The Value of Silence: A Review of Paranormal Activity
I watched Paranormal Activity (2007) over the summer while visiting my son. It was one of those movies that we both had heard much about but neither of us had cared enough to see. Despite the fact that we are both horror genre fans (as well as movie buffs), for some reason, we both tend to eschew movies that we feel are overly "hyped" or sensationalized. When a movie is touted as one of the scariest ever, it's one I avoid -- at least until the hype is over.
Additionally, I am not necessarily a fan of the "found footage" film technique. I think this technique was ruined for me by The Blair Witch Project (1999) and its attempt to dupe the audience into believing the events were real. To this day, I am not certain why that marketing technique irritated me so with this particular movie, but it did. I have seen/read other stories supposedly based on true events (such as The Amityville Horror) that did not irritate me nearly as much. Additionally, I have a real respect for the marketing behind the movie. Nevertheless, the deceptive "true story" marketing techniques of Blair Witch seems to have spoiled the found footage filming technique for me.
So, I avoided Paranormal Activity for a long time, and I went into the viewing very skeptical -- almost daring the movie to make me a fan.
Incredibly, it succeeded.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even if I'm not sure exactly why. While I can say that I enjoyed the slow build of tension, the realistic interaction of the characters, and even the found footage technique (for a change), none of that really explains my positive reaction to a movie I was set to dislike. I think what I really liked about this movie was what wasn't there. The horror of this movie was in my own imagination. I wasn't being led by manipulative special effects. I wasn't being clued in by creepy music. I wasn't being spoon-fed massive back story. And I wasn't being forced into fright by random "jumpy" scenes. Although the theatrical ending did have one such moment, I felt that Katie's demented face in the camera was much more frightening than the "jumpy" aspect of Micah being thrown at the camera. In fact, the most terrifying parts to me were often moments of complete inaction. Although the parts where Katie stands over Micah for hours at a time were certainly spooky, I found myself being more scared just watching them sleep. It was the suggestion of what could happen that I found mesmerizing and truly frightening.
I have heard many people say that this movie bored them. I suppose I can see how, in our modern world of hyperactive cinema, some people (especially the younger generation with their attention-deficit mentality) might find the movie slow and difficult to sit through, but I was enthralled. Maybe it's a result of my love of British drama (which is notorious for slow beginnings) or the fact that I have learned the value of silence, but I appreciate the uniqueness of Paranormal Activity and the courage it takes to produce such a movie.
Additionally, I am not necessarily a fan of the "found footage" film technique. I think this technique was ruined for me by The Blair Witch Project (1999) and its attempt to dupe the audience into believing the events were real. To this day, I am not certain why that marketing technique irritated me so with this particular movie, but it did. I have seen/read other stories supposedly based on true events (such as The Amityville Horror) that did not irritate me nearly as much. Additionally, I have a real respect for the marketing behind the movie. Nevertheless, the deceptive "true story" marketing techniques of Blair Witch seems to have spoiled the found footage filming technique for me.
So, I avoided Paranormal Activity for a long time, and I went into the viewing very skeptical -- almost daring the movie to make me a fan.
Incredibly, it succeeded.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even if I'm not sure exactly why. While I can say that I enjoyed the slow build of tension, the realistic interaction of the characters, and even the found footage technique (for a change), none of that really explains my positive reaction to a movie I was set to dislike. I think what I really liked about this movie was what wasn't there. The horror of this movie was in my own imagination. I wasn't being led by manipulative special effects. I wasn't being clued in by creepy music. I wasn't being spoon-fed massive back story. And I wasn't being forced into fright by random "jumpy" scenes. Although the theatrical ending did have one such moment, I felt that Katie's demented face in the camera was much more frightening than the "jumpy" aspect of Micah being thrown at the camera. In fact, the most terrifying parts to me were often moments of complete inaction. Although the parts where Katie stands over Micah for hours at a time were certainly spooky, I found myself being more scared just watching them sleep. It was the suggestion of what could happen that I found mesmerizing and truly frightening.
I have heard many people say that this movie bored them. I suppose I can see how, in our modern world of hyperactive cinema, some people (especially the younger generation with their attention-deficit mentality) might find the movie slow and difficult to sit through, but I was enthralled. Maybe it's a result of my love of British drama (which is notorious for slow beginnings) or the fact that I have learned the value of silence, but I appreciate the uniqueness of Paranormal Activity and the courage it takes to produce such a movie.
I agree that the scarier parts of the film were the "quiet" ones. One of the scariest for me was exactly when Katie hovered over the bed for hours. That's almost predatory behavior there...very, very creepy stuff.
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