Ryan McNeil
Dear Oren Peli…
When I sat down to watch your movie, I figured I knew at least half of the tricks you would use to freak me out. I was right, I did know half of what was coming – and you freaked me out anyway. Are you happy now?
Allow me a moment Oren to tell my dozen readers what your movie is about. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is a cinema verité look at the lives of Micah and Katie. One afternoon, Micah comes home with a shiny new high-end video camera. See, Katie has told Micah stories about having abnormal experiences when she tries to sleep. She says it has happened on and off since she was a girl. Seemingly wanting to get a better understanding of the situation, Micah intends to set the camera to record while they sleep…hoping to capture…something.
Before the project begins, they speak with a psychic. He offers precious little help; he only knows that what they’re dealing with is not hinged to the house, so they can never run away from it. He also knows that this presence is not a ghost…it’s something much darker than simply the soul of a dead person. Great news, ain’t it?
Things start to go downhill from there, as we see through Micah’s all-night-long videos. At first it seems simple – a door swaying slightly all on its own. Unfortunately it’s all downhill from there for the young couple.
You see Mr. Peli, I was pretty sure I knew what I was in for. Indeed it was ten years ago that another pair of filmmakers tried to mess with me by presenting footage of three campers that supposedly got lost in the woods. I guessed – correctly – that you would use the tricks they used. You’d attempt to give me goosebumps with grainy imagery of something the characters could see clearly, but that the video would only capture half-assed…leaving my mind to fill in the blanks. You’d bang on walls and stomp on floors, giving no hints as to why they were happening.
That, dear sir, would have made for an acceptable, if not original, movie. But kudos, because you know full well that such trickery has already been done once or twice before. Instead, you chose not only to slam doors and make chandeliers swing, but you also give the audience enough information to fill in the blanks with some blood-curdling ideas. As the couple lays down to sleep the first time, I knew I’d see something strange. When they lay down to sleep the second time, I knew this set-up would be your M.O. to deliver the scary, and thought I had it all figured out. But then, around the fifth or sixth time the couple lay down, I found myself truly dreading what I might see next.
Essentially, you showed me exactly which combination of punches you would use to knock me out…and then went on to knock me out using that same combination time after time.
There were times where I found myself wondering why Micah didn’t just stop filming…but then again, I have to ask myself if I could put the camera down when I’m seeing something I think can’t really be happening. The couple fights, as most couples would under such stress. However, all of that goes away anytime the chips are down. Micah and Katie might disagree on how to handle this presence, but the story stays honest in the way they reach for each other anytime that presence returns.
Clearly sir, you are a student of what goes bump in the night. You have done your homework, figured out what can make an audience uneasy, and used everything you have learned to screw with our collective nerves. Given that it’s Halloween, many of my fellow bloggers have been making lists about the movies that freaked them out the most. I can say without a doubt, that you’d rank pretty high on mine.
Yes Mr. Peli…on this particular night where we roll the clocks back, and afford ourselves an extra hour of sleep, I will likely find myself getting precious little sleep as I keep the bedroom lamp on. Hope you’re proud of yourself.
Sincerely,
One Rather Freaked-Out McNeil
Our group of film students at uni went to the free screening of this. And we came out.. laughing our heads off. It was hilariously bad. Maybe, shut in a dark room by yourself, this film would be scary, but at most, the last shot just made us jump/laugh at the same time. Tricks, they've all been done before. Poor storyline. The pacing felt good, but really, what happened at the end of the film should have occured much earlier.. more development would have been nice. I don't know, none of my friends would have payed money to see this, and we all wonder why the American audiences are so scared by it. The entire cinema was laughing.
@ Thalionrin… Guess it isn't the sort of movie that scares you and your friends. Out of curiosity, what was the last movie that scared you?
Hmm.. maybe Ju-On? (The original Japanese Grudge). For about two weeks after seeing it, I can't stop seeing those yurei in every dark corner/closet/behind every closed door..
@ Thalionrin… OK, I'll give you props for that. I saw the Japanese version at the Toronto Film Festival that year, and it really gave me the heebie-jeebies.
You mentioned the crowd at your P-A screening, the crowd at my JU-ON screening was insane, because they were cheering all the great scare tactics. Such a fun audience!
Love your letter to Peli format.
Lots of ppl were laughing in our theater, but their asses still jumped when the ish hit the fan.
My fave moments were both with the psychic. His second visit for obvious reasons, but his first visit when Micah asks what the spirit wants. The psychic answers Katie, etc etc. Then he turns to Katie and says, don't worry you'll be fine.
Yeah, I'm sure Katie was SO reassured.
It's funny how there has been a common theme across theaters about people laughing during this movie. The same type of thing happened during my theater experience. But it was mostly teenage kids doing the laughing. So my theory is that these people try to crack jokes throughout and make fart noises because they were actually scared deep down inside, and this was there way of coping and trying to lighten the mood so they wouldn't be scared.
On another note, have you ever watched the show Ghost Adventures (not Ghost Hunters) on the Travel Channel? Out of all the paranormal shows on television, I think it is the best one, because they seem to get the most legit action and evidence of supernatural events. And they conduct their studies in the most "haunted" places on Earth. It's really interesting, and a thrill to watch late at night in the dark.
@ Reel Whore… (Only took me a month to respond to your comment, how's that for appreciating my readership!).
No such antics in my theatre, strange since I often have to endure such stupidity.
And yeah, that psychic was a great touch. I'm a bit more partial to his return, since it seems to take him record time to figure out Katie and Micah have done something wrong, and seems to want to get out of the line of fire as fast as he can.
Can't really blame him, can ya?
@ Zach… You might well be on to something, kinda like people who make jokes in social situations to help their nerves cope.
Then again, they could just be rude twerps. Who's to say?
That show you mentioned sounds pretty good, and I would indeed like to check it out…but given how much this movies gave me the willies, I might have to pass.
(PS – Loved your review!)
No problem. It can be tough to reply promptly. I used to be on point, but now it seems to take days and days to find the time.
Yeah, the psychic's ass was ready to bolt on his second visit. I'd love to just watch that scene over and over.