Paranormal Activity - movie review

They should have called this film Bugger-all Activity. For the rave reviews this film has been receiving and the insane piles of cash it’s taking at the box office you would expect a little more than a slow burning psychological snooze fest with a sum total of 45 seconds of action.

No I don’t mean Arnie hanging from a helicopter firing a bazooka at the on-coming tank battalion action - I’m simply referring to the activities of the pesky little entity that is apparently haunting the young protagonist and her hapless boyfriend.

This film had a lot of promise; a cross between Poltergeist and The Blair Witch Project - how could you balls that up? Well you leave out the narly chair stacking mischievousness of Poltergeist and you forgo out the isolation and hopelessness of Blair Witch. What you end up with is two stupid white kids who immediately become quite irritating freaking themselves out over a few creaks and the occasional door opening by itself.

Sure if any of this stuff actually happened you’d shit your pants, but that doesn’t mean it makes compelling viewing now does it?

Yes, the whole fear of the unseen works, as does the casual acting style and the use of handy-cams, but hey, Blair Witch did it all better a decade back. Of the course the Blair Witch people don’t have a patent on these tricks by if the cinematic style is as niche as this, you should really think twice before ripping it off.

The producers of this film must be laughing all the way to the bank.