Paranormal Activity (2009) Review

"I feel it breathing on me."

-Katie 

Ever since she was a kid, Katie (Katie Featherston) has been followed by an evil presence.  Now grown up and living with her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat), the evil presence has returned stronger than ever.  Micah decides to buy a camera to try and catch the strange phenomenon on film, but that only seems to make the presence angrier...

What Works:

For such a low budget film, Paranormal Activity is actually really creepy and takes the "less-is-more" mentality seriously.  The brilliant aspect of the film is the continuous use of one particular shot.  The movie grooms us into being afraid of the famous bedroom shot.  Just looking at is enough to make you feel uneasy.  It's some effective filmmaking, that's for sure.

They also manage to pull off some really scary moments with a minuscule budget.  The footprints, the shadow, Katie being dragged down the hall, doors slamming, and strange noises.  It all works well and I'm still amazed with how they were able to pull some of this off.

While I have problems with the characters of the film, the acting is solid.  Both Sloat and Featherston are very believable with the material they are given.  They feel like real people even if they aren't very likable.

Finally, the 3rd act of the film is genuinely terrifying.  Watching a possessed Katie stare at Micah before going downstairs is creepy enough, but her screams from the darkness are haunting.  I love how the suspense builds as we hear something coming up the stairs.  The film pulls us in and makes us want more, but it keeps us with the camera allowing our imaginations to run wild.  It's a very effective way to end the movie.

What Sucks:

As I mentioned earlier, the characters are the biggest problem with the movie,  Micah is just the worst.  He's disrespectful to Katie and is generally an idiot.  I get why he gets the camera and acts skeptical in the early parts of the movie.  I would probably do the same thing in his situation, but as the story gets more dire, his pride gets old fast.  He's such an unlikable character that it's impossible to root for him.

Katie isn't much better, but at least you can feel some sympathy for her.  She is far too passive and let's Micah make all of the decisions for most of the film.  She knows better and says so, but does nothing about.  Inaction can be just as frustrating to watch as bad action.  It's easy to feel bad for her, but it's hard to root for her.

Finally, there are some many possibilities to defeat this demon that Micah and Katie don't even attempt.  There is probably more than one demonologist out there.  Do a little research and find out!  Have friends stay with you!  Do something different.  I think it's just some poor writing.  If your audience is thinking of solutions that your characters aren't, you should probably rewrite your script.

Verdict:

Paranormal Activity is a creepy film with effective use of dread, some solid low-budget craft, and good acting.  The only thing holding it back is the characters who simply aren't likable.  Apart from that, this movie has still got it going on.

 7/10: Good