I posted this quick review of Paranormal Activity on another website but decided to post it here as well to increase my content and to draw multitudes of readers to my blog. That's my intent. Readership. Numbers. Vagina.
I finally watched Paranormal Activity. It was pretty bad. It was probably designed to work best in a theatre full of god-fearing teens. I watched it at home which is good because it only cost me $1 to rent from the Redbox. Sure, I lost out on the screaming, jumping, throbbing mass of assholes by not going to the theatre, but that's a good thing.
A couple parts made me think that it could be scary, but the terrible acting and horrible dialogue were so distracting that the tension couldn't hold up. The arguments between the couple on whether or not to keep the camera rolling were shallow and illogical. I wasn't buying any of their reasoning. The boyfriend doesn't believe in psychics but he thinks he can contact the dead using magic Ouija board techniques? Super. I think the movie would have been much more effective if the filmmakers pursued the possibility that the female protagonist (can't remember her name) was suffering from mental illness rather than some invisible "demon". That would allow those of us that don't believe in all the supernatural nonsense to still enjoy the film on a somewhat rational level. And they could leave out the part about the demon leaving its hoofprints in baby powder.
As it stands, I hope this trend of single-camera, found-footage filmmaking is finished. Blair Witch was innovative, Cloverfield was unique (and nauseating), and Rec (and it's remake, Quarantine) was intense. But that's enough. I want to feel like I'm watching a regular movie again, not someone's crappy wedding video gone awry.
