I recently saw Paranormal Activity, the Oren Peli film about a young, middle class couple who begin experiencing strange activities in their house after moving in together, and I have to say that the hype, at least for me, is to be believed. I learned about the film through the forums I visit regularly, and I didn’t know what to expect going in. I’m not a fan of most horror, because what is meant to “scare” you comes off as pretty silly. I did like the Blair Witch Project, because it was something very different for its time, and because the lead up to its release was shrouded in complete secrecy (on my part). Paranormal Activity seemed as if it would fill the void in my horror calendar.

After watching the trailer, I knew I had to see it. It hit all the major points I look for in a horror movie -- Is there no safety net? Check. It seems as if it could actually happen to you? Check. Origins and resolutions aren’t explained away? Check. Unfortunately, the movie was only playing in two select cities at the time, and had yet to become the full blown hype explosion it later would.

Fast forward a few months, and that explosion happened. I’m not one to ride the hype train, nor deride it, but I wanted to be part of this. Sure, there have been other “shaky cam” style films, such as [REC], Blair Witch, and even, dare I say, Cloverfield, but there was one thing each of those lacked: you had to “be there” for them to actually happen.  Blair Witch was solved by not going camping, [REC] was solved by not being a reporter  tagging along with fire fighters, and Cloverfield was solved by not being anywhere near gigantic Godzilla type monsters. Paranormal Activity happens inside of a house, at night, when the world is asleep and you’re supposed to be safe. That is what makes it so scary. I didn’t get a chance to see it until this weekend... and now I find it hard to sleep.

When it comes to horror, I’m picky because I feel as if the genre focuses too much on the gore “scare” and not enough on the psychological. It’s the mind games that interest me, those things that you can’t see, that are all in your head. We all have our ideas of ghosts, demons, angels, and the like, and they’ve been represented quite well, but what happens when there is only a hint of what it could be? A shadow on the wall; heavy footsteps; swinging doors? What happens when the unseen can affect the physical and it’s all captured on film? This is what drew me to Paranormal Activity. Cheap scares feel cheap, flimsy, fake. Cheap scares don’t make me wake up in cold sweats two hours after falling asleep because something in a dream reminded me of a film.

However, I do want to take a step back and look at what ultimately made me want to finish watching the movie, besides the camerawork and the use of audio: the characters. I found myself identifying with Micah, the lead male. Like any male, if something is threatening my household, be it ghost, demon, or man, I’ll rise to protect it. But I also found myself identifying with Katie If, after learning the truth of what is haunting me, I was told not to anger it, I would do everything in my power to keep it from growing stronger. In fact, despite my own inclination to involve as few people as possible and wanting to do my own “research,” I would immediately consult professionals who worked with these kinds of hauntings the moment the entity showed any signs of growing stronger.

And the entity did become stronger, notable by the sounds it made throughout the film. There’s something very removed about audio tracks in most horror films. There may be heavy footsteps, but they are mixed  according to the position of the characters, and not the position of the camera. A few quick cuts, and suddenly those heavy footfalls, which are supposed to be foreboding, seem wasted. There is one camera and one microphone in Paranormal Activity. You hear what it hears, and during the night, the audio is an actor all its own. Once the silence sets in, those heavy foot falls coming down the hallway, the slamming doors, and the bang of the chandelier reverberate in a way that feels so visceral that you half expect to hear them in your own house when you return. I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it as I type.

From what I’ve read, there were several endings to the film, which have been screened while the film was on the festival circuit for the last few years. I do feel that the theatrical wide release version was the weakest (I haven’t seen the others, but I’ve read what they involve, and they seem more like what should have happened), but it still frightened me. It’s the not knowing, just like Blair Witch, and every other movie in this documentary style that scares me the most. When it comes to horror, that’s what I desire, and films like this are what give me hope.

Would I recommend Paranormal Activity? Certainly. But will you like it? Well, it depends on whether you liked Blair Witch, whether you are into gore, and whether you loved watching Unsolved Mysteries back in the day. If anything, it’s worth seeing, if only to have more films like this and less of SAW and Hostel style torture porn. Heavens knows we don’t need anymore of those.