PARANORMAL ACTIVITY review by Gary Dean Murray

There is just something special about a low budget film. Where Hollywood loves to throw bushels of cash at actors and productions, the little guy has to accomplish his vision on borrowed time and money. Paranormal Activity is a film that is a study in how to make a low budget film better than 90% of the drool that comes from California using as much cash as one day of catering on a major flick.

The film takes place in the fall of 2006 in San Diego, California. Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a young couple living in a condo that they think may be haunted. The film opens as a first person narrative, with Micah shooting the two of them in and around their house. He is using his video equipment to see what, if anything, is wreaking supernatural havoc in their bedroom while they sleep. They have been experiencing unusual events in the house, things such as keys moving from the table to the floor and the traditional moaning, creaking sounds. Katie just hates the idea of being filmed and doesn't want to upset whatever is in the house.

The couple contact a ghost hunter/paranormal who immediately senses that something is very wrong in the house. His attuned senses tell him that no simple ghost is haunting the place, but something more sinister. He feels that a demon may be present, trying to break through. He suggests that they call another person he knows, a professor who deals with demons.

Then comes the big reveal. Katie has been haunted by something since she was a child. It has watched over her and her sister for years, standing in a shadowy existence at the foot of her bed. She believes that it is the thing that burned down their childhood home, a crime that had never been solved. Micah wants to use a Ouija board to try and contact the spirit. Micah must have never seen a horror flick because you never use a Ouija board... no matter what.

We travel down the swirling abyss to a conclusion that everyone saw coming. Paranormal Activity is not a film with a big shocking twist but a spook house journey into the darkest realm of possession.

Katie Featherston is our trapped little waif who seems to know much more than she ever lets on. There is this girl next door feel in her performance, her being the kind of woman that needs protection. Micah Sloat does a solid job as the guy who doesn't get it until it's too late. Both are likable characters in an unlikeable position and have to perform in some of the harshest circumstances.

There are little bits of special effects that are primitive but stunningly effective. Our story is of slight shadows and the crew gives us major spooks with creaking doors and air lifted sheets. Sometimes the simplest effects come across as major tastes in terror.

My biggest problem with the film is a problem with me. I have always had a difficulty with shaky camera work. Since I have had so many different jobs working on commercial shoots, I have become somewhat sensitive to those shaking and bumping movements of amateur. I had the same problem with The Blair Witch Project, a film I could only truly enjoy on a small TV screen. There are way too many bouncing movements for me to enjoy this film on a big screen. I had to watch over half the film with closed eyes, letting my mind's eye paint pictures that I was missing.

Being totally impressed with what can be done with such a small (under $15,000) budget, Paranormal Activity is a film that should been seen by everyone who has ever dreamed of making a film, and those in Hollywood who just think money is the be-all end-all need to make anything work. Oren Peli, our author of the piece, should be lauded by the movers and shakers of the Silver Screen. He shows that a good idea and a committed cast and crew can produce an effective little Halloween haunt. With a stern warning for those who experience motion sickness, this is a film that needs to be seen.

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