**May Contain Mild Spoilers**
There are theaters all across the country that show midnight screenings of horror classics like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the Evil Dead movies. More times than not, these screenings are sold out to cult fans and their “Oh my god, you haven’t see it yet?” friends. It’s with this cult-building mentality thatParanormal Activity has garnered so much attention.
The Audience Experience
Paranormal Activity should actually be named The Paranormal Experience because it’s not just the film itself that develops the suspense of seeing it. It’s the anticipation in the line for tickets, an hour before the show starts, deciphering whether or not you’re going to chicken out at the front door the way you did when you were four-years-old and your parents took you to Disney World and you waited in line for over an hour to get into the Haunted Mansion. It’s cramming into a tiny theater next to people you don’t know wondering if they’ll think less of you for shrieking like a twelve-year-old girl, even though you (may be) a grown man.
While the film plays, there are simultaneous things happening: you’re watching the film, and you’re watching the audience. It’s really amusing to see 150 people sink into their seats in synchronicity. It’s comforting to share a nervous laugh with 200 people after an intense moment. Paranormal Activity is what going to the movies was made for.
The Film Experience
The film itself is really quite impressive. Forget the fact that it was only made for $15,000, most multi-million dollar films aren’t as successful at achieving what they set out to do.
It starts off rather abruptly without any company logos or credits which may seem like a miniscule thing, but it already throws us off guard not knowing what to expect. Quickly we get to know the main characters through the self-shot documentary style, (that constantly forces this film to be compared to The Blair Witch Project.) Within a few minutes we get to know the two main characters, Micah and his girlfriend Katie, and their problem: something weird is happening in their new home.
In these opening minutes we almost immediately bond to the main characters instinctually. They are both relatively attractive, but real people. Micah is funny, Katie is sensible and grounded (which makes for a wonderful juxtaposition for later in the film.) From the beginning it’s apparent that these are actors, incredibly skilled actors, but actors nonetheless, (thankfully though, as that gives you something to during the terrifying parts.)
The first fifteen minutes are spent providing the audience with very concise information needed for the narrative of the film. Micah has just purchased a new camera in hopes to catch one of these weird events on camera, Katie has been experiencing odd things her entire life in every place she’s lived, and an appointment with a psychic tells us that they aren’t dealing with a ghost, but rather a demonic presence, something that he doesn’t specialize in.
Then, the crux of the film begins. Night #1. Katie agrees to let Micah set up his camera while they sleep, as that’s when the activity is at its peak. There isn’t much captured, but this establishes quite a brilliant shot that the entire film hinges on. A static shot with their bed framed on the right hand side of the screen and an open doorway looking into a darkened hall (with a stairwell,) on the right.
This shot utilizes the potential for numerous examples of simple fears. We clearly see two defenseless people in the most sacred of places, their bed, a place we all look to for comfort and relaxation. Doors are a cornerstone of horror films, as they are visual representations of ‘the unknown’, (what’s behind door #1?) And lastly, where our attention is drawn most for this shot is the darkened hallway, which provides the most possibilities for a threat to intrude, however our view is highly obstructed due to the lack of light. Our eyes play tricks on us.
After the first night, the film really hits a rhythm as it slowly dissolves from scene to scene giving just enough information to plant new seeds in our heads of the potential of this evil threat during the day, and escalating the activity bit by bit at night to slowly build terror. And each time the movie shifts into a sleeping scene, the audience becomes slightly more uncomfortable.
One way it does this is through the power of suggestion. The story that Katie tells at the beginning of the film of what she’s experienced her entire life lays the groundwork. The psychic giving his opinion that it’s not a ghost but a demonic presence adds another layer. A little later in the film, Micah is lying in bed reading a book about demons, and as he flips through the pages it shows numerous pictures of beasts. I’ve never seen an audience react to heavily to pictures in a book. What it was doing was giving us the tools to invent this demon in our heads, as nothing can create something as terrifying to us as our imaginations.
Paranormal Activity really takes its time. By the third night, one would expect something significant to happen, perhaps catching the first glimpse of this creature. Instead, it slowly grows in activity, ranging from footsteps to the door moving on its own, which makes the second half of the film incredibly potent.
Over time we slowly begin to draw conclusions of what is going on. The psychic clearly states at the beginning of the film that the demon feeds on negative energy, and that its desire seems to only be one thing: Katie. As the film wears on, Micah’s obsession with catching something paranormal begins to eat Katie away from the inside out. A wedge begins to show its ugly face, but she allows filming to continue. But when Micah begins to provoke the demon, things become exponentially active.
The thing that makes Paranormal Activity really effective is that it abuses our sense of helplessness, of not having control over a situation. About halfway through the film, there’s a scene in which Katie sleepwalks. She gets out of bed, and stands at the foot of it, sleeping, forhours before leaving the bedroom into the darkness of our worst fears.
Watching Katie and Micah slowly descend into instability is also an unsettling process. You can’t help but sympathize when they begin to grow weary from sleep deprivation. These are good people, and you want the best for them, which makes their breakdown far more terrifying, because that could be you.
The After Effect
The best horror films stay with us afterwards, make us afraid to walk from our car to our homes, make us check behind the doors as we walk into rooms. Paranormal Activity really assaults the senses with its resonance. The two things that the one brilliant shot employs, every bedroom on the face of the planet has: a bed and a doorway. So at night, you’re left with no choice but to conger up the lingering images from the film.
There isn’t a single element of the sleeping process that it doesn’t associate with some sort of fear… having your blankets loosely draped over your bed, your feet lying helplessly at the foot of the bed, seeing things in your doorway, or if your door is shut, noises on the outside of it. If you live on a second floor, it reminds us of a childhood game where one would pretend to hear footsteps on each stair until it reached your doorway. Seeing things at the foot of your bed, sleep walking, nightmares, and, of course, the attic.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that after seeing the film it made me hyperaware of my surroundings at night… and I may or may not have slept with the lights on for a night or two. It’s really a perfectly constructed horror film.
Longevity
The one downfall this film may encounter is lack of longevity. It’s really hard to tell whether or not this will be just as fun watching it on your couch or if the audience experience is something necessary.
After you know the end, it might prove to be less scary, but enduring their descent seems like a journey that can’t not be affecting. And reliving the images in the film seems as though it would reactivate any fears you might’ve suppressed from previous viewings. So it’s difficult to determine the shelf-life of Paranormal Activity.
Though that point is probably moot as this film is sure to accumulate a massive cult following which will surely create sold out midnight screenings until the end of time.
Articles | this guy over here March 9, 2010 | 
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