Review of Paranormal Activity (2007) by Jacob T — 21 Feb 2017

A true marksmanship of how found-footage films should be written.

Katie (Katie Featherson) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a twentysomething couple who've just moved into a new home in San Diego, CA. Katie has an interest in the paranormal and believes that malevolent spirits have been following her since childhood, though Micah is not so easily convinced. However, after several nights of loud noises and strange happenings, Micah starts to agree with Katie that some sort of ghost may have followed them to the new home. After a paranormal researcher tells the couple he can't help them, Micah decides to take control of the situation and sets up a battery of video cameras so that if a spirit manifests itself, he can capture its behavior on tape.

The found-footage genre is one of the easiest genres to enter a film into nowadays, making it one of the most saturated, overused, and dullest markets out there. But it's so successful for a reason, and that success can be traced back years ago to "The Blair Witch Project". However, I believe that this film is the film that really took the reigns of the found-footage genre and made it something real.

The marketing for this film was genius. The way they advertised this film and distributed it was so clever that it captured the attention of many and deceived audiences everywhere. No one really knew the truth behind this film and it was one of the scariest films of the year. This film feels so real and so genuine and like I said, this is what found-footage films should be like.

This is literally one of the highest profit-margins for a film in the history of ever. This film took a low budget and created a realistic, disturbing flick that captured the hearts of many.

The acting in this film and the screenplay were very well done. It feels like we're on this journey with a real couple and that's what makes it scarier. The fact that we can relate to everything makes this film even more scary. We all fear that we may get tormented in our safe place (sleep), and that's exactly what happens here. The movie gets into your mind and sticks there.

The film is suspenseful, scary, and smart. I wish the following films in the franchise were just as good, however, I hope that the found-footage genre can find the spark that this film once had in order to brighten the future of horror.