Paranormal Hype?

Is the "scariest film of all time" worthy of its title?

After all the months of rumours, hear-say and websites devoted to the cause, Paranormal Activity has finally been released nation-wide. But was it worth the hype?

The film centres on Katie and Micah, a young couple that decide to document the ghostly happenings that have manifested around Katie since she was a little girl. It is shot in the one-camera documentary style that currently seems to be very popular in the film industry and it is also presented as real footage that was found after the incident. This is not a completely original idea as a few other films have also employed this method, such as: Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project and Doomsday to name a few. This realism is immediately countered, however, by the disclaimer at the end of the film which makes it clear that the events and the characters were fictional and that any resemblance to actual occurrences is entirely coincidental.

This made me laugh, fairly cynically yes, but also very loudly. I understand that for legal reasons they must make it clear what is fictional, but surely there would have been a better place to put this notice? As it is at the moment, the film fades to black, a screen comes up saying that (spoiler alert) Micah's body was found days later by the police. Then another screen appears saying that they never found Katie or her body, and then the very next screen says it was all made up. That's kind of a finger to the audience, isn't it?

But going back to the film's pre-release hype, it is clear that it has had some clever marketing which has been very successful. We have all been inundated with advertisements citing the film as incredibly terrifying and the trailer (that, incidentally, gives away the ending) is very effective at making you pay attention and also pay to see it. It was promoted in such a way that the punters were soon demanding for it to be shown in every cinema across the country before they even knew anything about it. Viral campaigns ensured that the name Paranormal Activity was heard as far and wide as possible before anyone actually saw it.

The absence of big name stars and creators was its strength rather than its drawback as it immediately gave it much more of a genuine and realistic feel than anything Hollywood could ever hope to achieve. Oren Peli was a first time director, the actors were so fresh they were able to use their own names for the characters that they played, and the set was Actually Peli's house. The whole film was shot in seven days and it's made an astronomical amount of profit because it was so cheap to make, so even if you don't think it was a feat of creative genius, it was definitely a feat of business genius.

The film does manage to create a few tingles now and again, and it helps if you don't see it in a packed cinema with a disruptive audience. But I think even watching it alone in the dark at home wouldn't produce more than a modicum of chills. There are a few moments where you think "Oh my God, what was that noise?" and the end part where (again- spoiler alert) she is dragged screaming from the bed by some invisible force does surprise and appal you but that's pretty much it. There's no horrific fright-fest, and about the scariest things in it were a moving blanket and a door slamming shut. By the time big things start happening you know the film's got about fifteen minutes of running time left and you're starting to look at your watch. It's not scary, but it is enjoyable.

The chemistry between the actors really adds authenticity to the fictional relationship and the way they are so different and yet so compatible makes them very believable. Indeed, there were many moments where their conversations, actions and facial expressions reminded me vividly of past relationships.

Everything about the film felt very real, except for the parts that were supposed to be scary; they just felt very fake. It is perhaps indicative of the limits of my own psyche that I cannot watch something on a screen and accept that it can't be explained. In this circumstance it is just too hard to stop thinking of the string that is moving the door, or to not picture an off-screen stage-hand that has just violently swung the chandelier before the couple come down the stairs. That's why the image of Katie being pulled from the bed is the only one that has really stuck with me, because it is not obvious how it was done. I can think of a million ways that it could have been done, but the very fact that you can't guess which one causes you to switch off that infernal logic and believe it is actually happening, even if it is just for a short time.

Despite my criticisms though, I did like the film. What it offers is an enjoyable evening watching some well-written, well-acted characters try to deal with a fairly interesting (though admittedly trite) problem. When you take into account the amount of money it took to make, the amount of money it has made and the brilliance of the writing and acting, it is only fair to say that it was a very well-made film. It's just not scary.