Paranormal Activity

I did it again. Against my better judgement I let my friends convince me into watching a horror movie. I think I should just admit it that I love a good ghost story – just like anyone else. God knows, I do love reading them.

Its highly probable that you have already heard and maybe seen this movie. Released last year by Paramount Pictures, this extremely low budget movie has been one of the box office winners.

Belonging to the ‘Blair witch project’ of horror movie film-making, ‘Paranormal Activity’ is about the lives of a young suburban couple living in a haunted towhouse.

The film opens up with Micah expalaining to his live-in girlfriend , Katie, why he is lugging around a huge video camera. Katie and Micah have been experiencing some unnatural activity in the house and Micah says that if they capture their home and daily life on a video they might have definite proof about a supernatural presence. The whole movie is shot using that video camera and hence has a very home-video effect.

Katie mentions to a psychic who she has called home for consultations , that she has been haunted since she was eight and the weird things have been happening to her since she has moved into the house. The pshycic explains to her that she is probably being followed by a demonic presence and needs to get hold of an exorcist. He also advices them against antagonizing the spirt.

Katie and Micah are opposite sides of the spectrum – typical to any good ghost story.Micah is clearly a skeptic and believes that whatever is happening in the house can be controlled by them. He keeps trying to instigate the demon so that he can capture more ‘cool’ proof on the camera. Katie, on the other hand, wants to get away and let things be. Though she sincerely believes that getting a camera is only making the presence act out more , she is never able to convince Micah to get rid of it.

As a viewer, the most exciting part of the movies are the night recordings , when Micah and Katie are bed, and things begun to happen. And mind you,initially these are just subtle stuff, light noises- door creaking. Then these get bigger and scarier.

I was convincingly scared by this movie. The extremely natural acting, the in your face scariness, and the oh-so-real suburban apartment enhanced the whole effect of the movie.

I slept with my lights on :).

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