Second Chance Sundays: Paranormal Activity

A strange thing happened this month. I started to see a lot of advertisements and viral marketing for the sequel to Paranormal Activity. The more I saw the more I became intrigued at what this new film had to offer. Then I thought, "Where have I seen this before?". Ah yes...the first Paranormal Activity.

I remember just last year being told that Paranormal Activity was a new breed of terror and that it was so intense that I had to "demand" it be brought to my town.I was immediately sold. So I "demanded" the hell out of it and made sure every single one of my social networking buddies knew about it to. Then, on opening weekend, me and a group of friends settled in at the local theater for a double feature that also included the amazing Zombieland. After we walked out of the theater that night, the only thing I was grateful for was that we watched Zombieland last.

I couldn't understand why I had gone ape-shit leading up to this flick...sure it had some pretty decent scares and the acting was convincing but other than that, what was left to like? I walked out bummed and didn't really give it much thought...until now. With the sequel on the horizon, I thought I'd revisit the original in the first installment of Second Chance Sundays.

Upon my second viewing of the film I've got to say that not a whole lot has changed for me about this flick. I still say that there were some effective scares (and a really effective tone) and the acting is still decent. What I did discover, however, was where some of my original disappointment came from. It has been the trend of the public to completely over-hype anything that shows even a little potential. Thus is the case with Paranormal Activity. I went into this one expecting Jaws and got Piranah 3-D...not a horrible film but just a film.

I also realized that this probably could have been avoided if not for some plot details and a major story problem. The two plot elements that completely removed me from the film were the Ouija board sequence and the burnt picture. Initially I was into the board sequence. When the piece began moving on its own, I dug it. Then came the fire. Demon or not, the idea of spontaneous fire just didn't jive. And neither did the burnt picture of Katie as a kid. It was just too convenient to have it transported from somewhere in the ether to their attic...and for what reason?



The biggest thing that took me out of the flick was the third act. Micah spends the last act of the film doing his damnedest to be the most unhelpful asshole in horror movie history. I understand that in order for the film to move forward you've got to have the camera present and there's the rub I guess. It becomes an obstacle to the story. Where as a real life Micah would (hopefully)put the camera away, sell the house and book a couple tickets to the vatican our fictional fella keeps on fuckin up. And Katie for whatever reason, does nothing to fight what is happening to her. Sure she's scared, who wouldn't be? But when is enough enough?

This all leads up to the ending which, if you haven't seen I won't spoil, completely baffles me. The ending to Katie's story (or beginning?) just reeks of bad storytelling.

So all in all, I can't say that my thoughts of the film haven't really changed. I'm frustrated that third act identity crisis severely damaged what could have been an even more chilling film. My hope is that the sequel will work to fix this folly and may do something to jump start the genre.