Isolation

Image Property of Blumhouse Productions
Copyright 2007

This past Sunday Michelle and I went to the movies to see the new film Paranormal Activity. Similar to The Blair Witch Project the movie was done on an almost non existent budget, but looks to make a whole lot more. Also, like The Blair Witch Project the film is shot in that shaky cam style that films like Cloverfield tried to cash in on. Unlike Cloverfield though, this film convincingly uses less as a whole lot more.

The story basically picks up on Micah's recent camcorder purchase to capture his girlfriend Katie's recent unexplained occurrences. Occurrences that we learn have haunted her since her early childhood. These strange phenomena don't just jump out the first minute we begin watching, but roll out slowly as you get to know the characters and their haunting story.

This is what I think the film does nicely, establishing mood. Everything seems relatable and authentic. The cuts of home footage don't seem unlike something you and your family might have shot yourself. The environment is also to my knowledge very authentic and not a Hollywood set. You feel like you've been there or could have lived there. The last thing the film uses extremely well and to its advantage is isolation and claustrophobia. The couple is pretty much alone the entire film, only once or twice does a friend stop in and make a visit and aside from the paranormal investigator no one is ever in the house with them. Except for one shot early on, you never see the rest of the neighborhood or any of the neighbors. Not only are you isolated from what you see, but what you hear. There is no ambient sound, which you don't realize at first, but notice once you begin to analyze the film. It's just the couple and the entity who provide the audio.

With a very relatable and authentic set up you then get very simple and terrifying scares. The intensity raises a few levels every progressing night of the experience. Some nights it's not as bad as the last, but it's definitely not any better and eventually it just gets worse. All the events take place at night, but eventually move into the day. Making things just that much more scary. The experiences are subtle and effective. Never over the top and never too elaborate. Without giving anything away, the haunting or demonic infestation or possession or whatever you want to call it is very real. The sights and sounds are what you come to expect of such an event. It's what you hear from accounts of any paranormal activity. The phenomenon
escalates from mundane to very supernatural, but with a natural progression. As you watch you begin to feel this impending doom and that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Sunday's viewing was the first time I had a unified audience experience. If someone jumped we all did. We all held our breath together and eventually let go with relief. It was like being around a camp fire and hearing a spooky story, you know, where you jump at the end. Although I never experienced that being from LA. This movie may be the closest I come to being led around like a Cub Scout.