Much to my dismay, I missed my opportunity to see "Paranormal Activity" in a theater and with an audience. After all, films like "Paranormal Activity" often carry a gravitas that is reinforced with a massive sound system, extremely dark room, and the shrieks of other film goers. As alluded to, I had to settle on watching "Paranormal Activity" in the mere comfort of my home. But I assure you, the sound was adequately amped, the lights were off, and I had a fellow filmgoer ready and willing to shriek. Despite these particular attributes, I'm willing to say one can feel some sense of anxiety watching the film even if the lights were only slightly dimmed.
Like "The Blair Witch Project", the indie horror smash that in many ways paved the path for "Paranormal Activity", the film builds its suspense on the unknown and the noises that emanate from it. With his bag of parlor tricks and well timed auditory attacks, director Oren Peli is able to create a hinge of fear without even showing the demons that run amok amongst the couple, nor delivering massive amounts of unnecessary blood. Much like the films of Hitchcock and the thrillers of the past (i.e. "The Spiral Staircase"), director Peli is satisfied by building the tension with subtle, out of place moments like the movement of a door or hearing a hint of white noise place us in the moment. Suddenly these small moments snow ball into bigger moments, as Peli goes for the jugular in the final moments. It's a film like this that is truly a dime a dozen. So many horror films these days are too concerned with their body count or hammering the audience over the head with jump scares. Peli isn't concerned with common horror fodder. Instead he's more concerned with delivering a film that feels like a slow burn; one that tortures the audience and its characters with anticipation.
Because the film is independent, it obviously allowed for Peli's vision to be achieved. Yet, because it was an independent venture, there are some shortcomings the film has to deal with. More specifically said shortcomings revolves around the acting and writing. Of course with there being very little money available, a film like "Paranormal Activity" can't really afford top of the line talent, so it has to settle on whatever it can get. Now, I would argue that the leads do a rather legitimate job creating a relationship that seems authentic and sincere. This is especially noticeable in the opening scenes where the characters of Micah and Katie partake in mundane, everyday activities. The actors are good enough to get us involved in their lives, this is even more true when applied to actress Katie Featherston who plays the victim to Peli's demon. Yet, the problems and annoyance for me comes from the character of Micah. The problem not only rises in how he's portrayed by actor Micah Sloat, but also how he's written by Peli.
First, the acting of Micah Sloat is serviceable, but the delivery of his lines when he's trying to be angry comes across as being forced. Normally this wouldn't be too much of an issue, but with the last half of the film hanging on the notion that Katie and Micah's relationship is taking a turn for the worse, his moments of aggression come out flat. Yet, I'm not ready to pin this on Micah Sloat alone. No, despite his ability to create ghoulish tension, I'm ready to pin this on Peli whose screenplay tends to paint Micah in a light that is boyish. I'm not saying this isn't a realistic characterization, but this becomes a problem when I'm supposed to be rooting for Micah and Katie.I can't sympathize with Micah when his behavior annoyed me beyond belief. This was especially true when Micah continually went against the wishes of Katie and ultimately had me wondering, why would a woman like Katie even date a man like Micah? His acts weren't anymore his character than they were the stereotype of a drunk frat boy whose kicks were scuffed at a mixer. In most horror films this kind of stereotype is saved for a secondary character. More specifically it's the type of character that is usually the sacrificial lamb to the killer/monster, where a moment is created where everyone in attendance can find some redemption in the killing of a character or in basic terms: the death of the prick.
Yet, aside from that annotation of a character, we should be feeling some sympathy for our leads. Well, the character of Micah agitated me so much, that more often than not I just wished he would meet his demise. This is inherently a problem considering that a viewer shouldn't be wishing death upon a character for the majority of a film. Had Peli been able to circumvent the typical horror 'meat-head' in Micah, I would be willing to say that he had crafted one of the best horror films since "The Exorcist". It has the setup, it has the terrific use of effects, and it has the blood stewing suspense. But, what keeps it from becoming a classic is that it had me rooting for the Devil to win at least in some shape or form, and I can't completely fear the Devil if I'm on his side.
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