Simply Perfect

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A simple and extremely low budgeted film that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Shot with nothing less than a panoramic camcorder we take a voyeuristic ride into the spirited paranormal.A couple are terrorized by an unseen force. First, they try to film it - then they fight to stay alive. The one thing that stands out to me is over and over again they keep doing the same thing, waiting way to long to call ANY other demonologist or exorcist. I was tremendously surprised the film had solid editing and the two actors were amazingly realistic in their approach.Each time the film transitions from day to night the footage switches, not being hand held but to stationary on tripod, but to the same static bedroom shot. Because the camera never moves, you're encouraged to scrutinize every single shadow. Your eyes will pick up every sense of that room. When your senses are heightened to that extent, any sudden moves deliver twice the force. By any means this is not an OSCAR film but in sequence that relishes the mind and senses of horror. Next time you hear something go bump in the night, there's a chance - just a chance - that thoughts will turn to that static bedroom... and a hint of something moving. I give it a solid 6/10

The hype surrounding this film was probably the highest of any horror film since I've been old enough to watch horror movies. Yet, it falls remarkably flat. The scares are few and far between, and they aren't even that good. I have no idea how they staged the over the top film screening reactions that were constantly shown on TV around its release date.This film is not as scary as plenty of the other offerings in this genre. Annoyance is the main emotion I felt watching it, inspired by the male lead. He's a total man child doofus and he pisses everybody in this movie off with his macho antics.In fact, there's more than enough evidence to suggest the negative energy that attracted the paranormal activity was caused by how much of an disagreeable buffoon he was. He always chose conflict and resistance over peace and reconciliation, so that created the negative energy the psychic warned them about.

Convinced that paranormal things occur in her bedroom at night, a young woman asks her boyfriend to video record her while she sleeps, which leads to some surprising revelations in this found footage style horror movie. While very few of the jump scares and off-screen sound effects are unsettling, 'Paranormal Activity' certainly has some creepy moments as the young woman wakes up in the middle of the night and stands in a trance besides her bed for minutes on end. The film also successfully plays up the unpredictability of the scenario with a slowing down time lapse counter eerily indicating that something weird is about to occur. Promising as all this might sound, 'Paranormal Activity' is a total miss in its non-nighttime scenes. Neither main character is particularly interesting with the film varying between slow-moving and simply dull as the couple discuss what to do for minutes on end and as the boyfriend often seems to be having more fun experimenting with his cameras and getting out a Ouija board than anything else. A surprise hit when first released though, 'Paranormal Activity' may, however, benefit from being watched with limited preconceptions.

"Paranormal Activity" tells the story of a young couple haunted by a demon. While they do everything to get rid of their supernatural housemate, the events worsen and get more serious.The movie is filmed in the style of an amateur recording, which makes almost anything look more scary than it actually is. This is probably a good thing considering that during most of the film not much happens at all apart from moving doors or some screams. During the second half the events become a bit more serious and the plot is more solid there but this is definitely not something that will keep an experienced Horror fan awake for the upcoming nights. Otherwise this is your average demon story, produced in a solid yet unspectacular way.All in all this is okay demon horror. You can give this a try if you're looking for entertainment and don't set your standards all too high.