Paranormal Activity

Well, it's that time of year again. The time for ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night to step out of the dark corners of your mind and into the forefront. What better time than to watch scary movies! To help me get into the spirit of Halloween, I saw the movie Paranormal Activity. Was it the scariest movie ever? Not by a long shot. Scariest movie of the year? Definitely, at least until the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie hits theaters.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I'll try to make this review as fair as possible, but since I don't feel fear, that might be a bit of a challenge. For those of you who've been living under a rock for the last month, this is one of those low-budget horror movies that takes place from the view of a home video camera. It features realistic characters and attempts to present itself as a true story. You may not notice this while watching the movie, but since the point of view is a camera, there's no music. The movie begins by introducing a woman who has been haunted by a spirit for her entire life. Her boyfriend, in an attempt to solve this problem, buys a video camera and decides to film almost everything they do (Keep in mind this is almost everything. Don't get your hopes up; it's not a porno). The movie does a great job of slowly building up the suspense, and then easing off with some light humor. While some scenes certainly got my heart racing, the movie doesn't really shine until the last fifteen minutes. I won't ruin the ending for you, just the fact that I was laughing my head off while the rest of the moviegoers were screaming. Actually... (highlight to read)

Spoiler: Haha, what are you doing looking here? Go watch the movie, ya cheapskate... /Spoiler

Note: The times from the movie's trailer mean nothing. Don't assume that because something scary happens at a certain time on the camera from the trailer, the same scary thing will happen at that time during the movie.

Pros: great acting, good suspense buildup, somewhat scary, surprise ending

Cons: starts slowly, may stick with you for a few days /weeks /months /forevers

Overall: 8.4/10