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With a far-too-simple plot and very slow beginning, "Paranormal Activity" is as entertaining as a creaky haunted carnival ride and, just like the ride, the final chills aren’t worth the wait.
The movie sells itself as real footage of a haunting. Shot in 2006, the film stars two start-up actors as a young couple moving into a new home. Gadget-loving stock-trader Micah (Micah Sloat) uses a professional-grade camera to investigate the strange noises keeping the couple up at night. His live-in love, Katie (Katie Featherston), prefers the spiritual approach to ferreting out their unwanted guest and calls in a psychic (Mark Fredrichs). Micah later tries to communicate with the force that forced its way in, defying the psychic’s advice.
The debut from writer/director Oren Peli, whose resume includes being a programmer for the video game "NFL Xtreme," has his story coming from the point of view of Micah’s camera, with footage that comes out as realistic-looking, but shaky. Unlike "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield" before it, the camera never leaves the house, but it doesn’t help that the homeowners become more predictable with every action. With only four characters, a $15,000 budget and one setting, it’s easy to see why the plot doesn’t go anywhere.
Most of the movie, which came out in limited release Sept. 25, but an intense Web campaign propelled it to more theaters and the No. 1 spot at the box office last weekend, is told through the Katie and Micah’s dialogue as they deal with the situation. The first 30 minutes are dedicated to introducing these two with flirts and giggles, which is well-acted and believable, but also boring.
There are a few scenes in "Paranormal Activity" that are disturbing, but they’re few and far between. Even the scariest of them aren’t worth sitting through 20 minutes of arguing and flirting. Peli does throw in a few foreshadowing moments, hinting at things that would have been predictable anyway. His idea to avoid a complicated script for a sense of realism doesn’t work because the characters come off as too real — and real people are usually boring.
"Paranormal Activity" may have promised to define this generation’s frights, but winds up offering nothing but cheap thrills.
Paranormal Activity
R
One-and-a-half reels out of four
Now in theaters
Orphan
R
Available Tuesday
After giving birth to a stillborn child, Kate (Vera Farmiga) and her husband, John (Peter Sarsgaard), adopt Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), a 9-year-old from a local orphanage. Although the girl is liked by the family’s daughter (Aryana Engineer), Kate becomes suspicious when Sister Abigail (CCH Pounder) from the orphanage warns of the dangers that follow Esther.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra ("House of Wax"), the film received lukewarm reviews during its summer release but still managed to make $41 million at the box office.
