Not since The Blair Witch Project has a low budget film been so hyped up as Paranormal Activity. The only difference? Paranormal Activity is actually scary! I hate to say this because I know all the hype is turning a lot of people off, but I really have to say that this was an extremely effective film for it's budget. It's the Halloween season, what's a classic thing to do? Tell ghost stories. The thing about ghost stories that makes them so scary is that your mind plays tricks on you and something pitted against you that no Jason or Freddy or Michael could ever make you pee your pants, your imagination. Paranormal Activity takes those bumps, screeches, scratches and shaky noises of the night and makes you wonder what happens when you're asleep. I have to be honest, I could not fall asleep after I saw this film because I live in an apartment that makes a bunch of creepy sounds.

The reason I'm so scared to hype this film up is because I don't think it's going to have the same effect on everyone. The reason why is this is the type of story that just depends on what scares you. If a serial killer chasing the girl with big boobs scares you, this probably won't. If you believe there's more to that shadow you see before fall asleep and that there is something more to the after life, then this movie will definitely give you the creeps. The couple isn't haunted by ghosts, but something a little more scary, a demon that is feeding off their negative energy. Which I honestly think happens in real life and it's the supernatural that scares me. It's the things that require faith that scare me, something that you can't see, but you know exists. That is what terrifies me. From Night #1 in Paranormal Activity to the last night in the three weeks had me scared half to death and the ending that will stay with me for a long time.

Micah and Katie who claims that since her youth, a ghostly entity has haunted her, are a young couple. When strange phenomena occurs such as lights flickering and faucets turning on and off on their own, Katie believes the ghost has followed her to their home. Micah buys a video camera in the hopes of capturing paranormal activity on film. Each night, he leaves the video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record whatever might be occurring while he and Katie sleep. On the first night Katie's keys are heard being thrown to the floor, where they are found the next morning. After this, Katie calls in Dr. Fredrichs, a psychic who assesses that they are being plagued not by a ghost, but by a demon that is intent on haunting Katie no matter where she goes. The hauntings continue. Micah suggests buying a Ouija board to contact the demon, as he is excited about the possibility of a real haunting, but Katie implores him not to. That night, the couple are awoken by what sounds like footsteps. Suddenly, what sounds like an inhuman roar and a loud bang reverberate from somewhere deep in the house. Micah finally borrows a Ouija board from a friend, infuriating Katie. While the two are arguing outside, a wind blows through the living room and the Ouija board's planchette moves on its own before a small fire erupts and extinguishes on the board. Katie agrees to allow Micah to try one more experiment. Micah leaves baby powder on the floor in the upstairs hallway, hoping the demon will leave tracks. That night, the plan succeeds; they awaken to the sound of footsteps and find three-toed tracks.

Like I said, I don't want to over hype this film, it's something you have to experience for yourself. But if you do see it, see it in the theater, because I think it's part of the experience. I know now that the film has a wider release, there are people who are not scared by this movie are just saying it's a bad film. Now while I understand that it may not have scared you, I think this was still very well made for what little money they had and was very effective. If you lived in my apartment for a night, believe me, you'd know a reason why it scared me. A lot of people have experienced some sort of paranormal activity, just depends on wither you believe it or not. Like I said, a classic ghost story is always about the strange noises you hear or how something moved that you know you put somewhere else. Believe me, a movie has not effected me this much since The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity crawls under your skin and doesn't let go.

9/10

Heralded by many as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT for a new generation, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is one of those no-budget creepy horror films that work through the powers of suggestion alone to create an intense viewing experience for people watching blessed with vivid imaginations. In essence, this is BLAIR WITCH done in the home: a couple are haunted by what they believe to be a ghost, and set up a video camera to catch evidence of it.

The film is very good, thanks to the strong sense of realism that rarely departs – except maybe during the over-the-top climax, which unsurprisingly turns out to have the involvement of a certain Mr. Spielberg! Although some might find the on-screen antics boring, slightly repetitive and overly staged, I was hooked by the escalating haunting and caught up in a sense of impending menace and doom. There are many great scenes, especially those taking place in the latter half, and the bit with the footprints is supremely disturbing. Kudos too to the actors involved – Micah Sloat is saddled with playing a bit of a jerk, but Katie Featherston is believably scared throughout and reminded me at times of Heather Donohue.

Okay, so that climax – the last few shots – is a little overboard, but until then we get a frightening film that works hard to achieve its aims through simple footsteps and bangs where there shouldn't be. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY bears similarities to BLAIR WITCH, but I actually think it's closer in spirit to horror classic THE HAUNTING, albeit filmed via modern technology. A delight!

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