Cross-Posted from a comment I left over at Ideology of Madness.
Paul reviewed the movie Paranormal Activity. I disagreed. I commented. I now cross-post.
Paranormal Activity was easily the worst horror movie I’ve ever seen. There was zero suspense, failed to do anything new or interesting, was exceptionally slow, had truly unbelievable characters and moments, and lacked any sort of shine or polish of a good horror film.
Aside from one scene EVERYTHING happens at night. The one thing that happens during the day happens off camera and isn’t scary, at all. The format for night frights is so well established that you’ll quickly learn once the camera goes night-vision, does a bit of time-lapse, and returns to normal filming that something “spooky” is going to happen.
Nothing scary happens until the last two scenes. If you’re freaked out by moving doors, weird noises, and appearing footprints then MAYBE this movie is freighting. To any horror veterans, its contrived, simple, and without the proper build-up of suspense, disappointing.
The last two scenes are good… except that’s maybe two-three minutes of the entire movie. Sorry, but I’ve been yawning for the last hour and you’re not going to save your film by actually pulling off something interesting now.
It’s not innovative at all. As Paul mentioned, it fails to introduce ANYTHING new to the genre and the tricks it does pull in it does horribly. I mentioned two good scenes, if you’ve seen the movie then you know what I’m talking about, but since the entire film rests on the shoulders of a household video camera for most of that scene you can’t tell whats going on. Poor film making or artistic device, it makes something that COULD be frightening into something lame.
The characters are unlovable, unrealistic, and unbelievable. The boyfriend is a total tool from start to finish, the girlfriend is completely moronic to NOT do something, and the plot device to keep the “demon expert” out was far to obvious. Couple all this with sub-par acting and a general inability to make sense and you have for one terrible cast.
The camera just doesn’t make sense half of the time. Blair Witch did it right, we’re in the woods with these people and they have no reason to leave the camera behind. They may as well film because they have nothing else to do. Tying back to the boyfriend, I know that if I heard strange noises coming from downstairs I’d be more apt to grab a baseball bat then a camcorder. The fact that he’s constantly poking around with the camera didn’t do the one thing hand-held filming is meant do… draw me into the reality of the situation.
By the end of the movie, I went home and slept soundly. Maybe I’m just jaded from my years of watching horror movies but this film failed to do anything scary in my mind. Worst movie I’ve seen since No Country for Old Men.
Also, Paul, 28 Weeks Later sucked ass but thats a different topic.
[...] recent comments on Paranormal Activity has garnered a bit of response. I figured to help people understand why I didn’t like it I [...]
Sorry, couldn’t disagree more. Your review would be more valid if this was presented as a movie. It’s not. It’s presented as minimally edited footage of a real event; evidence in a murder / missing persons case. There is no creepy music or voice over narration or any of the other typical signs of a ‘movie’ as such.
I’m not saying it was real, I’m saying that, that was how it was presented. The ‘editing’ was obvious, because it served the simple and expedient purpose of “showing us what happened” and not ‘establishing character’ or whatever.
Furthermore, the goofy “door moving” scenes in the beginning take on a much more sinister tone, when viewed from the end of the movie. Knowing what happens at the end and suspecting how, explains the ‘dumb stunts’.
i.e. – the method to the madness was to wear down the couple. Induce fear and sleeplessness and fatigue. Split them up with arguments and fights exacerbated by the fear and fatigue. Achieve the entities ultimate goal once the couple is in a specifically low place, emotionally and physically.
And, all of that starts with ‘moving the door’. More specifically, ‘moving the door, ON CAMERA’ so that the couple could see and begin to fear.
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I’ve noticed that there are two types of horror movies and two types of horror movie fans. Some like psychological thrillers that imply something terrible more then they show it (like “Ring”) and some like physical thrillers where there is a concrete physical threat to the characters (like “Halloween”). Those that like one type, tend not to like the other, and vice versa. At least, that’s my experience.
For what it was, I thought this movie was good and much scarier then the “horror classic’s” being remade by Rob Zombie or movies of that ilk.
Better luck with the next movie you see!
[Reply]
Rob Justice Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:20 am
By being filmed in the style of a “home movie” excuses bad acting, poor plot development, lack of story, and a boring, non-entertaining experience? The presentationshouldn’t affect the bottom line, the movie wasn’t scary. There is an immediate disconnect with your audience when you walk into a cinema. We KNOW that the movie isn’t real, the presentation of reality only helps as far as the movie can carry it. Paranormal Activity didn’t carry that presentation anywhere. As I said in my comments (not a review), the camera broke parts of the story for me. I’m sorry, but simply changing the matter of presentation doesn’t turn a bad movie into a good one.
I understand WHY the door moved. I understand the context of breaking down the relationship. I understand the movie. I’m just not scared by it. I felt the characters were unlikeable and their relationship was already pretty shitty. I couldn’t give two shits less about the spooky things happening to drive them apart. While I understand the context of the situation, I just don’t find it frightening.
Boiling all horror movies/viewers down to two types is insultingly narrow. Implying that I’m on one side of a fence is just wrong. I’m a guy who lives, breaths, eats, and shits horror and I can appreciate a good psychological horror movie (Jacob’s Ladder), a solid slasher (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), a monster movie (American Werewolf in London), a dramatic horror (In the Mouth Of Madness), a comedic horror (Evil Dead), a pure gore-fest (Dead Alive), or real-life accounts (Ed Gein) all in the same night.
I’m saying Paranormal Activity is a terrible movie because when I walked out of the theater my initial reaction was “What a waste of fucking money…” NOT because I’m a slasher junkie. For me, a good horror movie gives me something that lingers. Something I look back fondly to. Paranormal Activity didn’t give me anything except a bunch of shit I could see on Ghost Hunters followed by a couple decent horror movie moments.
[Reply]
runester Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:28 am
I’m getting the impression you didn’t like the movie. Or, am I misreading you? ;)
Your reaction is your own business, but the audience I sat with was jumping and climbing up in their seats and calling out warnings to the characters – and then giggling at themselves for their own reactions. They seemed to enjoy it; and so did I.
Not to beat a dead horse, but many of the horror types you listed are not scary. Splatter horror, comedy horror, etc. deal with horrific themes and images, but few are actually frightening. Honestly, “Evil Dead” was scary? It’s an awesome film and a ton of fun to watch … but I wouldn’t call it scary.
Part of the requirement that a movie actually be scary is that it deals with a subject that the audience themselves are frightened of. I’m not sure a horror movie about cute little fuzzy bunnies would be that scary either – except to those rare individuals who have a morbid fear of bunnies. But a silent stalker, or the seductive and scary stranger, or the evil cult, or even alien abduction – things that bother people and they can actually feel something, viscerally, about makes for really scary movies.
So, an audience of parents will tend to react with much more fear at a movie dealing with child abduction or harm. An audience of the superstitious (I guess) may be really afraid of ghosts. Maybe an audience of college kids would react to a campus stalker movie. But, if you don’t believe in demons or malevolent spirits, then movies like PA don’t mean a damn thing. It may as well have been a hopping bunny moving the door.
Oh, well. That’s why I said, “Better luck with your next movie!” Because, one of the beauties of cinema is that there is more – and you’re likely to find something more to your tastes coming down the pike. Have you seen the trailer for “The Crazies”? That looks pretty good, and totally different then PA.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thecrazies/
[Reply]
Rob Justice Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:09 am
The audience I saw it with had a similar reaction to what yours did… except I sat there looking at them wondering what the hell their problem was. hahaha. This is another case of a lot of people liking a movie I didn’t. See my reaction to No Country for Old Men.
I’m not sure why you didn’t find Jacob’s Ladder, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, American Werewolf in London, In the Mouth Of Madness, Dead Alive, or Ed Gein scary but I can point out scenes in all of them that made my skin crawl and bothered me long after the film was over. You mentioned Evil Dead as not scary, but I was far more freaked out by the ending of that movie then the ending of Paranormal Activity. The thought of being alone in a cabin with my friends, watching them all become demonically possessed, attacking me, and having to kill them is a pretty freighting concept in my book.
I do agree, a horror movie has to cover subject matter that scares its audience. That is where Paranormal Activity really fell down for me. I’d seen everything it did time and time again in both horror movies and “real life” accounts on shows like Ghost Hunters. I might have been freaked out the first time I saw a moving door or mysterious footprints but by the hundredth time its lost its impact. It has zero to do with belief in demons or malevolent spirits and everything to do with the situation and circumstances displayed. Belief helps, a lot, but some movies that freak the shit out of me don’t cover things I believe one iota in. Hell, I believe WAY more in ghosts then hockey-mask wearing killers.
I’m sure something will come down the line I like way more than Paranormal Activity. The Crazies looks good… of course being a die-hard George A. Romero fan I’ll see any remake of his work, good or bad. The only reason I’m being so vocal about Paranormal Activity is because I felt the movie was absolute garbage and everyone else is singing its praises like it’s The Shining.