Paranormal Activity (2007) – supernatural suspense thriller horror film review

Poster artwork for the supernatural suspense thriller horror film Paranormal Activity.

Dreadful Demon by Linh 

Paranormal Activity is not the ordinary horror film you would expect and although it contains elements of horror, it is an extraordinary film combining features of suspense and a supernatural thriller. Director Oren Peli makes a stunning debut as writer, producer, director and editor of Paranormal Activity, based on his personal experiences of moving into a new house and hearing strange noises at night. He seeks to give the audience an experience that would help define a new evolution of the horror genre, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho which made people scared to take showers.  

Paranormal Activity parallels Hitchcock’s strong use of  generating and maintaining suspense through lighting, editing techniques, sound and visual effects, and solid performances. The film tells of a young couple who have been together for a few years and move into a new house.  Katie is a university student who has a secret she is yet to tell her partner Micah. Micah is obsessed with technology and carries his hand held video camera everywhere with him. One day when Katie tells him about the strange noises she hears around the house at night, Micah decides to film themselves as they slept, to see if anything unusual can be captured on video.

The entire film is seen through the lens of Micah’s video camera, and sometimes seen from Micah’s perspective or from Katie’s  - depending on who’s holding the camera. The video camera becomes a de-facto character in the film which observes, records the sounds and visions which Micah and Katie sometimes do not see or hear, but the audience is witnessing everything.

The camera work is steady and occasionally jerky when the characters are distracted by acousmatic sounds (sounds that are off screen and the characters can sometimes hear but cannot see the originator or cause of the sound, yet the sounds are part of the narrative).  These invisible sound sources form much of the thrills and suspense for the audience and intensifies the fear portrayed by the characters.

CURIOUS CAMERA: Micah captures strange movements on his video camera in the film Paranormal Activity. Image: Icon Films, Blumhouse Productions.

The suspense in Paranormal Activity grows steadily and as more information about Katie’s past is revealed, the situation becomes more sinister as Micah discovers via the internet that a girl who died years ago after being possessed, also shared the same experiences as Katie.

Unlike the poor acting in The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity works due to the solid acting skills and excellent chemistry between the two lead actors. The characters’ names actually belong to the actors who portray them. This may give the notion of a home-video feel for the film and that the couple are not making a documentary or feature film of their experience, so it adds a touch of realism.

BEASTLY BITE: Katie reveals a suspicious bite in the film Paranormal Activity. Image: Icon Films, Blumhouse Productions.

Katie Featherston makes her feature debut as Katie in Paranormal Activity, giving a very natural and innocent portrayal of the affable female lead.

Micah Sloat also makes his feature film debut as the techno-geek Micah with a laid-back sense of humour, whose determination to capture footage of the demon leads to a violent confrontation.

The supporting cast is fantastic and their small appearances give the sense of normalcy outside of the house, but inside with Katie and Micah it becomes creepy, dangerous, and deadly.

Mark Fredrichs is suitably composed as the psychic who advises Katie and Micah not to communicate with the demon; Amber Armstrong who plays Katie’s friend Amber, is sweet and has a calming effect over Katie after one of her supernatural experiences, and Diane, the girl on the internet is Ashley Palmer who is wonderful as the demonic possessed victim and looks like a zombie on the internet video.

Paranormal Activity is a rarity in film making where everything from the mise-en-scene to the camera work and editing, is seamlessly combined to create humour, horror, suspense and thrills. A sequel has been made as the final few seconds of the film allows for this. Frankly, it was during those final few seconds that really made me pull back into my seat in the cinema.

DEMONIC DREAD: Katie flees from the creepy noises  in the film Paranormal Activity. Image: Icon Films, Blumhouse Productions.

Director: Oren Peli            

Writer: Oren Peli (screenplay)      

Cast: Katie Featherston,  Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Ashley Palmer, Amber Armstrong.

Producers: Jeanette Brill, Rick Osako, Toni Taylor

Cinematographer: Oren Peli

Film Editor: Oren Peli

Running Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes