Connect with us

Editorials

[Special Report] So I Watched ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ At The House It Was Filmed In…

Published

12 years ago

on

To help celebrate the DVD/Blu-ray release of Paranormal Activity 3, Paramount recently held a contest in which two contest winners would be flown out to LA to attend a special viewing of the film at the house in which it was filmed. The winners were picked based on trivia knowledge of the franchise and, in this instance, were flown in from Michigan. They were treated to an almost private viewing of the film, dinner and a few special “guests”.

Since the house had already been gussied up for the occasion we were asked if we wanted to come along and check it out. PA3 is my favorite film in the franchise and I felt that the house lent the film a lot of personality so it was kind of a no-brainer to attend.

Hit the jump for a breakdown along with some photos and video. My companion and I are picked up at my apartment via towncar. The new owners of the house are understandably cagey about giving out the exact location of the place so it’s probably good practice that they weren’t just emailing the address around or handing out directions.

At 630PM on a Friday night it takes almost an hour to reach our destination. But when we do, it’s clearly marked. Toby, under his sheet, stands in the driveway awaiting us.

We beat the contest winners there and are shown around the house by our hosts. It’s one of the few film locations I’ve visited that appears almost identical in real life when compared to its presentation onscreen. Aside from a few minor touches, it’s virtually the same. At least to my eyes.

We head out into the backyard, which houses a tent similar to the one the girls use in the film. Of course now it’s embellished with floodlights and a character that may seem familiar to you from the end of the film.

We head back inside and find Oren Peli and his girlfriend waiting for us. We talk for a bit (and stare at the food spread that awaits us (I’m starving). The contest winners arrive soon thereafter, not knowing quite what to make of the whole experience. They seemed really nice, just a bit overwhelmed and a little shy.

Now that they’re here we can finally eat. We all sit down at the kitchen table and help ourselves to some delicious burgers and sandwiches. I dutifully, and briefly, prod Oren for details about Paranormal Activity 4, but the dude is a steel trap when it comes to his development projects so I got absolutely zero new info. He’s a super nice guy, he just knows how to play the cards close to the chest, which is probably a wise idea. In fact, the only thing he was willing to go on record about was his hatred for pickles and vegetables in general. See, our catered burgers all had pickles on them. And Oren really can’t abide them. So much so that it’s not even enough to just take the pickles off. He won’t eat anything that once had a pickle on it. I almost felt bad that he limited himself to mac and cheese as I chowed down on three cheeseburgers.

After dinner we head upstairs. I’d done some snooping up there earlier – including turning off the lights in the bathroom and saying “Bloody Mary” three times* – but this time we all take turns checking out Toby’s little closet* – which still has some of that creepy writing on the walls.

We finally sit down to watch the movie in the upstairs loft featured prominently in the film. The screen is set up where the tea sat in he movie was placed. Toby’s closet is just to the left of it and Teddy Ruxpin keeps a dutiful eye on us as we watch the movie.

Paranormal Activity 3 has plenty of scares on its own, but the experience was slightly augmented by our “guests”. About 1/3rd of the way through the film, Toby’s closet door SLAMMED shut – generating a scream from just about everyone in the room. The aquarium in the corner made noises in time with the aquarium in the film and stuff “flew” at us during the appropriate sections of the film. At one point, Toby’s symbol appeared in the etch-o-sketch on the desk.

Sadly, my personal “no cell-phone policy” was in effect. I didn’t feel like ruining the movie for everyone else, so I didn’t get any of that on tape. You’ll have to use your imagination.

After the film I said goodbye to the house, as I’ll likely never be there again. On our way out I ask one of our hosts if the owners have ever seen PA3. “No way.” Probably a wise choice. If this film can keep people awake after watching it in their own apartments, imagine the effect it would have on an actual resident of the house!

* you can see this in the video below. I use the word “see” loosely – most of the video is pretty d*amn dark (with a few light spots). It’s a compendium of some cool moments in the evening that aren’t featured in the photos above, so you should check it out regardless.

Paranormal Activity 3 is now out on DVD and Blu-ray. It features a director’s cut that I prefer to the theatrical version.

Related Topics:
Advertisement
1 Comment

Editorials

Finding Faith and Violence in ‘The Book of Eli’ 14 Years Later

Published

1 day ago

on

April 22, 2024

By

Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.

To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.

Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.

After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.

SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?

Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.

For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.

Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.

Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?

AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?

Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.

From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.

The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.

Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.

With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…

There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.

Continue Reading