Paranormal Activity

Finally saw this last night as I wanted to wait for dvd after seeing a horrific queue of chavs waiting for it at the cinema.

I thought it was pretty disappointing though :( If they'd have left more to the imagination, this could have been really scary. All the explanations about it being a demon, and having followed her around since she was a child, the photo etc, it just ruined it for me. I think it would have been much scarier if it was just a couple in a house with these things happening to them, and they have no idea what it is.

Plus the ending just completely blows any tension out of the water by making you laugh at how cheesey and tacky it is. Damn :mad:
 
Watched this on Friday, and it REALLY freaked me out. Watched most of it through my fingers :o

However, my boyfriend didn't have the same opinion, and was chuckling to himself at some parts :eek:

I found it very physcologically frightening - got to me more so than any blood and gore movies I've seen.

Found the beginning a bit slow, and the audience did seem to be getting a bit restless, but like someone has said on here, you can't watch it without seeing the beginning. Although it drags, it kinda sets the scene and creates the builder effect.

I think the fact it was set solely in the house kinda added to the atmosphere as well.

I've only seen the cinema version, and I am eager to see the other 2 endings, but I just can't bring myself to watch them!
 
I watched the screener version the other night and I thought it was just okay. There were a couple of moments that made me jump and there was a bit of tension here and there, but I've seen scarier films than this one.
 
I saw it last night and found it quite scary, however I think that was because:

1. I watched it alone with the lights out, and;
2. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for something scary to happen (which, ultimately, didn't).

Only a couple of complaints. ..

I thought the husband was a knob, and having read about the original ending (which isn't that much different), I think that ending would have made clearer why the demon decided to kill the husband.
 
i really liked it not as scary as i thought it was going to be,think the ending freaked me out the most,but there were some good bits in it. will buy it on dvd i think :D
 
Also, why watch it on your monitor? If you have a PS3, 360 or DIVX dvd player, just watch it on your tv (obviously, you could also connect your PC to your tv).
 
Have to COMPLETELY disagree with the 'dull' comments! I saw this last night, definitely one of the creepiest films I've ever seen - and I'm a BIG fan of Horror/Thriller! The use of sound effects to convey a presence is all you need; you definitely don't need slasher killers or things jumping out at you to make a good thriller, though, that 'jump' at the end made me & the whole cinema scream (I only jumped/screamed once & this was at this bit, at the end!) The night vision scenes had me like this :eek: - nobody spoke during these scenes, just complete silence (and the cinema was full).

Overall, 8.5 out of 10. I thought the first 15/20 minutes were a bit slow, and it took time getting used to the hand-held camera, but after Night 3, you start to definitely get into it. I loved it!

Though, I don't know if I'll be buying this on DVD. I DO think it's better if you see it at the cinema, somehow I don't think watching it on your laptop would have the same effect!
 
Well after plucking up the courage to watch it on my own as hubby and son were watching football, I was waiting to be scared out of my wits (going by the reviews). Well sorry, but it didn't happen. In fact, I was slightly disappointed and a bit irritated that the pace wasn't picking up a bit more.

Having said that, it certainly wasn't a bad movie. Had I not read the reviews beforehand and knew nothing about it, I think I might have actually got a few frights and got into the atmosphere of it more. But I guess I was a bit disappointed that it didn't really live up to the hype for me.

Whereas older movies that it is being compared to such as The Exorcist, Carrie, Halloween etc., did scare me witless even though I was told about them beforehand. I hope that makes sense. :o

Either that or I'm just immune to horror and scary movies these days. :p
 
I watched it the other day on R1 dvd.

Very disappointed.

I am not a big horror fan, but I do like any movie that transcenRAB the genre, and am always willing to give them a go.

The hand-held technique is far from new these days, and that did not add any tension whatsoever to the film for me. It also seemed to have a very cliched and old-fashioned backstory at it's centre about a women being haunted in her childhood, stories of weird happenings when she was younger, and it even had the old ouja board cliche.

In truth, very little actually happens, and I can understand why some people are also dissapointed in it for that reason.

The endless shots of the bedroom at night and things like the beRABheets moving or the door opening seemed very anti-climactic considering the build up to them. And the only part that made me jump was the ending, though in retrospect that also seemed very silly.



This seems to me to be a movie aimed at people who either believe in this type of thing, or are not quite sure and are hedging their bets. I am a confirmed skeptic, but it does not stop me enjoying good horror movies like Exorcist, Entity, Poltergeist etc. A well made film is a well made film regardless of genre.

But this just didn't do it for me.
 
Ooohhh i've just seen the "other" alternate ending - the "third version".

I'll spoiler it .. even though you can read what happens on Wikipedia .. :rolleyes:

Anyway, the ending scene is the same - you hear the struggle downstairs and the scream.

You then hear the thud .. thud .. thud .. of the footsteps coming back upstairs and Katie comes back in the room, with her vest covered in blood.

She turns and locks the door and walks over to the camera. She looks into the camera, smiles and cuts her own throat and falls away out of the shot.

Still think the cinematic version, where Micah's body is thrown at the camera, works better :)
 
Exactly - I couldn't live without my external hard drive, and Xbox 360!!! :D

I used to waste hours burning everything on to DVD to watch on the big screen, not realising that I could just shove my hard drive into the front of the Xbox :o
 
No film has scared me since I watched Poltergeist II when I was six. I watched the balir witch project and was not bothered but I put this down to watching it with mates on DVD.

However this scared the living **** out of me tonight after watching it at the cinema. Mainly due to the ending which does not sound like the one people have downloaded.

I dont think it would have scared me s much if I watched this at home even on my own. Yet in the right surroundings and with my imagination running riot.....Scariest thing I have ever seen.

Go to the cinema, when its quiet :)
 
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