Paranormal Activity (limited)
| release date | September 25 2009 |
| studio | DreamWorks |
| director | Oren Peli |
| writer | Oren Peli |
| starring | Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat |
| rating | R |
| site | paranormalactivity-movie.com |
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I loved the movie, if you like Blair Witch Project type movies keep in mind its all done by a hand held cam, its a must see. not alot went on but it build it up for the ending climax.
This movie was nothing but a cliche of every haunting or possesion on A&E, Discovery, History Channel, SyFy, and every other documentary and demonic movie out there. The Exorcist was better than this garbage as well as Emily Rose. I’ve seen scarier material on Ghost Hunters, Scariest Places and even Scare Tactics. Any real horror fan would hate this movie because it lacked any substance of originality. I have no clue as to what all the people in the commercials were so jumpy for because basically all the movie consisted of was banging on the walls, footsteps on the floor, some strange voices, a very goog quija board effect (best part of the whole movie), and the obvious that something bad was going to happen thanks to the male main character. This guy was too stupid to be true. Anyone who has watched any demonic entity movie or watched any paranormal material has heard many times that negative vibes cause manifests and using anyything to communicate is an open invitation. This guy basically made everything happen in this movie by doing exacty what any sane, non film character person would not do. This guy forshadowed everything bad happening in the movie. I would hate to have this idiot watching my trade shares. Movie was bland and any loud noise suddenly in any environment will get a startle or two. Give me $10 and I’ll scare you more than this movie did. The so called psychic being too afraid of the house and convieniently missing demonologist just add to the BS factor here. Movie was about as boring as the begining of Cloverfield which at least got more exciting as the film progressed. Thumbs down worst horror movie and biggest load of hyped up crap this year.
this wasnt scary and i didnt jump once, the only remotely cool part was when she got dragged from the bed but even that wasnt scary
it gets a 4 because it was very watchable
what a con not scary and the ending sucked completly out of context to the rest of the movie dont know whatall the fuss is about apart from people will beleave absolutly anything!!!!
movie was ok not scary fake stupid ending made no sence
I was skeptical going in, usally when the “mainstream” hype up a horror movie I end up disappointed, this was no exception. There was absoulutely nothing frighting in this poorly made, poorly acted film. The two leads were annoying as hell and so were the boring repetitive shoots of the bedroom. Horror fans that are after genuine scares should looks else where this is a waste of time and money.
Well this would have to be one of the lamest, most boring films ever released. The marketing division of Universal must have been paid shit loads to suck so many people in with their slick and overhyped campaign for this snoozefest. The audio effects were OK, but a couple of loud footsteps and a banging door do not make a scary film. The ghost programmes on Discovery channel are more chilling than this. The haunted couple are pretty annoying and the male lead displays some of the dumbest behaviour ever. A psychic tells them not to use a ouija board, so what do they do ? He goes and buys one !!
This picks up the pace in the final 20 minutes but even then it’s nothing groundbreaking.
The only lesson to be learned from Paranormal Activity is this. Dont Believe The Hype.
what the hell happened here?
The people used to new horror movies, really wont like this one. Its not for everybody.
Great movie, best HORROR movie since the Exorcist.
End of discussion.
for a low budget film..it sure scared the hell out of me
This movie fell victim to the “Blair Witch hype”. I would have been very excited to randomly find this as an obscure gem at an art theatre or an independent film festival, which is where this films following began. However, it continuued on from then, and built a huge hype to become this major hollywood smash….but the problem is, once 100,000,000 people see it all at once, they figure out that it is not something for the masses. Now it is going to be rented on DVD….much like “Blair Witch Project”, this movie seems like it wouldn’t be remotely impressive on dvd. It’s much more of a theatrical experience. The DVD’s will be available for $3 at Big Lots before too long. Now, what’s even worse is they are continuing down the erroneous road that Blair Witch took in securing an immediate sequel for next year. Does anybody remember “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2″? No, I thought not. They are going to shoot themselves in the foot.
With that out of the way, this is a very neat, creepy, and sometimes genuinely scary little indie low-budget horror movie. If you have a last chance to catch it at a cheap theatre, do it now. Otherwise, don’t bothering renting…maybe watch it when it comes on the sci/fi channel, but it probably won’t be impressive.
After listening to all the hype and what friends were saying about the movie I couldn’t wait to see it. What a disappointment! I found it hard to stay awake. After the movie was over all I could think of was “that was it”. I will not be recommending this movie to anyone that doesn’t want to keep their money. If it wasn’t for the popcorn and drink this movie would have been a total waste of time.
First off, for all you that think it was over hyped, it may have been but that doesnt make it a bad film. The lighting and the camera work were extremely well done for being shot on a handheld camera. The scares in the film start off rather simple then get to the point of being truly frightening by the end and you can pretty much believe the reactions the two actors are giving. dont even say you wouldnt be saying and doing the same thing if you were in there shoes because you would be full of a nasty brown substance we all call CRAP to the point of your eyes and hair being brown. i cant say i will really lose any sleep after watching this one but overall i will definitely be a little more creeped out by some noises i hear. If you want to see a good solidly original flick for a change id say go check this one out for sure. If you are expecting a billion dollar budget scare fest like a lot of the current movie snobs out there you will be disappointed, but if you can truly appreciate a well done indie film you will love it.
A movie that lives up to the hype? Can it be? I’d say Paranormal Activity almost does. It’s creepy and actually is scary.
First and foremost, I think this is the type of movie you watch ALONE in your empty house with volume at full blast. I read that you should experience this movie in theaters but I beg to differ. I can’t imagine feeling scared at all during this movie if I have a large group of people around me. The thing that makes this movie scary is how these 2 people feel isolated from everyone in the world in their house. There is no one they can turn to for help.
The reason I don’t give this a perfect rating is because of the ending. Darn. It fails to live up to the rest of the movie. A shame for sure, but I can’t think of any other way to end it so I guess I have to give props to them for trying at least. The theatrical and alternative endings are not too much different, just the theatrical ending is a little more special effects oriented I suppose. If I had to choose I’d watch the film with the theatrical ending (the DVD gives you an option).
If you are like me..watches Ghost Hunters every week (and Ghost Lab now), then I’m sure you will find a lot to like with this movie as I did. At some points I thought the movie was gonna go too far with the exorcist kinda stuff but the movie keeps it simple (with the ending being the only exception) and is pretty creative with the ways it creeps you out.
9/10 for me.
very good creepy! nice job!
I would have given this movie negative stars had there been any.
This film appeals mainly to women and people frightened by movies like “The Ring” and the “Blair Withch Project”. I guess it just goes to show you some people are thicker skined than others.
What the movie did right was, it had good character interaction between the two main characters. It also appeared like something real than a movie itself.
What it did wrong, it had no terrifying scenes, this movie would have been better as a Sy Fy original. Granted ghost movies don’t really scare me, and I know enough that things like that don’t really happen, so its hard to buy, and just plain boring. Do yourself a favor if you really want to see this film, download it, it is not even worth renting at Red Box.
Would have been good, except that EVERY SINGLE scare, including the last 5 seconds, are shown in the trailer. I was so excited to see this, until I realized I already HAD seen it, many times. If you haven’t heard of this, check it out; but if you’ve seen the trailers, don’t bother.
I LOVE IT
good stuff
Some parts were scary,overall pretty gay!!!!!!
Not so good, the scenes between the action at night are boring and it is a very predictable movie, some scenes work though, but they shuld have used the alternate end.
NOTHING happened in this movie. seriously. i kept waiting for the movie to start, then it ended.
Watch the movie in fast forward and only press play for the night scenes…other than that, the movie sucked, the direction it takes you suck, the ending(s) suck, and thats about it..the only good scene was the one where she gets dragged out of bed and down the hall(mainly because i was hoping she would get killed and the movie end)…WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!!
Before I review this movie, I want to give the disclaimer that I’m going to do my best to completely ignore the hype and marketing around this film. I’ve praised both several times on this site and I feel the “hype card” has been overplayed as to reasons why this movie doesn’t work.
Ok, this movie is going to divide everybody – and I think that’s what makes this movie incredible. There’s no shades of grey with this picture, you either absolutely love it or you completely hate it.
That being said, let’s go on to the good parts of the movie. It’s a simple ghost/possession story shot in the vein of the Blair Witch. But it’s the simpicity of this movie that really sells it. Peli doesn’t (or perhaps couldn’t) overdo it with excessive CGI, blood, guts, and glory. Instead you get a movie that has a very realistic look and feel to it. The story is so well (perhaps easily) written that we don’t have to have excellent acting or great special effects. What you get is a realistic looking explanation and one or two plot holes that really don’t make that much of a difference when all is said and done. It’s the realistic approach to this movie that had me on the edge of my seat, one hand digging into my date’s leg. The movie’s just creepy in general, Oren Peli plays with your mind the entire time. For me Peli’s mental terrorism was executed perfectly. When a movie draws you in the director has succeeded and I was drawn into this movie. I cared for both of the characters despite their sub-par acting and I think in the end that’s what sold me on it. I enjoyed the apparent ad-libbing they did as it made them seem more like real people and less like amateur actors making a different type of horror movie.
That being said, there’s a lot you can criticize this film on: bad acting, plot holes, lack of action, and a very, very detailed trailer. If you’re looking for non-stop action, people dying, zombies crawling from the bowels of hell to devour the living, then this probably isn’t the movie for you. If you’re looking for accomplished actors who really sell their characters, again this isn’t for you. The dialogue is quirky without ever really being intelligent (although there’s an exception involving a psychic that I thought was one of the funniest/best bits of dialogue I’ve seen in horror). It’s simplicity is also it’s downfall in that it’s not going to be every horror fans’ cup of tea when they see something that looks and feels like a home movie rather than a “knock you out” thriller.
All-in-all my advice to those of you who haven’t seen this movie is simple. Try to ignore the hype, only watch the trailer once, and watch it in a setting where you can really get involved in the movie.
This is easily the best horror experience I’ve had in a theatre and this movie will definately crack my top ten favorite movies ever.
I was surprised by this movie in that after all the hype about being so scary, I made a point to watch it in my apartment alone with the lights off and the door closed and it never caught on. Not scary. Boring. Perhaps the audience reactions were filmed from another movie? It’s just recently come to Japan and I saw the preview of Japanese people screaming and crying and I was sitting there like “Yeah, right.” Even aside from the hype I still would have felt the same.
Im So Glad You Other guy’s out there thought it was extremely “LAIM” aswell… Im a massive Horror Fan And P.A. was NOT Scary whatsoever… I dont understand the Hype either – couldn’t of been the same Movie…
I was very disappointed in this film.
Wouldn’t recommend to anyone!
I Recieved 10 Times the Startled Scares from Drag Me To Hell and that was funny!!!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this movie was horrible. Before I get into my reasons for hating this film; I have to say that anyone who found this movie terrifying, chilling, scary, ect.; be afraid of their own shadow; there were episodes of “Goosebumps” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” that were scarier than this film and both those show were marketed towards young children. I should also note that I enjoy a large number of films that most people consider subpar and i generally love indy films. Now onto my reasons for hating this film:
1. The acting was pure shit. 2. This leads to an utter lack of caring for the characters or there situation. 3. This leads to a lack of any kind of suspense or tension which a film of this nature should have in spades. 4. Why the hell is the demonoligist never available when they call, and what the fuck scared the psychic investigator so much that he would not come back into the house. Nothing fucking happened when he was there! 5. Cgi ghost at the end of what is supposed to be a realistic film. 6. One of the stupidest and most idiotic main characters I have ever witnessed. The boyfriends character is borderlining on being mentally handicapped. 7. The only part of this entire film that i enjoyed in any way was when she was drug down the hall as i was hoping she would die. Also when she killed her boyfriend’s dumb ass I laughed for a solid 10 minutes.
This film is fucking awful period. If i could i would give it a -10.
@ chiram
It’s called an imagination and some people know how to use their’s. Its also a matter of the state of mind you watch it in.
I’ve seen Inside, Martyrs, etc., so I know what a scary and intense movie is, but I appreciate all levels of horror.
I highly doubt you could make a better movie with the same budget. In fact, I gaurantee it.
And wtf?? The acting was just fine. Thats how REAL people act in private on a daily basis in real life.
It sounds to me like you hated this movie before you turned it on.
4. The psychic investigator said the demonologist was available for the next few days, but the chicks stupid girlfriend made her wait to call him and by the time they decided to he was out of town. The psychic investigator sensed the negative energy coming from the house when he entered (WTF??? WERE U PAYING ATTENTION AT ALL / DOES YOUR BRAIN FUNCTION PROPERLY??)
The only thing even remotely true in your post is the weak ending but even still the movie isnt bad at all.
And like I said before, you could never make a better film, period.
I recently rented this movie about a week ago from redbox. What a load of crap!!! I was all ready to have the shit scared out of me and not even a budge! Maybe it was all the hype for the movie, or that i didn”t see it in a theater with a bunch of screaming moviegoers, but I can”t even describe the level of dissapointment! The best part was when she got pulled out of bed, and the oujia board on fire was kinda cool. I didn”t hate this movie, I kinda liked it, I just wish it lived up to the hype.
It was really much better than I expected.
i saw this movie in theatres the first night it came out. It scared the shit outta me. I guess the thought behind it all made me scared. pretty good movie for it being a low budget film i’d say.
The thing about this movie is that right after seeing it, I was a little disappointed. There wasn’t much action, not much was really “solved” or identified. However, that’s what sparked my… reviewing of the film. The movie was very simple, very nicely structured. I watched this movie in the theatre so I could hear and feel people becoming anxious and expectant every time a night scene was about to begin. The fact that the movie was so simple and not overdone was what really made it. Half the time, while not much was happening, just long shots of the couple sleeping, I would be the one to imagine or create the movie. I’d sit there and my mind would automatically project images of the scariest possible scene that could occur. I think that’s what made the movie for me; I scared the crap out of my own self… heh. So basically, this movie was simple, gave the necessary details for that “creepy” effect, all the while I was sort of “part of the movie” in a sense. It was subtle, yet effective in my opinion.
Really good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only thing scary about this POS was the hype that was brought to it.
#1 flaw-The characters were totally lame. I hated the boyfriend and wanted to hit him in the nuts and I hated the main girl. So, when all this is happening…Why should I care? Well, I didn’t.
THAT is what got on my last nerves. Not to mention the terrible acting in it. What an embarrassment. look, I’m all about a low budget film being successful but only if it’s good. Paranormal Activity was not good. I put this on the same level as The Blair Witch Project. It’s just as annoying and just as overhyped. In fact, Paranormal Activity is JUST like Blair Witch in it’s style. The only time I agreed to that kind of filming was with Cloverfield.
I liked this movie. I’m a fan of the whole real/fake thing becuase I have a wicket imagination… It was scary from all the stuff that makes you jump, plus if you imagine actually being in that situation, its damn scary because there was nothing they could do. SCARY STUFF DEMONS ARE!
$hit scary.
Dont know if people want attention by saying This movie wasn’t scary, Dont know if they want us to be like “Awh,your so brave” or whatever,But this film was a new horror classic.
I think its because it has Real life stuff, not no special effects. & the amount of atmosphere let our minds wounder what was going to happen next.
Loved it. Needs a sequal.Needs to see the Ghost/Demon
A great surprise…bad ending but great movie given whats out now….
This film has me sitting on the middle of a fence. Their so much good and so much bad. The acting overall was alright, they did well enough to make a “believable” couple but sometimes their relationship seems too “documented”. At first I was really uninterseted with the film. Especially after all the hype (trailers say “one of the scariest films of all time”.) So now after viewing the film with an open mind does it qualify as “one of the scariest films of all time”? That answer is NO! While you are strucken with “suspense” the horror for the most part was never found. I know some people automatically turn away from this movie because it was shot in style for a home video (MY DAD) but I was willing to give it my full attention for 90 minutes. While it does provide “decent” entertainment it does leave alot to be desired.
PA was pretty good as long as you had a good imagination and was able to talk yourself into believing its actually happening. The first version I saw was the non-movie version with the original ending. This ending was excellent compared to the theater ending. If any of you get a chance watch the original version of PA. It also answers a lot of questions the theater version doesnt. For those of you that have seen the theater version first youre in for a real treat with the original.
Spread the Dead
Thank God for $1.00 Rentals from Red Box!! I wanted to see this when it was in the Theaters and Glad I didn’t waste my Time nor Money on it. Once again, following in the “Foot Steps” of the Blair Witch Project, We find ourselves watching someones “Home Movie” which Littery could be Someones Home Movie and waiting to see a “Ghost” that never Appears! Not only was this Movie Boring to say the Least but really could have been made by a Pre-Schooler with a Cam Corder and it Grossed over a Million Dollars at the Box Office which only proves to me that People will fall for anything thats “Hyped” up. I’m sure more Money was spent on the Promtion of this than the actual Film Itself. All I can say is save your Money and watch Ghost Chasers or something of that Element on SyFi, You pretty much get the same results, Boring People getting Paid to Fool the Viewer into Believing “they are the Chosen ones” who have direct Contact with the Dead. Scariest Movie of the Year as the Ads Claimed, I don’t think so, whats truly Scary is knowing anyone paid Full Price for this and made it a Hit!
MOST OVERHYPED MOVIE EVER.
3 minutes of good scares doesn’t make up for 94 minutes of bore. The rest of it is boring, predictable jump scares and shadows. Plus the lead male character is a complete douche. Blair Witch did this ALOT better, and 10 years earlier to boot.
Scariest movie ever, my ass.
Good. Could have been better.
First of all, I would not classify this movie as “horror”, I would classify it in the “suspense” category. Nonetheless it was still a good movie.
That being said, anybody who didn’t like this movie either doesn’t have an imagination, is jealous because they didn’t think of it first, or just simply wants attention for being different.
Comparing “Paranormal Activity” to “The Blair Witch Project” is erroneous. They are two different concepts and two different movies. Just because they were in a sense filmed the same way does not make them the same movie or one a copycat from the other.
The acting is exactly what you’d see in these people’s lives given the circumstances. This is where people’s lack of imagination comes in. If you can’t imagine what it would be like if this situation was really happening then obviously you won’t be able to understand the movie and I’m sorry you have to live like that. One point of movies is to stimulate the imagination of it’s viewers and, for those of us that have one, this movie certainly succeeded in that capacity.
This movie was not “overhyped” it’s called marketing. I’ve seen more commercials and trailers for “The Wolfman” than I did for “Paranormal Activity”. That doesn’t make the movie “overhyped” it simply means that the movie has a good marketing plan.
Calling this movie the “scariest movie ever” I definitely do not agree with, but every year there is a movie or two that will make this claim. However I also realize that this claim is in the eye of the beholder, there may be somebody who legitimately thought that this was the scariest movie ever but that person is not me.
Over all this was a good movie and definitely one worth seeing.
didn’t find this movie scary at all… maybe a little creepy. when i think of scary movies recently i think of the strangers. i listened to way too many people before i saw this one… and as a result i had expectations that were way too high and it let me down.
it was kinda boring, but the jump scares toward the end were fun. not the best, but not terrible
I really enjoyed this film. Every night when the couple went to bed my heart was racing! The smallest thing would make you jump. I highly recommend it for when you really want to be involved in a film and I think that’s why it was excellent to see at the cinemas. Also there are no credits which just makes you feel all the more scared when the lights come on and you feel like it really happened and that there wasn’t a crew. Also, my boyfriends door that night slammed shut on it’s own so I recommend shutting the door and turning on a night light.
**SPOILER**
There was one thing I didn’t understand though, like how when they searched the other person who experienced this phenomena, how did they die? My friend thought it was because they chewed their own arm off (and this compared with the ending makes sense! How she’s all sniffing him like she wants to eat him). And those fucking hoof prints wtf?! Creepy. I also enjoyed the acting and that they looked like real people.
The only good part of the movie was the ending… When they showed her demonic part… other than that the whole movie sucked!!!
When something’s billed as being really scary, I get really skeptical. Obviously some viewers DO find this film scary, and obviously not everyone’s scared by the same things.
For me, yeah, there was some good suspense and a couple freaky events (the footprints and being dragged from bed were my faves), but overall I wasn’t impressed enough to agree with the hype.
Didn’t hate it though.
great ending
I finally got to see this, and it was freaky! I didn’t expect much. It makes you question every bump you hear at night for a long time. That thing’s footsteps are tattooed in my brain! The only thing is I would hope my husband would allow me to seek professional help earlier instead of insisting on getting into a pissing contest with a demon.
It was ok…
I didn’t expect much from this film at first, but good god this movie was as scary as fuck! I for one loved it!
wad a DISAPPOINTMENT,,,,,after all d hype goin in2 d movie it wuz a drag 2 watch……..never been a fan of homemade movies nd 4 me shutting of doors or hearin footsteps or seein people dragged 4m their beds doesnt seem scary……dey shuld change their tagline 4m -DONT SEE IT ALONE to DONT SEE IT AGAIN…….
Really thought this was a decent movie. I know with all the publicity that most people thought this wasn’t as good as the advertisments said, but after watching it, thought it wasn’t bad. I give cudos to the filmmakers for some pretty good special effects. Although shot with a video camera I thought they did a good job with the FX. Not one I would watch over and over again, but decent enough to watch once and talk about.
idont have anything more to say about this “movie”….all i can say is if this crap is frightening then i am bob the sponge!!!!!!even the smurfs are scarier than this crap…i sorry only beacuse i cant rate it with -10….one of the worst kind of shit i ve ever watched in my life….the only thing it could frighten is my cat…maybe…i m not so sure about that too…
Worst horror movie in YEARS. Bad acting, non-excisting script. No scares, boring, HORRIBLE effects.
Boring movie crap ending about as scary as watching a simpsons treehouse of horror episode
This homemade type of Movie is soo much better than The Blair Witch Project, while not as great as Cloverfiled. The Movie builds up the right amount of tenses, fear, emotion bleed & the terror of the supernatural fright fest of the phenomenon activity of the ghost/demons that in the house, it is such a great technical on the Horror genre & for look-wise home-made movies, as this film is meant to look really, it really dose pull it off as if really has the clever, genies & blood movie, which is an ace Horror movie & this movie proves it, while it’s not the scariest of 2009 movie, but a well crafted, freaky, creepy, thrilling & make to look-wise movie, that will give you nightmare (as it did with me).
I have to say it not my new favourite movie but is a different decent what for any Hardcore Horror Fan, as the best & most scariest part in the film was then two ending, as the first one was Utley brilliant well throughout as it was fighting, suspenseful & tenses , while the seconded ending was ok, while it being more shocking & slight gore and it had acting excellent (from a very unknown cast crew), prefect made storyline/really-life like plot and a well chilling Low-low budget effect (as they find great ways to make this movie thrilling, it amazed me) as it well very well crafted.
(The Film I would say is a must see for Horror Fans as its weirdo, freaky & horrifying & will has done justice for it genre.)
nothing special, it features some scares but definitely does not bring the satisfaction good horror movies do. Idea is good but it is not strongly developed
I thought the movie was creepy, but unlike the Blair Witch that was scary throughout and had a really scary ending this wasnt scary throughout and the ending didnt scare like BW.
To Me horror Films Should always be!
Well Written, Good Plot , Scary and Effective.
Paranormal Activity wasnt well written and the Plot was Average. And that is the Truth.!.., Besides that, it actually is Scary and Effective. So yeah i do give it Props for that.
I’m not sure exactly what to say about this movie except that it bored the shit out of me, and any scene that was even remotely good was shown in the trailers. I only saw one ending so I don’t know anything about any alternate endings, and I refuse to ever watch it again to find out.
I give it maby a sixteenth of a skull, just for the good camerawork
Shouldn’t even be considered a horror because it was so boring. I would never watch this again, and i have no idea why they would even bother with a second movie.
This was one of the best films of this genre I’ve seen in such a long time. It wouldn’t say its the scariest film ever (unless you get scared easily), it did feel very real and was very fun!!
amazing
Great moviee!!!!!!!!!
It crapped the hell out of me. Yeah a movie to see in the darkness of the night!!
Boring!
…… which is a shame because it had the potential to be pretty good.
Very slow going and you only really get to see anying slightly creepy in the last 15 mins.
Dont believe all they hype that goes with this film, I found it very disappointing.
In summary – that is 1hr 22mins I’ll never get back!
Wow. I reviewed this already and my review was deleted! That’s annoying. Well I’ll just keep this one to the point. Boring, not scary, etc. Everything negative written below about this film is true. I hated the characters. I’m glad that they at least died in the end… or at least in the original ending. Still, I respect the idea of such a lowbudget indie horror movie breaking so many records… too bad it wasn’t really that good.
Uhhhhh….what is THIS bullshit? You gotta be kiddin’ me. I understand this movie was trying to take those “paranormal investigative” reality t.v. shows to the next level, but this is tedious nonsense. Utterly stupid.
One of my fav movies ever, went to see it twice in the cinema, scared as much both times. Loved it!
OVERRATED, BORING, STUPID AND THE SO CALLED SHOCK ENDING SUCKED!
Finally a film that actually scared the hell out of me. It’s disappointing that it took this long for someone to come up with the concept of making a film that will actually make you crap yourself.. that’s what a horror movie should do, it should keep you on the edge of your seat, it should keep you awake at night and most of all it should keep you wondering whether it was real or not, Paranormal Activity does this and it has the potential to inspire more films like it, hopefully more films like this will be made and will continue to scare the fuck out of me and other horror fans!!
I really loved this movie. It didn’t scare me like I had hoped, but it was a little creepy and actually really original. I was glad I caught it. The acting was also pretty damn good for what it was, they made it believable, you don’t know how many people I hear say how they cannot believe that Paranormal Activity is “based on a true story”, which they have even said, it is not. Great movie though, well worth a watch.
this is a very complicated movie
it is boring during the day and frightening during the night
that way the audience won’t get bored easily and they won’t be scared all the time neither
but they got bored anyway
i think that a movie is complete when it has good actors and director,new ideas and original and scary deaths
that movie had average actors,but good director,it had new ideas,but the plot didn’t make any sense
anyway the result is a good movie,which proved that you don’t have to spend millions to make the audience get scared
I MUST BE MISSING SOMETHING HERE. I’ve been watching horror movies of all generations since I was a toddler in the 80′s. I know what scary is. I know what creepy is. This movie was neither.
Yes, the beginning of the movie is rather boring, but I did not lose hope because the only reason I love Blair Witch is because of the ending. However, the end of this movie is ridiculous. We’re waiting for an hour & a half to see this creature, or to at least see him finally do something besides just walk around & move some bed sheets. All the end gives us is more boredom (no matter which ending you watch). Even the alternate ending where she cuts her own throat is lame.
The story itself was creepy. Hearing about this demon following her around her entire life, waiting to devour her. The footsteps in the flour & the picture upstairs was creepy. But that was it. That’s as creepy as the movie gets, which just isn’t enough.
I do believe this movie could have been absolutely terrific if the ending had been more substantial. A great ending can make up for a boring hour of movie: the end of this movie, however, just put me to sleep. Borrr-ing!!!!
Definitely above average ghost flick and really well done for such a low budget.
I put on my netflix put on my turtle beaches and I wasn’t expecting much..I heard realllly bad things from friends.. shutting it off after 15mins blah blah blah.. But truly, by the end I had my knees to my chest a blanket and my hands to my mouth. What a build up! The acting is really good too. The girl and the guy bing off eachother. Def. would say watch it if you like ghost/demond movies! Good sh*t.
A solid piece of horror. The semi-pro video style adds wonderfully to the realism. Initially my response was “Oh no, an hour of grainy home video footage” but you are quickly sucked in by the chemistry of the two actors and the ever increasing crescendo of scares.
Monster/Alien/Ghost Movie Marathon- Day 119
So Halloween is approaching us, and I have been ignoring the things that give us the chills behind our backs. Ghosts. And because Ghosts are mainly proven effectively when used under suspense, I thought I would review Paranormal Activity because it is a great example of Suspense when done correctly
But im mainly writing this review because this girl in my High School tried to say that nowadays horror movies suck; this is what she said “Now studios produce movies like “Paranormal Activity” that wouldnt scare my 6-year-old nephew”. First of all there are many things that are wrong with that statement. But I will get back to this later in my review
Synopsis- Micah Sloat buys a new camera because he wants to video tape what would happen if his girlfriend’s, Katie Featherson, Ghost or Demon would do while they are sleeping, because she says that she has had multiple encounters with the ghost. On the first night, Micah believes that he has failed to capture anything but notices that there is movement between flowers. So they bring a psychic, he says that if anything gets worse they should contact a Demonologist. But after a few nights, stranger things start happening to Katie that starts to scare the living crap out of them. So Micah does the unthinkable and somehow(im not spoiling this part) allows the Demon to be stronger. And Micah and Katies life are now in perilious danger.
Problems- My biggest problem is the audience. This is a movie that needs to be seen in a large screen and strong Audio, but I guess some people just dont understand that the Theater quality is a rather important aspect of this movie. Trust me, I took my dad to see this movie in theaters and he was just as scared as I was. But audiences just dont understand the concept of suspense anymore, they like loud noises and hot teenagers dying.
Direction- The direction is really well done. I am looking forward to what Oren Peli can do next. He shot the film with a $15,000 budget and it was very effective. Sure he used that Handycam technique that we are very tired of, but he found a way to make sure that we dont care if its shaky or not, becasue its not the visuals that are scaring us, its the sounds.
Visuals- Like I said, this movie was shot at $15,000, this movie used moving doors and Katie being possesed but that didnt reaquire flashy technology to scare us. It required good ol’ fashion suspense and sound to scare us. Thats the actual magic of this film. Its simplicity is whats shocking not the flashy blood or 7 ft. demon monster, or Paris Hilton being blugened to death by a crappy serial Killer
Now I want to resume what I was talking about at the begining of the review. The girl stated that “Studios produce movies like “Paranormal Activity”" now somethings wrong with that statement. Paramount didnt produce this movie, they bought the rights to it, it was distributed by Paramount. She also states “A scary movie should have to do with our everyday lives instead of some nonsensical, unrealistic story that would never happen to an average Joe or Jill”, Paranormal can happen to anybody, thats why they keep making those Paranormal Investigation shows! she also contradicts herself by saying “I remember being terrified by “The Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Child’s Play” those films truly tapped into the fears of children and adults.” ya Killer toys sounds like it happens everyday, oh and im pretty sure Freddy Kruger is a real person who actually kills people in your dream, that sounds so realitic, now I dont have a problem with Nightmare on Elm Street, but I do not like Child’s Play, I think it sucks, but when you want something smart and everyday like, I would go with Paranormal Activity over Child’s Play.
Overall Paranormal Activity is a smart and suspenseful film that truly does understand the thought of actual suspense thrillers(I do not belive that this is a horror film)
I give it 4/5 stars
B-O-R-I-N-G! What an absolute snooze fest that really offered little to nothing. There was so much nothing going on that I felt zero tension and absolutely no chills. Why even introduce the dude at the end? Any little moment that might have produced something they cut away from and went to black. This was terrible.
I had high expectations for this movie, but sadly I was disappointed. I felt like I was watching random footage that dragged on for the longest time while random cheap scare tactics filled the void. The only part that was interesting or even remotely scary was the last 2 minutes of the movie. Overall, it was very boring and nothing that will scare the average horror fan. Watch it once and never again.
Fuck this movie and anyone who dug it ’cause they gotta be a retard to think this shit was good.I’d give it a -10 if possible
Very creative not seeing what’s after them is what made it scary.
I had high expectations for this film. When it was released people kept talking about how scary it was. I thought the way it was filmed was interesting, and I thought the writer/director had a good idea. That being said, when I saw the movie all I could think is wow What a boring piece of shit this movie is. I really don’t see how so many people thought this steaming pile of shit was entertaining at all. I don’t recommend this movie. I’m not gonna say don’t see it. Watch it, and make your own opinion. I just didn’t like it.
This movie was not even scary and the acting was horrible don’t see this stupid pile of s*it it will waste your movie night.
This movie is a piece of s*it.
Awful excuse for a horror movie
I really don’t care how many people apparently didn’t like this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Gave me chills from time to time. Definitely needs to be seen in the theatre though, really doesn’t have the same effect if you watch it on the TV at your house. Plus, I think Katie Featherstone MIGHT have one of the best screams I’ve ever heard in Horror movies. That was the best part of the movie.
Since I have an active imagination I really liked this film.
Hobo Approved(TM)
This is probably one of my least favorite horror movies. The only part remotely scary about this movie is the ending. I’ve said before that the scares don’t always make a horror movie great, but this one doesn’t even have a good story to it. I guess this is just one of those movies that either really scares you or bores you to sleep. Unfortunatly, this one bored me to sleep.
Garbage. Garbage. Garbage. Fuck this movie and all the pussy teenagers that like this shit.
Obviously this film is going to draw connections to Blair Witch given the filming and overall slow nature of the film. The problem is, with a slow film the setting needs to change to provide interesting progression. The movie progresses from a door, to a picture, to a sheet. All in the same house. Basically, the film relies entirely on the fearful imagination of the audience until the last 10 seconds. That doesn’t cut it for me.
sucked I wanted to throw up during the movie. The whole movie was predictable don’t know how this scared anyone
Very Scary, don’t understand why there are so many negative reviews on the film. It’s innovative has plenty of good scares and a great ending.
“Paranormal Activity” is a rare case. It’s the kind of horror movie in which those behind it would like nothing more to indulge and please devote fans of the horror genre; but nevertheless, the response from such a community is sharply divided. From personal experience; reactions seem to range from “loved it” to “hated it”. This is unfortunate, because the movie tries hard and emerges rather successful; it would just appear that somewhat misleading marketing (scariest movie ever my ass) and a general misunderstanding has hurt the film’s reputation. It’s even sadder that most people criticizing the film haven’t correctly looked into it; and now, the only thing worse is the fact that a lot of people seem to think the sequels are better, and dare I say, scarier.
This is not true. Not one of the “Paranormal Activity” sequels thus far has been able to live up to what the original achieved. This is an impressive nail-biter made on a low-budget; unlike the sequels, which are basically at the level of those annoying screamers you can find all over Youtube and beyond, save for the fact that these screamers have a running time of about an hour and a half. “Paranormal Activity” does indeed have enough jump scares to entertain a younger audience, but it will probably impress an older generation as well. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the suspense is so well-executed, and the characters – along with their situation – so believable, that we can buy into the film’s horrors.
Shot on a cheap, affordable digital camera; this shaky-cam horror story tells the tale of a young-adult couple, Micah and Katie, who purchase the said camera in order to capture some footage of the paranormal entities that Katie believes to be haunting their home in San Diego. When Micah isn’t playing around with the new technology that money has allowed him to acquire; the camera is mounted on a tripod, located in the bedroom. It is there that the most raw, revealing of footage shall be recorded; with sound recording devices not too far away.
We are taken through several nights, in which we are required to wait a lot. For some time, there doesn’t seem to be much wrong with the house; and perhaps Katie is just paranoid. But…she insists that this paranormal activity originates way back to her childhood days (at the age of 8, she says, was when she first starting having these experiences), and she even calls in a psychic. Micah is supportive of her superstitions, even though he may not always show it; but when the issue becomes dead serious, he certainly gets his shit together.
One night’s footage features the bedroom door moving back and forth; another unveils loud, strange, otherworldly noises from the darkness of the downstairs kitchen. We’re not so sure that this is a ghost; in fact, the characters start to doubt that early on. When the psychic arrives for his first visit (just one of two); he suggests that perhaps the invisible entity is a demon. When the couple spreads powder all around the hallway, only to reveal bird-like footprints in the morning; I’m provoked to agree with him.
One cannot call the marketing campaign of “Paranormal Activity” particularly ingenious; although it’s still somewhat innovative. The film tries to sell itself off as if we’re watching real footage; and had I not any common sense, I might have believed such claims. The actors – playing characters named after themselves – are utterly convincing in their respective roles; bringing a sort of believability to the overall story and lending it enough emotionally stimulating relationship drama to give the horror some balance. It may not be real, but it certainly feels like it is; and that’s as close as you can get with a movie.
If you’re like me and you can enjoy a slew of jump scares accompanied by some hard-hitting tension; “Paranormal Activity” will be a rewarding roller-coaster ride. I don’t think it’s a great or absolutely terrifying horror movie; but it makes a lot of good decisions – just one of them being not to show the demon in physical form, and only communicating its existence through sounds, or roars rather, and the aforementioned footprints – and I completely respect it. My advice is to not go in expecting it to be the scariest horror movie ever, like some of the advertisements suggest. It is not even close to being that; although it’s still pretty creepy. Ultimately, I think it’s just a cool, engaging demonstration of what filmmakers can do with the unlikely combination of a small budget and a large amount of ambition. It might have fared better with a particular audience had the general public not been told of its existence; but I’m here to rate films based on quality as well as my personal enjoyment, not popularity, and it’s on those grounds that the film scores big.
I didnt like it i thought it wasnt scary at all.
The Ultimate Movie Review! – http://tss5078.blogspot.com – @tss5078 – I’ll be a man and admit it… This movie made me jump quite a few times and left me thinking about it long after it was over. I have been a Horror fan for a long time and that’s a very unsual reaction for me. Some people didn’t like how it was filmed on camcorders or how it started out slowly, but not me, I thought this was a great movie and new territory for the genre. This is one they’ll be talking about for a while.