“Not nearly as scary as all the hype, but did have some pretty creepy parts. Not sure I'll see the sequel. Worth the money I spent on seeing it (free). For low budget movie, it was good. Good story, but could have been scarier.”
“watched it all by my lonesome”
“Eh...pretty entertaining, but the ending could have been better. Curious about the second one that just came out :/”
“Not as scary as when I saw it in the movie theaters. Still gets me sick with how much the camera moves.”
“watched like 5 minutes and cant stand 1st person shot movies. so i turned it off.”
“the worst horror film ive seen”
“not scary. kind of stupid. low budget.”
“That's a lesson the male character in this disturbing film learned just a little too late.
It's exceedingly rare that I see a horror movie that isn't god-awful bad, and less often still that I see one that I can say is excellent. Paranormal Activity is one of those precious gems. Virtually everything was done right:
1.) Gradually building sense of tension - the film starts out on a bright, sunny day, by introducing us to a pair of twenty-somethings that appears to have it all: money, good looks, a great house, expensive toys and even true love. This cheery beginning gives way over the course of the story to uneasiness, foreboding, mounting fear and at last outright terror. This is accomplished at a steady pace that is neither rushed nor deadly dull.
2.) Good character-building - before long you start to feel like you know this couple. Not only that, but you can't help but like them, despite the boyfriend's general boneheadedness and his lady friend's mood swings. You go inside their home, you see their personal belongings, and you experience a small taste of their daily routine.
Hence you are well primed to share in the overwhelming sense of horror that fills the climactic moments.
3.) Last but by no means least, "Paranormal Activity" makes splendid use of the "less is more" principle.
The demon that stalks this unfortunate pair is never actually seen. It makes its presence known by crashing sounds in the middle of the night, by lights and appliances that switch themselves on and by disembodied shadows that glide along the walls of barely lit rooms. What little use of special effects there is occurs at the exact moment it should, when the Thing from Hell makes its ultimate move.
This isn't a movie for those who can't imagine a horror film without chainsaws, buckets of gore and bad jokes.
The fear you'll experience is like that you felt as a kid, watching a late night monster flick or listening to a ghost story around a campfire. It's the proverbial chill that creeps up your spine inch by inch, until that dark moment arrives when you turn around, and see that the monster you've created in your imagination is real, and is standing right behind you, its red eyes glowing in the dark.
Don't miss the chance to see this one in the theater. Don't play with Oujia boards. And if you're a guy who meets a cute brunette named Katie one night, you might want to think twice about asking her out. She's got issues you don't want to deal with, trust me.”
“I dunno, it just didn't scare me.”
“One of the scaraiest movies i have ever seen!”
“Liked it watched it with my 15 yr old and he was more into it. Would have liked to have seen the second ending, not an option on Netflix though. Production value was pretty decent and didn't have high expectations for the acting but that wasn't bad either.”
“So, I sort of cheated and read the plot summary before watching the movie...and held my earbuds away from my ear; scary movies are always less scary if you can't hear much.
However, I agree with some comments about the movie having some falsities in logic; e.g., why would you sleep for hours on end if something was after you? That example was among other things, of course, but it was the least revealing.
I was also getting mad at the guy; BIG DBAG, in my opinion. I suppose he was needed to justify the whole plotline, though.
One thing that I did enjoy about this movie was the lack of a soundtrack; I wouldn't say it made the film feel realistic, but it did make it feel more like a sitcom--maybe less funny. It was definitely better than some thriller-horror films that solely rely on soundtracks to scare audiences.
I'd recommend it; for those who don't usually get scared with horror films, I think you'd either get a good laugh or a good rant. For those who do get scared, I suppose it is pretty creepy (it probably would've been for me if I hadn't spoiled it); and hey, no soundtrack to scare you further!”
“Wtf, how was this so damn scary? I feel like the whole world tricked me when I wasted money on this.”
“I watched this movie twice in Theatres. I'm such a sucker for these types of movies. Makes you really think and feel like what's going on is truly happening. What's funny is that I was kinda hyperventilating.. The second time around.”
“I listened to a lot of hype about this movie before actually getting a chance to sit down and watch it. I enjoyed the "Blair Witch" style filming, but I also felt it was a little forced in some parts. I have heard that there are those that feel it was a true story and actual event, I don't really see how. I thought the movie had an okay story and the lead actress was pretty good. She was believable because of her looks. She didn't look like a normal Hollywood actress. Overall I thought the movie was solid with a slight bit of forcing the subject.”
“a must see.
not scary at all.
makes you jump a little.
you have to see it just for its value in pop culture.”
“I am way too easily scared by these types of movies. :( I'm such a wimp.”
“Blair witchy, with some elevated heart beating.”
“this didnt come out in 2007...did it? anyway, this was my brother. he "forgot" he watched this so he had to watch it again.”
