Paranormal Activity: Review By Chad Langen

It's true what they say - "Paranormal Activity" is one of the most terrifying motion pictures in ages. It's the realism that's the most frightening aspect of the film that centers on a couple who use an ordinary video camera to capture unsettling and possibly supernatural events that take place while they're asleep. It's one of the few movies I've seen that manages to live up to the hype and as horrifying as it is, Oren Peli's extremely low-budget, haunted feature is a masterful work of art.

The over-used comparison between Peli's film and the 90's horror flick "The Blair Witch Project" is true in some cases, though this film cost far less to develop at an unbelievable $11,000. Paramount Pictures made a risky move in stamping their name as the distributor, but it looks to be paying off tremendously. At first, "Paranormal Activity's" release was vastly limited but has quickly expanded across the nation due to high demand from movie-goers. However, one case in which this and "The Blair Witch Project" are different is that the latter was all talk and no walk. Arguably the only reason for the success of the film was the seemingly endless word of mouth. In fact, the only truly memorable moments takes place in the final few minutes of the one hour and a half feature and needless to say, three moments of unexpected spooks doesn't balance an overall disastrous product.

"Paranormal Activity", on the other hand, starts with a bang and ends with a boom. How the characters react to the terrifying events is convincing and the story-line, which is seemingly improvised, is compelling to the film's finish. Where genre flicks like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Hostel" drew viewers in by clearly stating on the cover that the movie is 'based on a true story', Peli's product needs not to hassle with such desperate promotional tactics. The picture speaks for itself in that what the characters experience throughout the movie could and most likely have happened to at least one unfortunate individual somewhere in the world.

Long story short, "Paranormal Activity" is a small but enormously effective horror flick that any true genre fan needs to experience with their own two eyes. Don't listen to what anybody says, including us regarding this picture. This haunted house flick will prove most horrifying in a dark theater packed with unexpected movie-goers just like yourself.

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