As I'm certain I stated in my review of The Rite, I have a thing for scary movies. I like the adrenaline rush that such controlled fear gives me, so naturally, I had to add Paranormal Activity to the list of scary mess-with-your-head movies that I ought to see.
I'd been told by a few people that Paranormal Activity is good at inducing fear. However, I had been told by my neighbour that it really wasn't that frightening. With that statement, I have to agree. Now, I had been warned that the film is a bit slow to start. Okay, fine, that's acceptable, but the entire movie shouldn't be slow going. In all honesty, I was getting bored. Dude runs around with his camera, girl freaks out, dude does something to piss off girl, creepy things happen at night. Rinse and repeat.
Certainly, everything escalating could be considered terrifying, but the escalation made absolutely no sense to me. Then again, I know next to nothing about haunted stuff, demonic beings, and people who are possibly possessed. But then, my idea of a demon likely differs from what most people envision. Now, I can honestly say that the original ending did cause me to jump a bit, so I give the film fear credit for that. I'm also glad that they refrained from using the alternate ending, because it was just gross. Not fear inducing, vomit worthy.
Of course, I realize that people are probably going to say, "but what about things that go bump in the night?" Yeah, that might happen, but I don't notice. When my door opens and closes by itself, it's because it's spring and summer, and we have all the windows wide open, with the resulting cross breezes doing things that look like scenes from the film. As well, houses that are built well will also adjust themselves with the weather. Seems strange, I know, but those bumps are likely just the house adjusting itself, expanding and compressing again. And another thing, from when we built our house about 20 years ago. When the digging was being done for the foundation for this house, a foundation from another one from god knows when was found. Has anything paranormal occurred as a result? Nope. Or maybe I'm just oblivious, or don't really shivagit at the moment. So I guess I really don't anything with regards to personal experience that I can compare with the film.
I was also left wondering if the escalation in the movie would happen in real life, provided that you think such things are real. I guess I'm more skeptic than believer, which is probably another reason why I was sitting there on the couch thinking to myself, "really? Really? Would that really happen?"
Paranormal Activity wasn't hideous, but when it comes to the scariest damn movies I've ever seen, it wouldn't come any place near the top of my list. For that, I'd suggest any movie that has Jack Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins, Vincent Price, or Angus Scrimm.
I have Paranormal Activity 2 on order from the library. Hopefully, it won't bore me as much as the first one, and have a stronger fear factor, especially since I watch these types of movies at night after my mum has gone to bed. Then I'll finally be able to watch the third installment.
If you scare easily, you'll have no problem feeling frightened by Paranormal Activity. If you're looking for a greater fear-induced rush, this movie won't do much. It has its moments, but I doubt you'll be left feeling paranoid in your own house.
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