Paranormal Activity
Just a few days until expletivedleted launches. I spent some time yesterday working on formatting that and the Twitter account Im kinda at a loss about what to do for userpics, so if any of ya'll have any ideas, please send them my way. To the review!
I dont scare easily. Thats prolly because I was sheltered from seeing anything remotely creepy or scary until I was more than old enough to handle it. Not that stuff didnt scare me when I was little. The first trip to the movies I ever remember, I had to be pulled out the theater crying. The movie was Land Before Time. I also remember a Sunday at children's church where they had a skit where the Christian soldier was fighting a demon, and I was scared so shitless I was shaking. Since then, I've always had a very active imagination juxtaposed with a very good grasp of reality. Yes, I get the occasional heebie jeebies over something stupid, which I usually manage to dismiss pretty quickly. But to date (at least as far as I can think of) Saw is the only movie that's ever given me nightmares, and that was six months after I'd seen it. And I've been known to fall asleep watching things like Scream, Full Metal Jacket, and Requiem for a Dream. Destiantion sorta creeped me out a bit, but it was more because of the concept than anything else. You can run away and hide from Freddy and Jason, not so much from death itself.
Now that you have that bit of background, you'll know Im legit when I say that Paranormal Activity is pretty \m/ creepy. I wont go so far as to say it was bloodcurdling scary or terrifying, like a lot of the buzz is suggesting, but it was shuddersome enough that I think Im gonna go to sleep watching Aladdin tonight, and Im def gonna keep my ipod playing all night (which is a usual thing for me anyway).
What made the movie is that writer/director Oren Peli has a DAMN GOOD sense of suspense. The movie was so simple, but incredibly effective. Its proof that you dont need a big budget and insane computer effects to scare the pants off an audience. Yes, it did seem a bit like the movie dragged, but that just added to the effect. You knew something had to happen, and you're just waiting on the edge of your seat for it. The minimal cast and set made the movie feel intimate and personal. A lot of scenes were in total silence. All you could hear was your heart pounding in your ears as your eyes were glued to the screen. And then there'd be quiet whispers surrounding you in the audience, which created more goosebumps.
I'll also admit that the hype added to the vibe. The trailer I saw was (haha palindrome) half comprised of audience reaction shots. Combine that with the tagline "Dont See It Alone" and the quotes saying it was one of the scariest movies ever, and you've got a mild case of the creeps without even setting foot in the theater. And then when I did walk in, the lights were all out, even though I was 10 min early. Im guessing that was intentional, in which case, extra points to them.
Side note: If you take nothing else away from this movie, there's one important lesson. When you're planning to move in with someone, "Have you been haunted by a demon your whole life?" should be on the list of questions you ask. In between "Are you a heavy sleeper" and "Do you shower in the morning or evening". Just keep that in mind next time you post for a roomie on Craigslist or consider co-habiting with your sweetie. Moving on.
I feel I have to make the obligatory comparison to Blair Witch Project, which is somewhere pretty much every reviewer has gone. I've got mixed feelings toward BWP. I was mostly bored when I saw it a couple years ago. I didnt think it was that scary, and I just couldnt get into it. However, I do believe it was a cinematical breakthrough. While the basic scare tactics didnt work on me, I know they worked on a good percentage of the rest of the audience. And the mosty improv-ed documentary style filming was really good, even if the shakey cameras were known to have induced car sickness. In my opinion, Paranormal Activities borrowed the elements that worked from Blair Witch and took them one step further. They left the camera stationary for half the film. The scares started off pretty subtle and never went too extreme. Lots of stuff was done off camera, leaving you to react with the cast and/or let your imagination run wild. I dont know how scripted the dialogue was, but it felt very real.
If you're in the mood for some good scares this Halloween season, you should definitely check this out. Alrighty then, time for me to go watch Aladdin...
I dont scare easily. Thats prolly because I was sheltered from seeing anything remotely creepy or scary until I was more than old enough to handle it. Not that stuff didnt scare me when I was little. The first trip to the movies I ever remember, I had to be pulled out the theater crying. The movie was Land Before Time. I also remember a Sunday at children's church where they had a skit where the Christian soldier was fighting a demon, and I was scared so shitless I was shaking. Since then, I've always had a very active imagination juxtaposed with a very good grasp of reality. Yes, I get the occasional heebie jeebies over something stupid, which I usually manage to dismiss pretty quickly. But to date (at least as far as I can think of) Saw is the only movie that's ever given me nightmares, and that was six months after I'd seen it. And I've been known to fall asleep watching things like Scream, Full Metal Jacket, and Requiem for a Dream. Destiantion sorta creeped me out a bit, but it was more because of the concept than anything else. You can run away and hide from Freddy and Jason, not so much from death itself.
Now that you have that bit of background, you'll know Im legit when I say that Paranormal Activity is pretty \m/ creepy. I wont go so far as to say it was bloodcurdling scary or terrifying, like a lot of the buzz is suggesting, but it was shuddersome enough that I think Im gonna go to sleep watching Aladdin tonight, and Im def gonna keep my ipod playing all night (which is a usual thing for me anyway).
What made the movie is that writer/director Oren Peli has a DAMN GOOD sense of suspense. The movie was so simple, but incredibly effective. Its proof that you dont need a big budget and insane computer effects to scare the pants off an audience. Yes, it did seem a bit like the movie dragged, but that just added to the effect. You knew something had to happen, and you're just waiting on the edge of your seat for it. The minimal cast and set made the movie feel intimate and personal. A lot of scenes were in total silence. All you could hear was your heart pounding in your ears as your eyes were glued to the screen. And then there'd be quiet whispers surrounding you in the audience, which created more goosebumps.
I'll also admit that the hype added to the vibe. The trailer I saw was (haha palindrome) half comprised of audience reaction shots. Combine that with the tagline "Dont See It Alone" and the quotes saying it was one of the scariest movies ever, and you've got a mild case of the creeps without even setting foot in the theater. And then when I did walk in, the lights were all out, even though I was 10 min early. Im guessing that was intentional, in which case, extra points to them.
Side note: If you take nothing else away from this movie, there's one important lesson. When you're planning to move in with someone, "Have you been haunted by a demon your whole life?" should be on the list of questions you ask. In between "Are you a heavy sleeper" and "Do you shower in the morning or evening". Just keep that in mind next time you post for a roomie on Craigslist or consider co-habiting with your sweetie. Moving on.
I feel I have to make the obligatory comparison to Blair Witch Project, which is somewhere pretty much every reviewer has gone. I've got mixed feelings toward BWP. I was mostly bored when I saw it a couple years ago. I didnt think it was that scary, and I just couldnt get into it. However, I do believe it was a cinematical breakthrough. While the basic scare tactics didnt work on me, I know they worked on a good percentage of the rest of the audience. And the mosty improv-ed documentary style filming was really good, even if the shakey cameras were known to have induced car sickness. In my opinion, Paranormal Activities borrowed the elements that worked from Blair Witch and took them one step further. They left the camera stationary for half the film. The scares started off pretty subtle and never went too extreme. Lots of stuff was done off camera, leaving you to react with the cast and/or let your imagination run wild. I dont know how scripted the dialogue was, but it felt very real.
If you're in the mood for some good scares this Halloween season, you should definitely check this out. Alrighty then, time for me to go watch Aladdin...