Paranormal Activity Review
Making a movie with $15,000 sounds pretty remarkable to me. A little while ago, I spoke about my love for Indie film, when the trailer for 'Afterschool' dropped.
Paranormal Activity is a film which was given limited release, and is probably THE most impressive Horror film I have seen to date, given the circumstances it was filmed on; $15,000 budget, 1 week to shoot, 2 years until it received critical acclaim.
Putting all of that aside though, the film itself was a massive achievement. It contained the makings of an amazing film. Throughout the whole film, there was never a moment I felt bored. Even during the parts when there was excessive dialogue, I still felt drawn to it, not necessarily to the dialogue itself, but to the way the characters were delivering it. It felt real, it didn't feel like a movie at all to me, it actually felt as though I was watching a documentary, an extended YouTube Vlog-No...Even a Vlog would be more exaggerated, this, was just...real. Not literally, of course, but it wasn't over dramatic, it wasn't theatrical.
Now, the effects. Sure, they probably cost peanuts, but the way they were displayed, the way they were executed, and presented, were exceptional.
Example 1- The swinging chandelier - Ok, so probably not the most creative effect, but, in the moment- the context in which it was presented, was creepy, and it worked, whether or not it was some dude pushing it before the camera got to it. Think about this, though. Your at home, you hear a noise(all the time keeping in mind you have a chandelier in the house), you run to see what it was, and the chandelier was swaying from side to side. That'd be freaky. See, now, the good thing about this was that it wasn't completely far-fetched, and it was a viable effect, and no doubt, didn't cost a billion dollar to shoot.
Example 2, and the most puzzling for me - The leg pulling- Those of you who have seen this, will know what I'm referring to. I think this was the most effective effect in the entire movie, and still don't know how it was done, I'm working on that, but I just felt it was just brilliant. The emotion that was conveyed by the couple felt so genuine, and it didn't even feel like I was watching a film, by that point in the movie, I was a bystander in their lives.
Now the shots- Cloverfield did it, and I loved the concept of a hand-held camera being used for the entire movie. Like I said before, it felt like I was watching a documentary, it was authentic, and I really bought the whole thing. Hell, I was watching it myself, and I didn't want to sleep after it. More so than any other Horror I've seen before.
However, I will say that the end, well, it was pretty anti-climactic. Yeah, yeah, spoiler alert, who cares. So I get what happened, I just don't think it was cool by not telling us what happened afterwards.
I did like the authenticity of the film; no credits, just a 'thank you' message to the local Police Department.
Overall, good film, still not on the perfect side, I guess purely because of the end, that was a downer for me, but other than that, like I said before, still one of the best Horrors I've seen in a LONG time.
9.5/10
Kazed
The Myth of the American Sleepover Synopsis - Four young people navigate the suburban wonderland of metro-Detroit looking for love and adventure on the last weekend of summer. It took me one whole year for me to finally watch this film. When I first saw the trailer to this film I was instantly hooked on the story the characters and the idea. It annoys me when small independent films with great stories don’t get an international release. But before I get off on a tangent ranting about the Hollywood monopoly system, let me get back to reviewing this film. I like to think we live in a world where everything is not black or white, you know everything is not as it seems, and good people can do bad things and vice versa. Life is complicated and growing up is the most difficult time for any teenager, especially in this day and age where everything you say and do can be scrutinised. The film follows a bunch of different teenagers as they come to the close of the summer holidays. The film spans across a day and tells the story of how both the male and female teens spend their night at sleepovers and parties. The story is told at a wonderful pace and the characters are likeable; you can sympathise with them and the emotions they go through when trying to find love. The director does a beautiful job in capturing the raw beauty of teenage suburban life. This is the first feature film by director David Robert Mitchell, and he's done a decent job in telling a story, which a lot of mainstream Hollywood films fail to do. At times the film does go off topic but quickly finds its way back and tells a good story. What really works for the film is the cast, the actors are superbly casted and bring something to their individual characters. They are believable and a lot of teenagers will easily relate to one or more characters. The attraction of this film is definitely the idea of how teenagers find love and define relationships; it gives a message of hope and promise. It’s a real shame that this film won’t be watched by many (as with a lot of indie films) because of its limited release. But if you ever get a chance to watch this film or want to legally download it and watch it I’d say go for it. It’s a coming of age tale of teens, hope, love and life. The film also has an impressive soundtrack to it, which definitely helps in capturing the emotions and the sentimental-ness of the heart. A thoroughly well written and directed film and a tremendous cast that will take you on a journey. 7/10 Muni
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