finds Katie sitting on the floor and gripping a cross so tight that she’s bleeding. He wants to temporarily move into a hotel, but Katie insists that she’ll be fine if they stay at home. That night Katie again awakens and stands beside Micah as he sleeps. She eventually walks downstairs and we hear her screaming bloody murder. Micah runs downstairs and then there’s silence. We hear footsteps walk up the stairs. Suddenly, Micah’s body is thrown at the video camera, knocking it to the floor. Katie’s back in the room wearing a bloody shirt. She crawls to Micah’s lifeless body, sniffs it, and then lunges to the video camera.
The screen goes dark and text informs us that the police department found Micah’s body on October 11, 2006. Katie’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Is Paranormal Activity any good?
This is one of those paranormal movies that haunts you with what you cannot see. There is no actual ghost or demon on the screen. You see and hear evidence of something sinister haunting and scaring Katie and Micah, but you never see the physical apparition itself. The closest the movie comes to showing the creature is when a dark shadow passes across the bedroom door.
Paranormal Activity works as a scary movie. It’s simple, easy to follow, and the way they do the “found footage” is very effective. This movie could be straight out of an episode of TV’s “Ghost Hunters” or “Ghost Adventures.”
Of course, this movie is more effective if you have some sort of belief in the paranormal, demons, and Ouija boards. If you are on the skeptical side (such as Micah in the movie), Paranormal Activity does a fairly decent job presenting the evidence. The film may even make a few believers out of some people.
Paranormal Activity (2007) – movie trailer
For my girlfriend and I, Paranormal Activity wasn’t that scary of a movie. We did enjoy it, especially when Micah taunted the demon with the Ouija board and it proceeded to screw with him and Katie even further, but neither of us found it horrific enough to be labelled as a “scary” movie. Paranormal Activity was certainly *interesting,* and we’re looking forward to seeing the sequels.
The Psychic – “You cannot run from this — it will follow you. It may lay dormant for years. Something may trigger it to become more active and it may over time reach out to communicate with you.”