Paranormal Activity is not what I expected.

I went into this movie with no preconceptions and no ideas of what to expect because frankly, I'd never heard of it. I recieved an email from a charity group inviting me to join their free viewing and thought, "Why not?".

Paranormal Activity is written and directed by Oren Peli, an Isreali born screenwriter who is currently also directing the movie "Area 51" which is due to be released in 2010. Paranormal Activity was actually released in the US in 2007 in the Screamfest Film Festival, however it took two years to make it to Australian shores (as well as some major cinemas in the US) at the end of 2009.

The movie itself is quite simply, about a couple that is being haunted. Katie (a student) and Micah (a day trader) are a loving couple who live together and when Micah becomes intrigued with the odd activity that centers around Katie he decides to purchase a video recorder to capture it. Katie claims to have been 'haunted' from a very young age and is reluctant to allow Micah to record the goings-on but does so after he convinces her that they need evidence of what's happening. As the movie gets further in Katie becomes more and more distressed and asks Micah to stop provoking their tormentor.
Micah promises to do so, however after a few more occurances it seems he's completely unable to stop as his curiosity and anger gets the better of him.

Many strange and unexplained events occur including recorded EVP (electronic voice phenomena), unexplainable thuds and bangs, and objects bursting into flame. Most of the activity occurs during the night and is therefore in a black and white presentation due to the nightvision setting on the camera.  I found that the suspense of this movie was great, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Of course there are a few pivotal moments in the movie which make you want to shake them awake and tell them to leave the house but for the most part the scary moments occur right when you expect them to.

The film has a "Blair Witch" quality to it, in that it's all presented as being from Micah's video recorder. There are no third party images from a different camera and because of this it's really easy to get drawn into the story line. There are moments that are completely unexpected and well thought out, causing the viewer to gasp in dismay or fear.

I did enjoy this movie, however for someone that's used to Japanese suspense flicks I found it mildly disappointing. I'm used to my suspense being built, climaxing, ebbing and building again several times in the movie. Paranormal Activity didn't seem to do this so much. I spent more and more time waiting for the peak and found the end to be somewhat anticlimatic. To be fair to Mr Peli though, there are three different endings. The Australian release ending is the original ending. There were two alternate endings which, upon reading, I felt would have by far done justice to the suspense that was built.

If you're someone that relishes the feeling of ice fingers up your spine or you just plain enjoy watching people be terrified (you sadistic creature you!) then Paranormal Activity may just be for you. Watch it during the day with the curtains open, because I can guarantee that even the most jaded horror viewer will have at least one moment where they shy away and say "Ooooh that's not cool!!!".