Paranormal Activity (2007)

Director:

Oren Peli

Writer:

Oren Peli (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What Happens When You Sleep?

Plot:

After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

Plot Keywords:

House | Night | Demon | Handheld Camera | Torn Photograph

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Katie Featherston	...	Katie
Micah Sloat	...	Micah
Mark Fredrichs	...	The Psychic
Ashley Palmer	...	Diane
Amber Armstrong	...	Amber
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Randy McDowell	...	Lt. Randy Hudson
Tim Piper	...	Richard

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

86 min | 99 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45634) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:M (2009) | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Blumhouse Productions

Trivia:

Paramount Studios utilized paranormal researcher, Christopher Chacon, who is recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on paranormal phenomena, to promote and publicize the film. Chacon also works in the entertainment industry as a writer, director and producer. While Chacon has stated that he had no involvement in the making of "Paranormal Activity", speculation continues to surface that suggests that the movie's story is inspired by actual true-events surrounding paranormal phenomena encountered by Chacon.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: On night #21 the time-stamp changes from 11:59:56PM to 11.59.57AM despite it not having turned midnight yet.

Quotes:

Micah: Well, basically it could be two things: it could be a ghost...
[mock whisper]
Micah: or it could be a demon.
Katie: Dr. Fredrichs said that it wasn't a ghost.
Micah: Well, I've been going by the evidence and I'm doin' my research and I'm going to find out what it is.
Katie: Well, whatever it is that's following me, it doesn't feel... it doesn't feel human. It feels like it's... it feels like a monster. I mean like, it wants to hurt me.
Micah: Well that sounds like, actually like a demon.
Katie: Yeah, that's what he said.
Micah: Well, 'cause ghosts are spirits of human beings.
Katie: Yeah, it's definitely not human.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Angela and Friends: (#1.14)" (2009)

Did the hype kill this movie?

Did the hype kill the movie? I watch a lot of horror movies and normally I would really have liked this one. In the endless stream of b-movies and even expensive crap, this movie really stands out. Paranormal Acivity is a scary and straightforward movie and it isn't boring. But of course there is the hype. After I heard this was the scariest movie ever, expectations evidently went up. Eventually resulting in a slight disappointment. This movie would have been much scarier, creepier if I hadn't had any expectations, if I hadn't read any reviews. I guess Public Enemy was right about the Hype.

The movie is scary indeed. After watching Paranormal Activity I noticed that the nightly sounds of my 200 years old house were louder and creepier than ever. But I did not let my good night's sleep for it.

The acting was good but sometimes slightly overdone, which made it difficult for me to connect with the characters. I understand that Micah, the bf, had to be annoying, the character was written that way. But their is something wrong if you start imagining in the middle of the movie gruesome ways he could die. The movie should have been scarier if I had had more empathy for the characters.

Anayway I enjoyed watching this film, but the hype made me expect more.