Each year, the holidays seem to start too early, and then, when they are here, they seem to never end. It would be great if people received a penny for every “merry this” and “happy that” heard from those who ignore them for the other eleven months of the year.
If that were the case, movie enthusiasts could probably avail themselves a great gift with all those pennies. Perhaps, the movie Paranormal Activity, now available on DVD. Many feel that enjoying a nice horror film is a great way to decompress after all of those Christmas movies with happy endings, and cheesy dialogue.
Paranormal Activity first arrived on the scene in 2007; released to a very limited festival audience. Ever since, Paranormal Activity has been expanding to larger and larger audiences, enjoying success; including being re-released to wider and wider audiences, finally seeing a theatrical audience in October.
This past Tuesday, Dec. 29, Paranormal Activity was released to DVD. As the title suggests, a young couple experiencing some paranormal activity, decide to film the goings on in their haunted California home.
Paranormal Activity is shot in a documentary style, however it is more reminiscent of Hitchcock than the Blair Witch Project or Cannibal Holocaust. The film sets a trap for the audience who are baited and toyed with a few times before being pulled in for a disheartening, yet effective ending.
The DVD comes with an alternative ending that advertisers would have you believe is “too scary to show in theatres” the conclusion is that those advertisers are advertisers, and thus would have viewers buy whatever they are selling. The original ending is a good enough reason to see the film.
Overall Paranormal Activity is enjoyable and recommended to anyone thinking about seeing it. The film is rated R, by the MPAA for language, however, one should not put a lot of weight on the rating, especially compared to other horror films currently on DVD, Paranormal Activity is not focused on gore or sex, so it’s okay for the older kids as well as adults.
