Horror films have always been popular. There are slashers, thrillers, monster films and more. However, a new subset is emerging: the fake first-person documentary.
This genre-within-a-genre usually involves a handheld camera, unknown actors and the absence of special effects. And ever since its birth with “The Blair Witch Project,” the typical mechanisms have been tweaked and improved with “Cloverfield” and “Quarantine.” And now with “Paranormal Activity,” we now have an example of a film that could have perfected this genre.
The movie follows our protagonists, Micah (Micah Sloat in his theatrical debut) and Katie (Katie Featherston, “Mutation”), who live in California and have a seemingly wonderful relationship. The film begins with mundane, albeit humorous narration from Micah behind a handheld video camera about Katie’s seemingly irrational fear of being haunted. From there, it slowly builds into a somewhat “Exorcist”-esque storyline.
As horror films go, this one has a slow start and does not achieve its full horror potential until about a third of the way through. However, the film delivers most of the goods promised by the press. Brad Miska of horror website “Bloody Disgusting” called it “one of the scariest movies of all time.” True enough — as I left the theater Thursday night, I could still hear the unnerving sound of grown people sobbing in sheer terror.
Like most “documentaries,” the tone of this film starts out rather lighthearted, keeping the viewers entertained but also lulling them into a false sense of security about the plot. Sloat utilizes his quick wit and dry humor for most of the film, which helps it move along through its slower scenes.
Featherston lends the film most of its credibility with her portrayal of the forever-haunted Katie. Once the titular “activity” begins, the humor turns into terror when doors move on their own, loud bangs are heard and bedsheets puff up as if someone — or something — is crawling into bed with the two of them. Sans special effects, Katie’s eyes appear to jump out of her head at every noise and her sobs are motivated by genuine-sounding guilt in drawing Micah into such serious danger. These two worlds of our reality and the “reality” of the film blend together — which, of course, we all knew was fake. Or did we?
Unlike most modern horror films, which are cringe-worthy at best, “Paranormal Activity” definitely left a permanent mark on its audience. The sobs coming from behind me were no illusion and for some, the experience was too much to handle as they left the theater while clutching their neighbors — even when the movie was over and the lights were on.
As stated previously, the idea behind the film is not original: It began unofficially with “The Blair Witch Project,” and has been copied ever since. However, while “The Blair Witch Project” was a success despite its faltering plotline, “Paranormal Activity” refines the genre with resounding success. Even though most of the audience rejected — or at least doubted — the truth behind “Paranormal Activity,” the terror was still present and genuine.
Unfortunately (and unlike “The Blair Witch Project”) “Paranormal Activity’s” only failure was its ending. Without giving away the end, most “documentaries” aspire to haunt viewers by leaving them wondering if what they saw really did –and could — happen. And as “The Blair Witch Project” demonstrated, this ending doesn’t end the terror, but allows it to continue. In “Paranormal Activity” however, the words on the screen left me, at least, with a feeling of cheapness, since the message was corny, unnecessary and a detriment to the film as a whole. Despite this ending, the film as a whole still succeeds more than “The Blair Witch Project” ever could.
Essentially, “Paranormal Activity” fulfilled its purpose as a film, and specifically as a “documentary.” Sadly, for viewers such as myself who came to see a potentially perfect horror film, it failed to achieve true greatness.
3 1/2 stars out of 5.
