Paranormal Activity Reviews

While not a fan of found footage films, there are exceptions out there. There are also examples of good horror films. After putting off watching 'Paranormal Activity' and its sequels due to the divisiveness being so extreme both ways, the decision was made to watch them all to see what the fuss was about.

'Paranormal Activity' is one of those very divisive films where you can sort of see why it was hyped up positively, at the same time one can totally see why it wouldn't appeal to all. For me, 'Paranormal Activity' was nowhere near as good as the hype and wasn't really for me, but it did have its moments and redeeming merits so can't be as hard on it as most negative reviewers have been (not so much as to attack anybody who liked it).

There are times where there was a genuine sense of dread and tension, heightened by some creepy lighting and eerie if effectively low-key sound effects and noises. The ending may have been a little overblown somewhat, but was also gut-wrenching and the scariest the film got. Some of the occurrences are suitably ominous.

Katie Featherston is pretty good and brings some normality to the proceedings, while Mark Fredrichs provides the one memorable supporting contribution.

Micah Sloat however is disadvantaged by an underwritten and annoying character with zero development and acts blandly and obnoxiously. The rest of the supporting cast are forgettable.

While there are some good scares here, more so than given credit for by those who didn't care for it or disliked it, they didn't come consistently. Too many of them suffered from being far too predictable and veering on the ridiculous. The lack of music was a brave choice but while it was appreciated to not have anything overbearing what was going on parts did cry out for some scoring of subtle eeriness.

Unfortunately, too much of 'Paranormal Activity' drags badly, with downtime scenes that are ridiculously and dully written with lots of cheese and no substance, a big problem for a film with a good deal of that. Dialogue is poor and the storytelling relies on atmosphere to work but is paper thin to the point of non-existence elsewhere. Really didn't care for the excessively unfocused and gimmicky camera work either.

In conclusion, not as good as the positive hype and not worth losing sleep over, but while the less than positive reviews are understandable some of the extreme negativity is over the top to me. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Paranormal Activity proves once again that the type of unfounded fear based on things that could actually happen or are part of the collective fears, are sold with astonishing ease. The director is unconcerned about makeup, for the construction of a script that must be followed to the letter, or for making a display of all kinds of gadgets that force the audience to permanently move from the chair, in fact his intention more that terrifying is generating a continuous suspense, which although interesting envelops the film in a stillness of more than an hour - bear in mind that its total footage is an hour and a half. Let us remember that haunted houses where there are doors that close, footsteps that are heard, shadows that pass, are part of the television grid in programs like those of the Discovery Channel.

La idea no está nada mal y el final es tétrico. Pero es demasiado sobreevaluada, que llevó a una serie de refritos que terminaron en una risible saga.

Following the huge hype around this franchise, I thought it was really time to check it out. First of all, I must admit I always had a weak spot for those found-footage features but it is still no guarantee for success though. I also thought it was quite hilarious that they started out with a fake message pretending that the movie was real. Come on… Ever since ‘The Blair Witch Project’, they still hold on to that trick?! But, it didn’t bother me and, as a matter of fact, I thought it turned out to be a pretty good flick after all. By now, I had some time to think about it and, in my opinion, the movie is solely based on anticipation. Indeed, every night, the concerned couple set the camera at the same spot and then, you wait, you anticipate what might happen or not. And there is absolutely no music cue, no visual cue, anything to give you some hint about what will happen if anything might happen at all. Eventually, while I was watching, I laughed a couple of times (Wow! The door moved!!! How terrifying…), they might have been 1 or 2 jumpy moments but, eventually, nothing really scary happened. However, since you are constantly anticipating something, it makes the whole thing quite nerve-wracking and actually really efficient. Basically, it is just based on thin air and I think that’s why many viewers hated it but that is why I though it was actually really enjoyable. In the same genre, I still prefer ‘The Blair Witch Project’ which really set the rules for this genre. This movie didn’t bring anything new to the formula and I wish the two characters got a little bit more nuts (I thought it was really mind-blowing that, in spite of all that was happening, they still managed to get some sleep in the same house and in the very same room). Furthermore, the acting was decent but nothing really amazing and maybe some better actors would have developed the psychological turmoil in which the characters were going through. Still, I thought it was a clever and efficient horror feature, I enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

not bad for the first part !! i just watched this movie today it was not bad well everything seemed to be normal at first but things really started to change to the better when that spirit dragged Catie from her feet all the way to the other room , that maybe she killed her bf at the end and her friend who she maybe got killed too when she saw something anyway the end still unknowing cant wait to see the next part.

Well, first of all, Paranormal Activity shocked and terrified its viewers and did become a success at the box office but as for me regarding both critically and box office takings, why? What was seriously so outstanding about Paranormal Activity? Although, there were literally one or two scenes in the film that could make viewers who are quite bored of it jump but it really was one of the most boring and uninteresting films that I have ever experienced. It just didn't scare me or make me feel sorry for any of the characters in almost no way whatsoever.


Ok, let's face it, how many times have we all heard supernatural films or some other horror films that are supposedly true stories? I am sorry but Paranormal Activity being a true story is absolute bullshit! I mean, if it was such a true story, they wouldn't even make a sequel and a planned third instalment. Plus, the fact that other horror found-footage films that have been made over the years are the supposed true stories and not many things in the film as well as found-footage films in general for that matter are not entirely convincing enough to be true stories. Seriously, why would you still have the camera on and while you're using it still be terrorised by so-called demons within the house? For me, that just totally ruins the reality of it entirely because I just cannot help but think that.


Katie and her boyfriend Micah have been living together for three years and out of the blue, they are haunted by an entity while they are sleeping. Katie discloses to Micah that she has been haunted since she was eight year-old. The skeptical Micah buys a camera to videotape the paranormal activity in their home during the night. Katie calls Fredrichs, to help them, but he explains that he is specialist in ghosts. However he feels the presence of a fiend and advises the couple to call a friend of his.


The so-called acting wasn't entirely convincing in my honest opinion and it was just really dry and plain. I mean, whoop-de-fucking-doo! The actors and characters have the same forenames but that doesn't mean that the acting was good. In fact, not that many people who liked it were, quite frankly, interested in the characters but cared more about the horror within and what their fates were going to be and how scary the film was going to get. So, that was just absolutely ridiculous and in my humble opinion, both of them bought it on themselves and I feel that everything about the actors and characters in Paranormal Activity in a nutshell is basically a couple messing around in a house and being over-obsessive with a camera!


As I said, I have never really been a big fan of found-footage films and I just cannot feel the horror or even believability for that matter in any of the films like that despite people rave about how good some of them are. Oren Peli makes his debut feature film and fails miserably so I think after this one, he isn't in my good books at all for any other film he ever does in the future. Despite the fact that the film is in fact only on for an hour and a half more or less seeing as there are one or two versions of the film, it felt like it was going on forever and it really never got going and caught attention and just got even more boring as it kept on going.


Overall, Paranormal Activity is (and including the sequel and planned third instalment) one of those films that you will either love or hate and I thought the latter after only 10 minutes of watching it. Although many with both agree and disagree with me on this one but Paranormal Activity really is one of the most overrated and overhyped films of all time that is perhaps as overhyped as the Transformers and Twilight franchises. Why there were any Paranormal Activity sequels, I will never understand.

Probably the most polarizing movie to come out last year. People either hated this movie or loved it. If you havent seen it yet, rent it, turn out all the lights, turn the sound up to movie theatre volume and give it your full attention. I was sold on this movie thru and thru. I think the film makers did danm near everything really, really well. The girl gives a fantastic performance precisely because at no point does it feel like she performing. She is so natural, and so devoid of self-consciousness in front of this hand-held camera, its unreal. It's like its never occurred to her that audiences are going to watch this someday. I wasnt bored at all while watching this. Rather, I felt like a privledged viewer, excited to see what happens next. The film wisely relies on subtlety, and strikes a eerie, menacing tone. It creeped my sh#t out.

Before the release of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, this decade's horror films had offered us tons of blood and guts, but not so much in the way of scares. Don't get me wrong; gory films can be entertaining, but it just shocks me that a genre whose ostensible purpose is to scare has been more inclined towards grossing people out. I guess the majority of people get more of a thrill being grossed out than being terrified while on the edge of their seats. Not me. I was incredibly excited when I heard about PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. The premise is EXACTLY what I had often thought of as something that would be a fantastic idea for a truly frightening piece of cinema. While this film doesn't meet those expectations to the fullest and it doesn't revolutionize the horror genre either, the mere fact that something has been given to those of us who prefer subtle scares over gore can't go unappreciated. In 1999, we got the severely underrated THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (which is tied with 1978's HALLOWEEN as my favorite horror film of all time), which used the same "fake documentary" approach that we get with PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, and while the latter film isn't as great as the former one, there's no doubt that it's often a very creepy piece of filmmaking.

Katie (Katie Featherston) is a college student who lives in a nice house with her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat). She thinks that she's been haunted by "something" since her childhood, as she's heard weird noises while she sleeps at night. However, since these weird things have only happened while she sleeps, she's never gotten much confirmation of what they are, or if maybe she's just having nightmares. This changes when Micah buys a video camera and leaves it on while the couple sleeps. The film lets us watch and hear through the lens of the camera while Katie and Micah are asleep, and we see a clock on the bottom of the screen which indicates the time. The weird noises come during the wee hours of the morning.

Katie and Micah start reviewing the tapes and realize that Katie's suspicions weren't nightmares at all. Katie's very scared, especially since she has felt that this is something that has been following her during her whole life. Micah's reaction is another story, though. He's your typical "guy's guy," who is not so much concerned about whether something dangerous is happening, but rather, he's more excited about capturing all this "awesome stuff" on camera. When a psychic visits to try to help them, Micah even asks "Is there something we can do to, like, make the stuff happen, so we can get it on tape?" But there's even worse news... the decision to have the camera record the evening's events apparently makes this "thing" become even more persistent, and so, the noises at night start to get worse and worse. Katie just gets even more apprehensive, while Micah (true to the tough guy persona) starts challenging this ghost/demon/whatever to come out and face him.

As scary as the evening scenes are, and as effective as the noises are at making the fear sometimes unbearable, the best aspect of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY involves an instance mid-way through the film when Katie gets up from the bed late at night, then stands there staring at Micah for almost two hours, while facing away from us. Like BLAIR WITCH, this film obviously recognizes the great success that can be had with NOT showing the scary things and just letting your imagination make you fear the worst, and as much as the steps and the creaking noises do a fantastic job at this, I was even more scared by the idea of not being able to see Katie's face during this particular moment and having no idea what was about to happen. Even better, there's a sort-of repetition of this instance towards the film's climax, which is more than intense.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY does make a quasi mistake, and it's a mistake that I had been fearing it would make weeks before I watched the film, when I saw what its title was. The film has more dialogue aimed at explaining the "paranormal phenomena" than it should. The scene during which the psychic first visits the house is, on the one hand, good in that it helps to establish the background of Katie's past and gives us tidbits on Katie and Micah's relationship, but on the other hand, the psychic's visit eventually descends into supernatural psychobabble that is unnecessary: when a horror movie opts for the approach of NOT "showing" the scary things, it should also try to do as little explaining as possible. It makes it more mysterious, and therefore, scarier. It's more effective to allow the viewers to witness these strange events without giving them much information, so that they'll feel in constant suspense as to what is happening.

What keeps PARANORMAL ACTIVITY from reaching the greatness of BLAIR WITCH is the fact that the sense of realism in the latter film is NEVER absent, largely because you believe that those characters are actually TRAPPED in the woods and have no way of getting out. While PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is filmed entirely inside the house, one doesn't necessarily feel like this couple is "trapped" in the house, because they could easily leave the house whenever they want. Yes, the film explains that this thing supposedly haunts Katie wherever she goes, but it may have been a good idea to SHOW us that: have Katie and Micah stay the night at a friends's house or a hotel, and have the same things happen during the night. Granted, you could argue that this is forgivable, given the fact that the movie was filmed on a meager budget, which probably means that they wouldn't have been able to afford a different set.

There's no doubt that this is a fantastic gift for those of us who've been waiting for a film like this. With only two months left in this decade, we finally got a horror movie that didn't feel the need to drench its reels with blood (last year's THE STRANGERS had the potential to accomplish this, but then things went horribly awry during its last act). Considering its premise, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY could've been absolutely frightening. It doesn't quite get there. It settles for just being very creepy... but that's something that I welcome heartily, seeing as the genre has been in such a hopeless state lately. It had been years since I had thought twice about turning the light off before going to bed.

This movie was pretty good. Not as scary as I thought it would be. I never really jumped out of my seat like they always show in those stupid commercials. People say that this movie is really unique, but the only unique thing about it is that it made with a hand-held camera. Besides that, it is pretty much like every other horror movie. I found it took too long and they could've done so much more with this idea, they would have cut half the talking from this and added more demon scenes I would give this movie a higher score. The ending was the only thing that really creeped me out, there were other scary parts, when she gets dragged off the bed, the Ouija board scene. But the ending was just perfect. The screaming stops, soft footsteps up the stairs, then BOOM Micah's body is thrown at the camera, great ending. Most horror movies I would pass aside and not bother recommending, but this was actually decent. 6.3/10

Not a bad movie. Reminded alot of The BLair Witch Project. Definately one of those movies to watch but after you watch it once it looses alot. I give it a 6 out of 10 stars simply coz the ended seemed rushed and out of nowhere. Ending could of been better in my opinion. But to see once I would say see it