Paranormal Activity: Movie Review Redux
Although we already posted a review of Paranormal Activity here on ScreenCrave, we were invited to a later viewing and decided to give it another shot. This movie has been getting rave reviews by many critics, but does it really live up to all the hype? We obviously didn’t share the same opinions as our first reviewer, so we’re doing a redux on this one!
Check out our new review…
The Players
- Written, directed, and edited by: Oren Peli
- Producers: Oren Peli and Jason Blum
- Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong and Ashley Palmer.
The Plot
The film centers on a young couple, Katie Featherson and Micah Sloat, as they attempt to uncover the origin of the strange noises and movements within their house. Micah decides to invest in a camera to film their bedroom with the hope of capturing any night time activity that occurs while they asleep. The experiment not only proves that there’s paranormal activity in the house, but the revelation angers the haunting demon which raises the intensity of the disturbances to a whole other level.
The Good
- It Was Honestly Scary: This movie was scary as sh*t! The night scenes were incredibly creepy and it only got worse as the movie progressed. There are definitely a few scenes where you will scream, become fidgety, and extremely anxious for it to be over. Everybody in the theater was absolutely terrified, even the manliest of men screamed like little girls in this movie. Just a warning: You will leave the theater with a strange, upset, and uncomfortable feeling.
- A Few Funny Moments: Thank goodness there were a few humorous moments to break the ice, otherwise the whole thing would have been way too awkward. The humor was just enough to lower your pounding heart rate and allowed you to catch your breath for a few minutes until the next night scene.
- The Run Time: I agree with the other reviewer on this one, except it wasn’t because the movie was bad. Instead, it was because the tension was far too much to handle. It would have been really hard to get through this movie if it had been any longer.
The Bad
- The Dumb Moments: There were a few scenes where they were obviously trying to explain what was going on, but it felt forced and dumbed down. They could have been a little more creative in explaining the fact that there was a demon in the house and how dangerous it was. The movie tries to portray this as an actual event, but there isn’t one person that would whip out a picture book on demons to figure out what’s going on in their house. That was a beyond unrealistic.
- The Boyfriend: Although the boyfriend did lend a few funny moments to the movie, his exaggerated machismo got a little annoying towards the end. It seemed like he had his head up his you-know-what and was trying to prove something. He went from being a fairly likable character, to downright irritating.
- The Ending: Yes, the final scene was scary but it seemed as though they ran out of ideas and started scraping the bottom of the barrel. It’s really lackluster and could have ended on a stronger note. I don’t want to give the final scene away, but there was one aspect of it that could have been utilized far more effectively had it been presented at another point in the film.
Overall
This movie did what it set out to do and did it well. It’s genuinely creepy and scary. You don’t see many horror films these days that don’t rely on gore or violence to scare their audience. One girl ran, actually bolted out of the theater because she was so terrified. Paranormal Activity is supposed to be scary and entertaining, and it did that a hell of a lot better than a lot of big budget movies we see today.
Rating:
Scariness – 10/10
Overall – 6/10
Paranormal Activity is in a limited amount of theaters. Go to www.eventful.com/ParanormalActivity and Demand It to be in your town.
Further Reading:
- Paranormal Movie Review – A different perspective
- New Paranormal Activity Trailer
- Celebs Tweet About Paranormal Activity
Watch the trailer…
Thursday, October 15, 2009 9:11PM
[...] See the article here: Paranormal Activity: Movie Review Redux (ScreenCrave) [...]
Friday, October 16, 2009 10:20AM
[...] reviews of the ‘Blair Witch Project-style’ movie come to us from ScreenCrave, SeattlePi and The Vancouver Sun, who have each given us their take on the [...]
Friday, October 16, 2009 3:02PM
[...] out our Paranormal Activity Review, and our Review Redux two very different interpretations of this terrifying [...]
Friday, October 16, 2009 10:15PM
Great story. Rip Mich. This can even happen to even you. Be strong and don't invite anything negative in your heart and mind. Always stay strong!
Saturday, October 17, 2009 11:05PM
If you want to see a good movie DON'T see this one.I had free passes to this movie and that was TOO much to pay to see this CRAP!!!!!! Not only did it suck it sucked outloud.I don't know what made me more sick the shaking camera or the movie itself.I was soooo glad when it was over.
Sunday, October 18, 2009 6:32AM
I HOPE YOU KNOW THE MOVIE WASN'T REAL. BOTH COUPLES ARE ACTORS THAT LIVE IN LOS ANGELES…..
Sunday, October 18, 2009 6:48PM
This was the worst movie i have ever seen. I want two hours of my life back. 1 semi-scary moment in 94 minutes of viewing. I cannot believe the hype surrounding this movie, it is filmed very much like The Blair witch project, with amateur camerawork
Sunday, October 18, 2009 7:11PM
this was stupid
Sunday, October 18, 2009 8:58PM
I have to agree. It was downright scary, but familiar. I did enjoy the male lead, and the ending left me a little dumb-founded. I was impressed, i set out to see this movie with a fairly cinical mind set. I thought that since i already knew that it didn't really happen, that it couldn't scare me. But alas, i was cringing at most sceens. I was also a fan of the comic relief, although i usually hate that. I'd give the movie an 8/10. Probably the scariest movie i've seen in a long time.
Sunday, October 18, 2009 11:53PM
the worst movie ever. i cant believe the big liars who call it " Scariest movie" … dumb and stupid is the only description for this one.
waste of time – refund!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009 8:15PM
this movie sucks i cant believe i pay $ 22,00 to watch this crap…the movie sucks ohhh if you hear something walking around your house turn the damn lights on …stupid =)~
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:30PM
This movie was an insult to my intelligence. It should be call "Paracrap stupidity". We left the movie theater, but we got credit for the movie. We paid $10.50 for special cinema. This movie is totally garbage. Excuse me, this is not a movie, this is just two morons talking bs in a homemade movie. A very ridiculous documentary full of bs. I could do better than these so called film makers. What a joke!!!.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7:02AM
I want my money and time back..shame on me for falling for the hype. in a word SNORE.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 11:25AM
[...] Paranormal Review Redux [...]
Saturday, October 24, 2009 5:19PM
does anyone know where i can find the last scene of the movie when they both go downstairs
Saturday, October 24, 2009 7:46PM
I saw the movie today and just like what the majority have already said…"overrated" and down right boring with a few "spooky" scenes. Word of advice, don't waste your money on this movie.
Sunday, October 25, 2009 6:26AM
This movie is the worst movie ever and anyone who thinks this movie was good, don't know sh8t about horror movies, scary is not suspens, u know what is scary people who thinks this movie is good, god u people overate whatever crap comes to ur watch. I Blame the reviewers, i blame those who brought this movie at theaters cause it was only in 10 states and i know why other states didn't want to put up with this crap, this movie is by far the worst i send an apologie to JigSaW for chosing Paranormal Craptivity over Saw6 and a warmly F*uck u to all who made this movies exist. I just got raped by this movie. I leave my email here if u are agree with me mr.svr07@hotmail.com and thanks.
Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:18PM
This is such a shitload of crap…..the only non-nude scary movie I have seen in years is "The Haunting in COnnecticut"..It sure has a lot of moments…but this—-is the shittiest movie I have ever seen…"Drag me to hell" was pretty cool too…Shame on me for falling for the hype and those shit critics who gave such rave reviews..and shame on you too, if the same happened to you..anyways, lesson learned………This one totally sucked ass…..A message to the actors and directors "FUCK YOU, YOU SICK PIGS, WHEN I AM ON MY DEATHBED, I WOULD DEFINITELY BE DYING FOR THE TWO HOURS OF MY TIME YOU TOOK….PIGS"
Monday, October 26, 2009 7:09PM
The was the worst movie ever? Scary? You have to be kidding me,don't waste your time or money.
Monday, October 26, 2009 11:44PM
this was the most stupid movie, i ever seen, especially when it comes to the scene, i could've done a better job than just filming my room, especially the boyfriend was very annoying and stupid. what a waste of time, do not SEE THIS MOVIE BECAUSE YOU WILL REGRET.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 6:22AM
We walked out because I was falling asleep, this is the worse movie ever
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:32AM
I can’t belive that I filled for this shitty movie.
. This is crap how media can influence all. YOU KNOW WHAT,,,,, WE SHOULD SUE THOSE PPL x-(
ACTORS suckkkkk
I wished I wasted my time in porno better that this shit. At least at the end of the prono I would feel like I did something not good but now after this shit I’m feeless. Damn it and what would shock all of us is that their total gross %61.5 MM which is more than Bride wars, The Haunting in Conn. and so many films
Thursday, October 29, 2009 12:09AM
I saw it, and demanded my money back. Its nothing scary, nothing new. The camera shakes and the only scary thing about the movie, was the bad acting. Folks who are get scared of this movie are tween. What a joke.
Friday, October 30, 2009 11:17AM
I really can't believe people found this movie scary. The only thing frightening is how guilable I was to fall for all the hype about it! I spent the entire time watching the film and waiting for something to happen. What a crock of S**t!
Saturday, October 31, 2009 4:15PM
i will give it a 2 out of ten. for me, no scare, no tension and no surprises. i would say it was a very good idea/concept, but poorly executed. i would not tell any of my friends to see this film.
Sunday, November 1, 2009 6:08AM
I loved the movie. I love how most of the people knocking the movie are also the ones that hate Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Quarantine, or any other movie using this approach. And then to mention things like the normal super special effects films as being the best ever… Let me say, the Unborn was a horrible movie. I feel bad for those thinking movies like it were awesome and that this was horrible. The thing that scares you about this movie is the psychological aspect of it. It sets you up to feel like you are in this with them, and every scene had me looking through the doors or into the dark areas for what might happen.
Unfortunately, I really wish they would have used the original or even the other alternate ending instead of the one they chose, but it still caused the entire theater to scream when it happened. Definitely see this in a packed theater with good sound.
Monday, November 2, 2009 12:13AM
I just saw it too, total piece of garbage. They stole the idea from Blair Witch and tried to cash in on it. The acting was horrible, the dialogue even worse and the plot was ridiculous. What a waste of money, I can't believe Rotten Tomatoes has it rated as 86% it should be more like 2%. I could have made this movie for way less then the $11,000 budget they had, it's basically 3 actors a camera and a house. Total joke, an insult to REAL writer/directors out there. And for the record I LOVED Blair Witch but that's because it was original and it didn't just steal it's concept from another movie. People were laughing during the movie and a few people even walked out. A bunch of people were making fun of it on the way out of the theatre and complaining they'd wasted their money.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 9:13PM
This movie scared the crap out of me, hardly slept the first night but was fine after that. I rarely watch horror movies as I am easily freaked out. Unfortunately I could only watch about 50% of the movie because I was nauseated by the camera work (Cloverfield all over again). I was amazed when I looked around and realized that I was probably the only person having such a hard time watching without getting sick. I must have a very weak stomach.
Thursday, November 5, 2009 12:05PM
This movie was a complete aste of time and money!!!!!!!!!!! It was boring right up til the end! My 10 yr old daughter even said it was a very BORING movie and we should have gone to see Saw 6 instead. DONT WASTE 95 minutes of YOUR LIFE ON PARANORMAL ACTIVITY…………….It's SOOOOOOOO Not WORTH IT!!!!!!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009 6:44PM
[...] Paranormal Activity Review Redux [...]
Friday, November 6, 2009 6:58AM
OMG I FEEL CHEATED!! I lost 24 bucks and 96 minutes of my life on that lousy movie! I have had bigger scares from Ghost hunters..Sheesh..PARANORMAL ACTIVITY SUCKS ASS!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009 7:30PM
The movie was disappointing Why is the demon so petty? It’s like it’s screwin’ with their heads just for laughs. Just to get a kick out of it.
It’s a never ending game of chicanery being perpetrated by Micah and the demon in trying to outdo one another. The movie had 2-3 scary parts. BUT THAT’S IT!
No movie can claim to be “one of the scariest movies of all time” when they defy logic and insult the audience’s intelligence. All the stereotypes the average horror movie is accused of harbouring are on full display in this movie.
Guy suddenly wanting to explore an unnatural/demonic entity against his better judgment – Check
Exploring the interiors of the secluded portions of your own house WITH THE LIGHTS TURNED OFF – Check
Refusal to move out despite being scared for like 20 nights in a row or something (?)- Check
Other anomalies from the movie
*The night Katie wakes up and walks down to the porch and sits on the swing. Micah finds her outside sitting in freezing weather with just the nightwear on. He brings her back to the room and she goes to sleep.*
Issues:
Next day when she sees the video she is only mildly concerned that she was obviously possessed for a couple of hours. (Oh no big deal I guess)She says that she didn’t remember any of it and only remembers standing at the entrance of her door with Micah going hysterical.
The problems with this part?
Firstly, she should have screamed the night before when she was brought back into the room. Why? Well, if you wake up in the middle of the night standing at your door entrance in a house where the presence of a demon has been successfully detected, and on top of it you have your boyfriend screaming at you… I don’t know about you, but any sane person would be freaked out.
Another thing wrong with this part. The girl is possessed for a couple of hours during this night. For all purposes, the demon has achieved its objective (since that’s what it does in the end and the fact that the movie didn’t end right here shows that he had a dick measuring contest with Micah all along) and YET, in this scene the demon leaves her after that only to (DO NOT READ THIS – SPOILER) inhabit her again and kill Micah.
Other retarded things with the movie:
RIGHT after they find the demon’s footprints, they are calmly searching through the paraphernalia of random shit in their house when they know that the DEMON is in the other room.
They NEVER call the cops. Not even when they are assaulted. They don’t approach them with the video tape. (And for those who say that screening the video tape would have made the demon more angry, what do you think the demon’s state of mind was all this while?)
They never call their friends to stay with them (any sane person would do that as well and invite a lot of his/her friends to stay the night over). And they don’t seem to have more than 1 friend. They also don’t seem to counsel any close friends/relatives as one would do when confronted with paranormal crap of this type. Not even till the end when they are assaulted do they bother to contact anyone else.
Lastly, while not a criticism, one of the funny things about the movie was the demon’s giant ass feet. Was it in the WNBA or something?
This movie only got the reception it did because people wanted to see how a movie made on a budget of 15k can gross even couple of millions and be green-lighted by a veteran like Spielberg. Apparently, he got locked in his room right after he watched this movie. Hence the release on the big screen.
I’d say that even after all this, one should watch the movie, if only to enjoy the parodies made afterwards.
Look. It’s not hard to scare someone. You can be a in a dark room and have someone jump you without warning. That’s scary? No. What’s the point? This movie had GENERALLY a good plot which it screwed by comitting the mistakes I have listed above. Leaving the camera in the same position and foreshadowing something bad by turning up the bass and then have random things like doors being slammed is a shock tactic. Genuinely scary?GTFOH
Friday, November 13, 2009 7:52AM
he’s right. He’s said everything that needs to be said about this movie. I was so angry by the end of it that I was speechless. Do not listen to any fake positive reviews of this movie by celebrities or otherwise. Whoever, claims this movie was good, has been paid or is playing a horrible joke on the general public
Sunday, January 3, 2010 4:44AM
wow all of you idiots should get a life… don't blame critics or anyone else because you were too moronic to decide for yourself if you should see it or not… lamers…The actors didn't force you to go see it, the critics didn't twist your arm. Accept the blame yourself morons!
Monday, January 18, 2010 9:22AM
This is a shity punk ass movie. wasted my $1 dollar at redbox…