REVIEW: Paranormal ActivityRSS

3 stars

There are moments in Paranormal Activity when you have to ask yourself why you’re so terrified. This much-hyped, low-budget flick is really no more than a boogeyman thriller. With a budget of just US$15,000, writer-director Oren Peli didn’t even need to invest in a set, shooting the entire thing in his house.

The film’s limited setting means there’s much repetition – your heart rate will literally oscillate as the sun goes up and down. But thanks to its less-is-more filmmaking techniques, Paranormal’s biggest triumph is its ability to ramp up the tension throughout. Much of the time it’s like waiting for an electric shock.

It helps that the two main leads are so easy to watch. Their take-the-piss relationship does plenty to calm the nerves in the lead-up to the scary stuff – comic relief has never been so welcome. Yes, there are a couple of silly bits and you must suspend disbelief to get the full effect, much like its forefather, The Blair Witch Project.

Because the home-footage, cinema verite style has been done before, it’s not as impressive as it might have been ten years ago. But if it’s an old-fashioned fright night you’re after, you won’t be disappointed.