Day 247: "You are absolutely powerless!"

Yet again I delve into the Blair Witch school of horror film making as I chose to see Paranormal Activity this evening.  Honestly the best thing that directors have taken away from Blair Witch was making the decision to invest in a tripod, because the stories have gotten so much better.  The idea of utilizing a "normal" or "safe" environment and then injecting suspense and horror into the public's mind, inside of that environment, is a much more effective tool for terror than huge and gory effects (although I love those too).  The "real world" setting and lack of flashy effects forced me to use my imagination, and that helped to make Paranormal Activity one of the scariest movies I've seen in a while.  A couple has moved into a home together, and a series of weird events start happening: lights get mysteriously switched on, doors closing of, seemingly, their own accord.  The boyfriend is skeptical and sets up a camera to try and capture these events as they happen, which is at night while they sleep.  We later discover that the woman has felt a "presence" and believes that something is trying to harm her.  The things get nuts.  I have to admit, I will put the ending of this up in the top pantheon of horror endings, as it creeped me out to no end.  My bedroom door will now remain shut.

First time director Oren Peli had an equally rookie cast for this movie, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat as the tormented couple, not so coincidentally named Katie and Micah.  The two seemed very immersed in the roles, and really looked and acted deeply scared by the end of the movie.

Alfred Hitchcock once used a cooler full of champagne bottles to convey a building of suspense (Notorious, also one of his best movies), and Peli uses the time on the video for the same effect, only when the timer returns to normal, it's go time.  I love when the simplest things are effectively used to build a sense of impending doom: two musical notes, in Jaws, champagne bottles in Notorious, and a digital timer here.  I was not expecting this to be as scary as it wound up being, and for that, I applaud.  7.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!