Film: Paranormal Activity :: Wessex Scene Online

Film: Paranormal Activity

14th December 2009
Matthew Tindall

About this film

Title	Paranormal Activity
Director	Oren Peli
Release Date	25 November 2009
Certificate
Genres	Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Our Rating	4.5/5.0
Shown at Union Films Sunday 28th February 2010 8:00pm

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Much of the film’s power depends upon the performances of its leads, and actors Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat do not disappoint.

Horror fans rejoice! The antidote to the tedium of Hollywood’s endless remakes of classics and dull-as-ditchwater Saw sequels is finally here in the shape of first-time writer/director Oren Peli’s mini-masterpiece Paranormal Activity.

Made for just $15,000 and shot in the space of a week in Peli’s own home the story concerns a young Californian couple who, after experiencing ghostly phenomena in their new house, invest in a video camera to document the ever-escalating disturbances. Yes, admittedly the plot is rather slight but the fear factor is huge.

The film owes an obvious debt to its lowbudget predecessor The Blair Witch Project, effectively utilising similar techniques in its mockumentary style, unknown actors and unseen antagonist. Of course, we’ve seen that film imitated many times since its 1999 release – sometimes successfully (Cloverfield or Spanish shocker Rec) and sometimes less so (Diary of the Dead, anyone?) – but somehow Paranormal Activity still manages to feel fresh and exciting.

The often nauseating shakiness of the hand-held camerawork in the films mentioned above is minimised by much of the action being captured from a tripod placed at the foot of the couple’s bed while they sleep. Even when strange noises draw them from the room in the middle of the night the camera is sometimes forgotten, leaving the
audience to imagine the true horror of what is happening in the darkness of the corridor beyond. This is a refreshing departure from tradition and the absence of the irritating stock character who must film everything despite how dangerous the situation may be is most welcome.

Using only modest special effects Peli has constructed the film carefully in order to maximise suspense, demonstrating that when it comes to truly terrifying an audience less is definitely more. Even within the context of his own film there is something inherently more chilling about creaking floorboards and doors slamming unbidden than some of the more extreme supernatural torments that occur as the narrative progresses.

Alone in the house throughout – except for two brief visits from a psychic who may well be the least reassuring man on the planet – the two newcomers impress, managing to convincingly convey the growing fear and desperation experience by their characters even in the film’s more farfetched moments.

Paranormal Activity is a film that offers a subtler, more psychological brand of horror than the typical fare and is destined to be remembered alongside the greats of the genre. Though after seeing him do so much with so little one can’t help but wonder just what Oren Peli could achieve with a larger budget, or to suspect that he’ll soon be offered one. Let’s hope that he doesn’t lose his edge when Hollywood inevitably comes calling.