Paranormal Activity

Title: Paranormal Activity
Year: 2009
Director: Oren Peli
Lead: Katie Featherston, Micha Sloat
Rated: R for language

A couple becomes increasingly disturbed by paranormal activity in their home.

Let me start by saying, this was amazing. Finally, a director figures out that you don't need special effects and a couple million dollar budget to make a great horror film. This film cost $15000 to make, and was filmed in 7 days at the directors home in San Diego. The actors were paid $500 for their roles, they worked 14-18 hours a day. When they did sleep, they slept in the "haunted house". Katie was a waitress at Buca di Beppo at Universal City Walk, and Micha was a struggling actor/computer programmer, after this, they can forget about that.

Paranormal Activity is spine-tingling, it is very unsettling. It makes you hope it doesn't happen to you. The whole film is shot on a handheld camera, held by one of the leads most of the time, or set on a tripod. There is not one scene filmed off the property surrounding the "haunted house". The acting is fantastic, they are so believably a couple in real life, and are equally as freaked out as the audience when a scary moment comes along. Do not see this film alone, and see it while its still fresh, you don't want to be in an empty theater, most of the fun is the other audience members reactions. Its very very unsettling. I wasn't as scared as I expected to be, but its still scarier than any other film Ive seen. GO SEE IT! 8 out of 10