10/21/2009
by Ethan Rogers
No summary here folks! You already know about this!
It’s the movie everyone has been talking about (my mother even asked me about it, and she hates horror movies!), and now you have my thought about it. The film follows a couple as they attempt to document a streak of strange occurrences they have been experiencing. If you have not seen this movie because you don’t want to see “another stupid Blair witch rip off”, you need to punch yourself in the head. Calling this a ripoff is like calling Pepsi a coke rip off because they both are the same color. Yes it is a “Found Footage” film, but it is not a ripoff. While Blair witch focused on the growing paranoia of he camera crew, Paranormal deals with the growing strength of the entity the couple in the film. Paranormal has much more scares then Blair Witch. BWP had that one big scare at the end, that’s about it. They relied on the tension that was built by the filmmakers, Paranormal, while relying on the tension between the couple; also focuses on the growing strength of whatever is lurking in the house.
I saw the film at a late night, sold out showing at Metreon in San Francisco. No one in the audience added their own Riff Tracks. You could tell that the audience was on their toes. Every time something scary happened, they jumped. When the boyfriend said something stupid, they laughed. This could have been the perfect audience. I went in with a sense of anticipation. I had hear so much about this film, yet I was scared that I would be disappointed like so many times before. Upon exiting the theater, I had come to the conclusion that all this hype was very much deserved. The film left me… well… I was scared (the train ride to my friends apartment was also ripped straight from Silent Hill 3, that didn’t help either.). I had the chance to partake in various fun activities before I hit the sack, I chose to fall asleep before they turned the lights out.
I REALLY don’t want to go into detail about anything in this movie. I’m afraid that there is going to be something that I say that will spoil it for somebody. The best thing I can really say to do is this; Go into the film with a neutral optimism for the success of what the film has to offer. This way, you have a better chance of coming out of the film satisfied. If you believe in ghosts, I’d see the film with a friend. I took my mother to see it the next day… (she still wont talk to me.)