Preview - Paranormal Activity

"A dash of unavoidable cliche takes the sting out of an otherwise intriguing low-budget feature, the likes of which you have to give kudos for completing the vision with great attention to detail." The Truthbooth sends reviewer V.A Sancez off to the movies to see a preview of Paranormal Activity.

The tricky thing with horror is that audiences have become over-exposed to blood, such that the genre is now stricken by self-parody, with the slasher film emerging out of what was once a bona fide scary film-going experience. Nosferatu, Alien, Kronos are all films offering genuine thrills without relying on the mindless violence and gore you might find in more recent outings; Hostel or Wolf Creek for example.

The conventions are deceptively simple - the fear needs to be allegorical, the audience so engaged in the story that they allow the metaphor to take over, what they're really fearing is in their own life, somehow projected through these characters. In a slasher, you get tense because you know what's coming, whereas the traditional horror engages a fear of what you don't know.

Paranormal Activity pays homage to some of the ground-breaking horror films; The Exorcist, Poltergeist, The Blair Witch Project. This last film is especially influential as the makers have adopted the technique of incorporating the camera into the action. The whole thing is shot as cinema verite, complete with dodgy reverb-sound, awkward angles and some shaky hand-held moments throughout.

A cast of just five (count em), two of whom are virtually cameos, it's a tribute to the authentic performances of the two leads that some real unease escalates as their supernatural stalker gets stuck in.

Some conventions are abandoned; there's no eerie music to cue the shocks and hardly a speck of blood to be seen. The use of time lapse and repetition, particularly in the night scenes adds anticipation where traditional narrative mise-en-scene techniques would likely falter.

The writing taps into a fear particular to the US psyche; the home is sacrosanct, if an outsider invades your house you have every right to defend it. That little thing called the Fourth Amendment has no bearing in this instance, so the hapless Micah must instead rail against this otherworldly home-invader by other means. Needless to say his efforts go less than appreciated. But this idea that we are utterly defenseless against something that creeps into our bedrooms in the wee hours is compelling, even if that being might sometimes seem more like an ethereal peeping tom than, say The Lord of Pain.

A dash of unavoidable cliche takes the sting out of an otherwise intriguing low-budget feature, the likes of which you have to give kudos for completing the vision with great attention to detail. The filmmakers find themselves in high pedigree for some of the greats started out with independent horror films going on to great things, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson to name a few. Film buffs might enjoy the knowledge they caught an emerging master on debut.

Worth a look, but so long as you don't believe it's real- you'll get a good nights sleep.

Wait - it is fictional, isn't it? Right? *gulp*

Read more from V.A Sancz on his blog 5th Wall or follow him on Twitter.

Paranormal Activity opens in cinemas on December 3rd. Click here to find session times for Paranormal Activity at a cinema near you on MyTickets.

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