After modestly being labelled “one of the scariest movies of all-time” by certain critics following its States side release in October, the ultra low-budget horror Paranormal Activity has managed a feat similar to 1999’s Blair Witch Project in becoming a unexpected US box office sensation. Much of the film’s commercial success owes to a lucrative marketing strategy that initially saw it distributed via a limited ‘demand and supply’ model before generating massive buzz on micro-blogging sites like Twitter to warrant a wide release. Having now conquered the US, the hurricane of hype surrounding the film is currently crossing the Pacific and is set to hit Australian shores December 3rd.
Naturally, there’s a drawback to such imperious hype: the film hasn’t a hope of living up to it. While Paranormal Activity is a highly atmospheric cinematic experience that is a cut above most horrors released this year, it’s certainly not the genre masterpiece the US media made it out to be. They subversively considered it a cinematic pièce de résistance, enamoured with its David and Goliath production/distribution history that suggests anyone with a handycam can take on the tyrannical Hollywood regime and come out triumphant. Since then, however, Paranormal has taken on such a almighty God complex, or at least marketed with one, that the underdog charm central to its original success has all but gone. And as with all things indie, once it goes mainstream, it’s no longer considered as ‘cool’ anymore.
Like Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield and [REC] before it, Paranormal is made to look like authentic handycam footage that has since been discovered by police (and money hungry studio executives). Give how the mock-doc style of filming has been around for a while now, it’s less likely to fool anyone, but it’s still a far more engrossing and unnerving approach than that of meticulously staged Hollywood horrors. Wielding the camera is twenty-something Micah (Micah Sloat) and his paranoid girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston) who decide to set up a camera in their bedroom to see if there are any ghostly happenings occurring while they sleep. Katie claims she’s been haunted by spirits since she was a girl and thinks that it’s finally time she did something about it, while Micah is your typical pessimist about to be proven wrong. Sure enough, doors start to inexplicably slam shut, demonic voices creepily whisper Katie’s name and strange noises can be heard coming downstairs (that are not of the ‘it’s just the cat!’ variety). Unsure of what to do, the two consult a professional clairvoyant (Mark Fredrichs) to help rid Katie of her demonic follower, but even he is too spooked to confront the powerful evil spirit that lingers in the house.
Previously a video-game designer, writer/director Oren Peli is set to teach Hollywood a thing or two by proving things that go bump in the night are far scarier than flashy special effects and excessive amounts of blood and guts. It’s all about crafting a tense atmosphere, not in-your-face jump scares, which a testament to the fact that there’s nothing more unnerving than the dark depths of our own imagination. Cued by some simple yet effective sound design, our minds stand in for the visual effects that Peli couldn’t afford even if he wanted them, considering the film was made on a shoestring budget of just $11,000 (US).
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Yet it appears that my mind isn’t as imaginative as those calling this the ‘scariest film ever made’, as although Paranormal is certainly unsettling, it tends to promise a lot more chills than it actually delivers. For a film to truly be terrifying, it’s imperative that the characters and their actions remain convincing throughout. Peli’s screenplay starts off strong in this regard, as the amusing husband/wife prattle between the two protagonists is remarkably naturalistic for a first-time screenwriter. But as soon as his dialogue is needed to progress the plot, it starts to feel noticeably forced and rigid, particularly during the scene when Mark Fredrichs psychic character practically divulges a synopsis of their plight like it were a DVD blurb. The narrative is certainly slight, but it gets away with it by not being instantly predictable, taking a hike down the road less travelled a number of times. I just wish it didn’t tend to dawdle so much along the way.
Sloat and Featherson show strong chemistry as the joint leads, but once things start to get freaky, only Featherson remains wholly convincing. Sloat isn’t capable of capturing Micah’s fear as naturally as Featherson, as his breathy cries of of “who’s there?!” or “show yourself!” sound far too mechanical. Considering Micah is our eyes and ears for most of the film, this prevents the fear from being completely real to the audience. It’s for this reason that Paranormal Activity, although an impressive debut for Peli, feels like a lesser Blair Witch Project. In that film, the camera-wielding Heather Donahue delivers a remarkably authentic performance that chills to the bone. In Paranormal, the chills are only skin deep.
Verdict:
My advice is this: don’t believe the hype. You’ll enjoy it far more that way.
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Note: If you’re looking for a truly unnerving, captivatingly told ghost story with a similar mock-dock realism, check out the low-budget Aussie horror Lake Mungo. It’s released on DVD December 2nd in Australia.
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[Rating:3.5/5]
Follow the author Anders Wotzke on Twitter.
