*** Official PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Review Thread

I saw it this past Friday after having followed it since well before the hype. The backlash that comes with hyped movies is practically inevitable, but I've never let it bother me. I still consider Blair Witch one of the best horror films I've seen due to it's effect on me, and no amount of bashing will convince me otherwise. For me personally, it is one of the rare films that actually lived up to all of it's hype, and frankly, so is this one. Anyway, my review that I posted elsewhere:
 

Okay, I was at the Dallas screening this morning. It was a real pain in the ass having to drive up to Dallas at midnight, but at least I can say it was worth the effort. For a film I've been following for close to two years, it lived up to all the hype I'd built up in my head. Not an easy task. It is exactly what I've been looking for this past decade. Ten years ago, The Blair Witch Project managed to scare me like no film before it. Since then, I've been waiting for another film to make me feel that way again, and Paranormal Activity is a case of better late than never.
 
Despite some light-hearted, occasionally comedic banter in the early half of the film, the feeling of dread and unease is present from the very first frame. It only worsens as the film goes on, the night scenes pushing the tension to the highest levels. The acting is strong, especially on the part of Katie Featherston, who is actually from my home away from home, Arlington, TX. The most unnerving part for me was when 

Warning Spoiler! Click to show That really got to me, though it's just one of many chilling moments present here. As for the ending, it worked for the most part, though I feel that the original ending WOULD have been stronger and a more appropriate fit. For those who don't know, Paramount had them change the ending. There were actually three different ones, but the original is the one I feel would have ended things on the best possible note.

It is definitely a case of less is more, which is usually the type of horror that I find most effective on a strictly frightening level. The theater was packed, and yet I haven't felt this creeped out while watching a film in years. That feeling also stayed with me long after the screening had ended. As a hardened horror fan, it is incredibly refreshing to find that a film still has the power to scare me. It doesn't happen often. In fact, it is exceedingly rare, but this one got the job done. I will need to let it sink in for a while, but this is potentially going to be horror film of the decade for me when all is said and done.

This movie got under my skin. It builds te dread and does not let up. This is a wonderful accomplishment (I am also a fan of TBWP).

Those other endings are quite intriguing, but I think I like the one they used the best, storywise.

Really liked the film. Genuinely creepy, I thought. For those who have seen it, a question: Any theories on what was


Warning Spoiler! Click to show

I liked this. Recommended.

A great horror film and one that I highly recommend to others for a viewing.  Just goes to show you that filmmakers don't need a big budget to make an entertaining and well made film.





Crawdaddy

I didn't go out of my way to find out much about this film, so I was pretty much spoiler-free going in, and overall, it was a good time with some eerie and eye-raising footage of a couple trying to capture paranormal activity in their house with a video camera.

Give into the hype, if you enjoy the paranormal/horror genre, this won't disappoint.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.

I vowed that I was not going to miss this in theaters and so I made a rare trip to the theater on a weeknight to see it...it was a good move on my part.

Wow, this film proves that smaller, low-budgeted films are often vastly superior to huge budgeted, CGI-laden horror that floods the theaters now. The ultimate testament to this, and one that I was so glad to see, was that this little indie film managed to steal the Halloween candy right out of the mouth of past Halloween champ Saw VI.

There's something poetic there.

This film made me feel like a child all over again, afraid of the creaks and cracks that my room used to make, afraid to hang my foot over the side of the bed in fears that something would grab it, afraid of those weird shadows on the walls...i'm glad i'm no longer a kid, this film would have fucked me up for months lol.

I'm a big fan of first perspective "found footage" films and this is one more example of how effective they can be, for this point in time and in this state of horror filmmaking, Paranormal Activity is the breath of fresh air I needed.

Loved this.  Easily the scariest US flick in the last 5 years.  Eerie, chilling and hit all the marks for me.  I bought in hook, line & sinker.    

****/****

I finally saw this yesterday. Absolutely brilliant and genuinely unnerving. I thought it was better than Blair Witch, if only because the acting was much better. The sound designer(s) deserve an Oscar nomination.