Paranormal Activity - review

[iPirate]

I'm not an easy man to scare. I used to eat, sleep and drink "creepy". I was a ghost hunter. All those shows you see now, "Ghost Hunters", "Ghost Adventures", all that stuff. I used to do that. I'm very familiar with things that go bump in the night, manifest shadows and mists and even pull your hair an breathe down your neck. Been there, done that.

All those years I did that stuff, there was always the question, "What if"? What if this goes wrong? What if this goes REALLY wrong? What if this entity turns nasty?

The movie "Paranormal Activity" answers that question… and then some. It presents a text book haunting with all the elements I've experienced in real life. Maybe that's why this movie scared the bejeezus out of me.

Visually, it's like a cross between Blair Witch and The Grudge. It's presented documentary style, with a home camera. The motion sensitive need not worry too much as the camera is on a tri-pod most of the time and the "shaky cam" is kept to minimum.

I can't say if I enjoyed this movie or not. I loved the way it was presented. The scares were genuinely scary. Even the acting was good. I should like this movie.

But it put too many "what if's" in my head. What really goes on in my house when I'm asleep? What would I see if I set up a camera when I'm off in La La Land?

Those kind of "what if's" make sleeping difficult.

[Red Sea Trade]

I worked in an 18th century house for many years. It was beautiful by day, but fairly creepy by night. We had more than our share of strange occurances, but it never really bothered me to work--or even sleep--there.

Then, on a lark, I allowed a team of ghost hunters to do an investigation. They didn't find anything earth-shaking, but they did confirm several specific "feelings" we had always had.

Somehow, the very clinical, professional way they did their investigation made it all more real, and more disturbing. I could have shrugged off their findings if they had been wacky, doofy types. Instead, I was never at ease in the building again. And with good reason.

[oderlesseye]

That was one hellava movie! I was disturbed for a good 24 hour period after seein it...It was well made and got good visceral responses from me. I have had some experiences close to this but on a very toned down level.

[Pew]

Coooooooooooollllllllll . . . . Can't wait to see it.