I just got back from a screening of the latest "viral" indie horror event pic
Paranormal Activity. Paramount has been releasing this slowly to college towns, and now it's starting to leak out into a wider release. Anyway, it's
Blair Witch all over again, but this time, it's a mock-verite about a young couple in a haunted house scenario, video-taping their bedroom while they sleep at night. Needless to say, they capture images of those things that in the night do go bump.
Anyhow, there is massive hype around this film, and I saw it with a full house which, just as in the ad campaign, jumped and screamed and shouted "omigod" at all the right times.
Me? Well, I guess I'm just jaded. I admired a few scenes, I thought the main actress did a terrific job seeming natural and ordinary. I wasn't scared and I will have not the slightest problem getting to sleep. Your mileage may vary.
It's much longer than it should be. I found one scene very creepy, and the ending made me grin with shadenfreude like Uncle Fester in a famous Charles Addams cartoon panel.
two almost spoilery points:
Spoiler:
The guy character in this movie is so annoying, I was praying for him to die. I'm afraid he drove this modest story waaaay over into idiot plot territory.
The admittedly bravura ending seemed suspiciously less "indie" than the rest of the picture, and sure enough, I come to find out that it is not the original ending, but one cooked up by Spielberg and associates to goose things up a bit. Having learned that, I feel kind of cheated, because I was ready to really admire these first-time filmmakers for pulling it off. But sadly, the current ending despoils their efforts, and includes a bit of unecessary CGI as well. Gads, Hollywood, thou art corrupt and inane.
So, well, I'm glad I went on a crowded night, but for my money, not the soul-shattering experience I had vainly hoped it might be.