PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

For several consecutive years, Lionsgate ruled the Halloween box office with a new installment of their biggest "go-to" money maker, Saw. Like clockwork, another sequel was released to bad reviews and eager audiences - easily making the Saw franchise the unchallenged box-office champion of the Halloween season.

This got the attention of Paramount Pictures.

Wanting their piece of the Halloween pie, they decided to gamble on a small, independent "ghost story" feature they acquired to see if they might strike a chord with audiences by playing on the interest of the public's obsession with anything paranormal. On Halloween 2009, Paranormal Activity opened to strong numbers at #1 over Saw VI, the lowest-grossing installment for the franchise to date, toppling the now-aging franchise from its top-spot Halloween stronghold. An effective marketing campaign and (mostly) stellar reviews helped it rake in nearly $200 million dollars - not bad for a movie that was reported to have cost $15,000 to make.

For those that have not seen the film, the simple story centers around Katie and Micah - a young couple who start experiencing strange, unexplained goings-on in their home. Believing their house to be haunted, they set up cameras in an attempt to document the activity.
Unfortunately, the scariest thing about Paranormal Activity is that it is one of Paramount Picture's most successful film to date.

This poor excuse for a horror movie suffers from one of the most damaging qualities of film; it is extremely boring and dull. While credit has to be given to the amateur filmmakers for trying to give it a valiant effort (the performances are good, the story has potential and there are a couple of decent scenes sprinkled throughout), Paranormal Activity suffers from a disjointed focus and an awful, contrived ending that feels out of place with the rest of the movie - added, no doubt, to leave the door open for PA2.

Due to the fact that practically everyone in America has already seen this film, I actually recommend the uninitiated to check it out - but set your expectations very low. It doesn't even come close to living up to its hype.

My Rating - 3 out of 10