Paranormal Activity

Year: 2007

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Peli

Review

the obvious comparison here is the blair witch project. stylistically and story arc-wise they’re a good match, the guerilla marketing is also similar. blair witch, i think was better overall, but this one its equal in many ways. the acting is excellent and the tone and pitch of the story is just right. the effects are subtle and enhance the real feeling of the film. blair witch didn’t have effects, but with computers and software being what it is, i supposed you can do some good stuff these days on a shoestring. it’s getting a lot of hype which can be a dangerous thing. blair witch sort of suffered after the hype that made it $100 million. hipsters thought the marketing was manipulative and that the whole experience was overrated, so that’s something that may happen here as well. dampen your expectations a bit and just go to get scared. don’t expect to see “the best horror film of the decade” or any of the other superlatives that are being thrown around.

Watched in theater