rafaelsimer
Well, it's not the worst movie in history. But not for lack of trying. It says here that it didn't have a real script. Wow, what a surprise! It also didn't have real actors, real acting, plot, sense...anything at all. It's painful to watch, because it's so boring and nothing ever happens. Many shots of empty parts of the house, many other with the "actors" doing nothing. It is supposed to be an horror film; but by god, it's horribly horrible! How on earth did it get sequels is beyond me! I guess some people just like garbage. "Legend says" that people walked out of the cinema due to fear and tension caused by the movie. I'd walk out due to the rage boiling inside me and the desire to murder the so call "director". One of the worse things I ever watched. Stay away. If you liked this, if you were scared, if you gave this a good review...do us all a favor and go live in a cave!
yourfavoritecritic
Paranormal Activity, originally shot in 2006, didn't get a mainstream release until October of 2009 when Paramount Pictures bought the film. Paranormal Activity is an interesting movie, now although most people know the series today as the shaky, found footage film, that is about ghosts and demonic possessions, without ever actually showing it, the series started from humble beginnings. The first couple entries had to be demanded for, if Paranormal Activity wasn't playing at your local theatre you had to visit a website and ask for it to be played there, it was almost like a crowd funded movie before sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo were a thing. Made for around $15,000 and shot entirely in director's, Oren Peli's house, Paranormal Activity tells the story of Katie and Micah, a young couple living together who find themselves experiencing nightly disturbances for inexplicable reasons. One word that could sum not just this film, but the series as whole, is polarizing. As the first Paranormal Activity was growing in popularity, the film was heavily advertised as one of the scariest movies of all time, that in and of itself creates false pretence as it couldn't be farther from the truth. I do not consider myself much of a believer in the paranormal, so that may have tampered my experience with the film, nevertheless I can understand why someone would be frightened by this movie, however it is definitely not a horrific movie. It's totally easy to see why many people are so divided about this series, one side views the movies as a realistic depiction of paranormal occurrences and the other just sees a bunch of people shaking a camera around and slamming doors for an hour and a half. I consider pretty neutral with the issue, there are moments where certain events do get under my skin, however thinking back to it I realize how stupid it is. Now the first Paranormal Activity movie plays out almost like a psychological thriller, a lot is left up the imagination and you see the effect of the events taking a toll on the characters. There isn't a lot that happens in the movie, the viewer is basically confined to the house for the entire runtime and you do a lot of analyzing, asking yourself "is that shadowy figure, or is it my imagination?", "did that lamp just move or am I going insane?", and this is probably where my biggest issue arises from. I've seen Paranormal Activity a handful of times, and each viewing I keep a careful eye trying to see if I can pick up on any background things, however every time, I come up with nothing. For a movie that heavily relies on the viewer examining what's going on, there just isn't a lot there. You'd think that with a movie about a ghostly haunting that features these long drawn out scenes, the filmmakers would include subtle activity in the background to create even more of a frightening experience. Sadly they don't, and everything you get is at face value. Other problems that face the movie are, the acting, slow scenes, badly improvised dialogue, odd cuts, etc, most of these issues are constricted to the screenplay and low budget, so some of it is forgivable. Overall Paranormal Activity isn't a horrible film by any stretch of the imagination, it's easy to see both sides of the argument, however I lean more towards it being a pretty decent time. It's a watchable film that does have some good scenes of intensity, particularly the hallway scene where Micah uses baby powder, that was definitely an effective sequence that did get under my skin. As with most films it isn't perfect and it's not something I can recommend to everybody, you have to know what you're getting yourself into and although I was never frightened by it, I do enjoy watching this movie from time-to-time, so for the reason I'm giving Paranormal Activity a 6/10.
Harrison Tweed (Top Dawg)
I don't compare an amateur/indie film with C-list actors to a blockbuster big production film with A-list actors! It's like comparing an Olympic runner to a retired old man that goes for regular walks. Clearly we know who is better, faster, and more qualified to win! You compare each in their own class, or in the case of rating a film, on it's own merits.You also look at who backed any film (big production company=big $$$ for a better film) and the key individuals involved in the production (director, writer, etc..). This film had no big backing and only a 2+ million dollar budget - and should not be compared to a 200+ million dollar film.This little gem was done by an all amateur cast and production on a 15k budget, and went on to make over 350 million. Nuff said! 10/10!
