The Windjammer
‘Paranormal Activity’ scares audiencesWednesday, December 02, 2009 By James Green
On May 25, 1979, during the screening of the movie Alien, viewers walked out of the movie even before it finished. While some believed that the movie was a failure, it was later proven that the people left the movie due to sheer fear. Thirty years later, this happened again to the people viewing the theatrical release of ‘Paranormal Activity.’ Is this movie as scary as rumors and critics claim it to be? While one person’s opinion doesn’t generally account for the opinions of others, this movie should be given credit for its ability to scare the pants off of anyone watching it. Theatres everywhere have begun to show the movie to accommodate the wishes of the public. Recently, every movie theatre playing the movie has been sold out of tickets and the auditorium filled. The movie is shot with one camera that is used by only the characters of the movie and the director, Oran Peli, chose to limit the crew to only a few people. The actual movie starts off VERY slowly. It tells the back story of the main character, college student Katie, and her relationship with boyfriend Micah. The movie’s most climatic scenes occur during the night, while the camera remains stationary in front of the couple’s bed, and the door to their hallway open. The nights involve many subtle occurrences, such as the door opening and closing slightly and thumps heard downstairs and also larger activities, such as the lights in other rooms turning on and off, and Katie waking in the middle of the night to just stand at the corner of the bed for hours. Micah continues to antagonize the entity, and the occurrences become larger, until the last night, when something so chilling happens, that I’ll choose not to reveal it for those who still would like to watch the movie. This movie is very scary, and lives up to all the hype that has been surrounding it. Afterwards, you will feel like there is something watching you from the shadows. You will feel as if the horrific events that were portrayed in the film are real. Suddenly, your bedroom will feel as if it were haunted, and that there is a demonic entity watching you as you feign sleep. This move is simply not for the faint of heart. It will leave you shivering under the sheets waiting for something to happen to you. |