Considering the film has such basic roots, Oren Peli, and the cast of the film, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, have enjoyed incredible success since the film was finally released in October. There have been reports of audience members leaving the cinema because they were too afraid to continue watching the movie. Stephen Spielberg, after being sent a copy to view, supposedly brought it back wrapped in a plastic bag because he thought the DVD was haunted!
Oren Peli Makes Magic With Tiny Budget
It was made on a budget of only US$15,000, and filmed in Peli’s own home in San Diego. The shooting was completed in just one week. It premiered at the Screamfest Film Festival in the US in October 2007, but following that it bounced around several studios and distributors, where no one would pick it up. Finally, Paramount bought the rights with the intention of doing a remake with Peli directing, and the original movie included with the DVD. However, after doing a few test screenings before going ahead with production, in which people actually left the cinema in fear, Paramount realised that they had something special on their hands, and stuck with the original.
Whatever people may say about faux-documentaries, the genre has many fans. The unscripted style of acting and the shaky hand-held camera effect creates a realism and suspense that cannot be denied. It draws audiences into the lives of the characters and involves them on a deeper level than other films that are chock-full of special effects and Hollywood stars. Two previous great examples are the Blair Witch Project (1999) and Cloverfield (2008) (ok, Cloverfield had effects, but no A-listers).
Thankfully, so far this type of filmmaking has not been done to death, which is surprising considering that whenever something is a success, studios line up to churn out carbon copies. There is a saying in Hollywood that everyone wants to be the second one to do something successful. The first one takes the risk, and if it pays off, you know the second one will be a hit. To see too many examples of this fake documentary style would de-sensitise viewers to the genre and lessen the effect it has on audiences.
Paranormal Activity Will Have You Hiding Behind Your Popcorn!
Oren Peli is almost clinically efficient at creating suspense throughout the movie. The scare-factor starts off at almost nil, and gradually accelerates until you almost can’t bear to watch. This gradual acceleration is a very simple technique, and yet incredibly effective, as you know with absolute certainty that each paranormal episode is going to be exponentially worse than the last.
The only thing that leaves you guessing is exactly what is going to happen to the unfortunate couple in the end. And this actually varies depending on where and when you watched the film, as different endings where filmed, and all have been screened at various events. Whichever version you watch is guaranteed to have you hiding behind a bucket of popcorn/settee/boyfriend/girlfriend (delete where applicable).
Perhaps the only downside of the movie is Micah’s inexplicable and irritating insistence on continuing to incite the entity into further and further action, despite Katie’s constant pleas that he stop. You can’t help but think to yourself, why? He ends up looking like a geek playing at alpha-male, but instead coming across as idiotic and insensitive to his partner’s obvious terror. Unfortunately, this is what Peli uses to drive the plot, as it is Micah’s constant interference that provokes the unexplainable phenomena.
If you accept this film for what it is, i.e. an extremely low-budget flick with a very basic plot and completely unknown actors found on craigslist.org, then you can appreciate the genius that Peli has shown in taking something so simple and creating such an extreme effect on his audience. Anyone who says that their heart rate didn’t accelerate towards the end is a liar, plain and simple. And it’s good to know that even today, you don’t need a multi-million dollar budget to make magic!
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