The house isn't possessed.

Spoilers

I saw the 2007 version yesterday, which has a slightly alternate ending. I've since discovered that the part they changed have been shown in the commercial (Micah's body being flung towards the camera, rather than the audience not seeing what happened to him, followed by Katie being shot by the police). Either way, wasn't all that impressed with the film. Felt a lot like Open Water. C+

Horror as of recently has usually become just the same old thing, attractive cast goes through a scary event and somehow finds a way out with expecting the audience to be entirely scared in the process. There seems to be few horror films that break this barrier today and the only one so far from this year that did it successfully was Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell". Well "Paranormal Activity" can now be added to this selective list from 2009. Shot on a mere budget of just $11,000, Activity brings an exciting and very thrilling story to the screen in such a wonderful fashion. It doesn't rely on big names or really any blood to get its story across. The use of home cameras is becoming more and more noticeable in Hollywood today and Activity uses the technique wonderfully. The couple's fear is very noticeable and the fear meter increases with every scene. It's a film that signifies the meaning of being on "the edge of your seat". The film as a whole is the best horror film so far this year if not one of the best horror films ever. It's a film that while becoming very popular now in theaters should be able to keep its popularity in the years to come. Paranormal Activity is the exact film the genre needed. ***1/2

I saw it again at 11:50 today for my second time and it was hands down the worst theater experience that I've ever had in my entire life. You could barely even hear what was being said on screen because everyone was talking, laughing or being obnoxious. At the end of the movie, some people started fighting because they were angry about how awful some of the people were acting, in which one girl replied, "bitch, if you want it to be quiet, rent the fucking DVD." There was also a two year old in the movie. AT 11:50 AT FUCKING NIGHT!

I'm not racist or anything. In fact, I'm one of the most accepting people ever. But I swear, teens, babies and annoying black people should be banned from all movies, especially horror movies.

I know for a fact that I am not the only person that has noticed how AWFUL some black people are during horror movies. And I'm not racist, one of my best friends is black and she went with me today and even she was bitching about black people during horror movies.

It's not really a race thing, but a culture thing. I love watching horror movies with an expressive crowd.

Aside from points for not being torture porn or some remake there really wasn't much here. I don't think it was horrible or anything, but this was just way too long for what it was. This would have been a pretty good short film but I didn't see 90+ mins worth of stuff. Creepy noises, couple arguing, creepy noises, a door closes, couple argues, etc. There was no terror here.

I went in with indifference and came out with a yawn followed by indifference so it could have been worse, I suppose. These "real" ghost stories have never, ever even come close to frightening me, though (I mostly find the concept dull), so Paranormal Activiy being meh comes as no surprise.

C

The reason it's so scary is because of how little it shows and how realistic it is. I'm sorry but if I saw a demon walking around the house, I wouldn't be scared at all. It's the unknown which is so terrifying.

While I don't agree with that at all I do agree that the unknown is scarier. The reason so many horror movies aren't scary in the least is because they show too much. Just like with a lot of things, less is more.

If you're someone who doesn't like to use your imagination then clearly this movie isn't for you.

I meant if I saw a demon walking around the house in the MOVIE. Obviously if I was sleeping and I woke up to a demon standing by my bed, I would piss my pants.

Bingo. Most movies these days spoon-feed everything to the audience. Paranormal Activity however, leaves many things unknown and open to interpretation, and that's why it's "truly frightening" to some folks and it resonates and stays with you.

I thought it was brilliant personally.

If you see only one 'invisible demon fucks with yuppies in Southern California' movie this year...
Make it Drag Me to Hell.

This was fine, and had plenty of creepy moments, but I find it hard to believe it's one of the scariest movies people have ever seen. Kudos to Paramount and it's ability to create something out of nothing. This studio-born zeitgeist is curious, but also a lot more frightening than the movie itself.

Just stop. You didn't like it. Alright... I'm sorry. I thought it was great, as did many others. We didn't think it was scary because we "bought into the hype." In fact, I wasn't expecting it to be scary at all. I wasn't even sure if I would like it. I, like you, was just very curious about it. It WAS that scary to me. I DID have trouble sleeping for about a week after I saw it (and then another few days after I saw it again). That isn't just because of the hype, it was because, to me, it was genuinely terrifying.

What a waste of my evening. This movie is completely overhyped for 15 minutes of good footage. I was bored out of my mind and felt the exact same thing that"Mika" did throughout the film. Quit fucking with us and do something bitch! Well of course it finally does sorta but we really don't see what it was in the end and why it took 21 days for it to happen I kept thinking to myself ok all the so called weirdness happens from about 230am-4am, yet on all the nights they don't go to bed until 1230am,maybe they ate to late

Message to Hollywood don't get to attached to the profits this film makes and start making dozens of copy cats for the next several years, you will lose money because you'll want to spend more than $15,000. If you can stick to that total knock yourselves out just don't expect us to fall for this crap again and reward you with a 500,000% + profit.

As for complaining about other patrons in the theater, can you really blame them? The were just wanting something anything to happen to capture their attention and it didn't happen.

D

No. I have no problem with people not finding the movie scary, it definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea. I'm blasting you because you're TELLING us that we weren't scared of the movie and it was purely the hype that made us think it was scary. That is just idiotic.

If you didn't find it scary, that's fine, but you don't know shit about what other people may find scary. Everyone is different. I don't know many people who would say a movie was scary simply because a TV ad and hype told them it was. Exactly the opposite. It would be more likely to make people say it's not scary because they'd have outrageous expectations and would be easily letdown. You better believe there are people who genuinely found this scary.