‘Paranormal Activity’- A Real Life ‘Ring’?

Categorized | News

‘Paranormal Activity’- A Real Life ‘Ring’?

Posted on 21 September 2009 by Emily Hillard in News

The US release of Paranormal Activity, the debut film of Israel-born director Oren Peli, is accompanied by a ghost story that will launch the film out of oblivion and into cult film status. Filmed in the home movie style of Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, the movie features a woman (Katie Featherston) whose husband (Micah Sloat) attempts to put her night-time fears at rest by installing video cameras to disprove the existence of a paranormal presence in the house only to find that his wife wasn’t dreaming.

For such a low-budget film, it’s a decent plot that’s well suited for a directing style meant to convince the viewer that it is real life footage. Even the trailer shows the audience’s reaction to the movie rather than an over-edited narration of the film. But is the reality more than good direction? Rumor has it that after hearing the huge buzz of the 2006 original, director Steven Spielberg took a copy of the DVD home to see the film for himself and while viewing it, his bedroom door locked itself from the inside, and needed a locksmith to open it. The experience supposedly jarred him so much that he returned the DVD to the studio in a garbage bag. It might not even be a true story, but for a film thought to be “laughably fake”, one wonders why audiences have been reported to walk out of test screenings claiming it was too scary to finish.

Can a low-budget film contain such raw emotion and horror that it is too scary for some viewers? Or is there truly some paranormal activity somehow embedded in the film? There’s only one way to find out. Paranormal Activity will be released for a limited screening this Friday. Not showing in your area? Vote for the “first ever” voter-determined film release here. Check out the trailer below:

Update: Check out our review of Paranormal Activity here.

Is it possible for a film to be so scary that you would walk out of the theater?

Tags: Paranormal Activity

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Bigdaddy297

in the movie it says this case is in the police department of san diego, so i think it really happened
fingers0702

how come those things only and i say it again only in america it happens,she had the chance to leave but didnt ,if i saw something grab my girlfriend in the nite ,i would burn the place down,if it was my x i would have went to sleep
Mike

The movie was good by far but i did some research after which and found out and proved to my girlfriend that it wasnt real.. its just a first person shot movie done really well i would love to see more "real" type horror movies like this.
swasylenko

to be fully honest, it takes a lot to get me really scared. this movie i found to be enjoyable with an ending that didnt leave me scared. alltough i did jump, it was more or less cause the people i was seeing it with were scared shitless lol. but dont take my word for it. this movie is def worth a watch. everybody looking for a scare must see this! some may not be able to sleep afterwards. i on the other hand.....did...soundly.
Elisa B

Sometimes they make movies about stories that happened to other people that mad contact with ghosts or demons but totally over dramatize it and add a whole lot bunch of shit to make it scarier because the real story was too borring and no one died......?
Elisa B

Half the movied bored the fu@#* out of me! The other half was alright but not scary enough, the only good thing about this movie is the end where they die specially the alternate ending where the bi*#@* slits her throat. The ending credits say all the events are fictious. Only thing that was true was ther internet site of the woman that died by a demon, being chocked to death by an invisable entity, recorded while she slept is true. I did research. .........People read the end credits.
ron

i saw the movie, and the end of the movie disturbed me.micah wakes up to find katie is gone yet again from they're bed. He runs down and theres a yell, next katie is back up in the room rocking her self for days tell the cops show up and unload on her.
Vps Hosting

I don't understand why people is talking about how scary this movie was.. For me honestly.... It's such a lame and boring movie..I find it very funny when people think that this movie is a real thing. The part where it truly scary is only at the end of the movie. about 5 minutes before the movie is over..
David Husolo

and from first hand experience paranormay activity does exist, but very rarely does it get that violent to the point of fatal injuries. i've been hit, pushed, thrown to the ground, and choked all during investigations i've conducted but never have i shed any blood. most entites are not powerful enough to do those things. only poltergeists or another form of demonic entity. it is indeed a very scary movie, it had me going for a while. but at the end of the movie it clearly says it's fictitous. it's the same kind of movie as the Blair Witch Project. And huguesdesautels is right, alternate ending with her committing suicide? come on. the wouldn't put that in a movie unless it was fake. I'm not trying to trash the movie. It was a great movie. I'm just trying to point out that it is indeed a fake. But the one true fact about that movie is if you're having those kinds of problems in your home, talk to someone that knows about it. you can anger a spirit. I've done it to get results and it can become violent.
David Husolo

movie is totally fake. in the theatrical version before he gets thron at the camera, pause the dvd and put it in slow motion. you can see his body appear, but you can also see clear through it. it's completely computer generated.
Kate

This movie is okay at best. Not scary really, unless you're a pansy. It's not real. Not even based on a true story (at first I thought it was) the only thing freaky about this movie it that there is in fact two 'demons' not one. plus the eyes in the attic and the shadows on the door. like when she is first 'possesed' the shadow moves before her. now that was cool. Other than that this movie is really stupid. and boring.
Hisham

for u >>>> just do not try to get connected with any kind of invisible ......
we hav to beilive that there is things lke this . but the most important is do not try to know anything or do not try to exam or test them because they r aleady around us .but there is no connection . do not match it ...
bob

did they ever find the body of the girl
hhhhahahah lord_typthis

i have saw the movie on dvd and it was scary but its not true because on dvd it has an alternate ending that show two difernet ways the guy dies so it was fake i htought it was real for a moment but then i realises how could he die twice and at that moment i knew it was fake and kord typthis it was fake so dont get your hopes up and there wasnt even that much blood until the end
huguesdesautels

i saw it 5 minutes ago its f*****g good but thre's no way this movie was real first there's two end and in the second end the girl is killing herself do you think they would let somebody suicide in a film
allofthis

they are not the actual people.......they are actors, so yes they can have somebody suicide in a film, ITS A FILM!!
huguesdesautels

but i think its could be made on real fact but set by a producer oh and on the dvd there's the name of the actor after about 15 minute of black
lord_typhis

who ever wished they never saw that movie, reply to me!
mimi

I Was sooo terrified when i saw it, i couldnt sleep at night becasue my friends told me it was real..and im very gullibull...
im so glad i found out its not truee!
Amy

Went To See It Today And I Thought It Was Real Scary Especially The End And Night Time Bits Because Its Soo Loud Haha
I Got Pretty Panicked When I Saw At The End She Hasent Been Found!
Nancy

went and saw the film , i thought it was quite good i thought that it was mixed between a horror and comedy i thought that there were parts you ovsily knew wernt real , the end bit was real scary though the hole cienma lituary jumped out of thier seats . Shame the film was actually real!
chelsey

i did not like it.
it wastnt even scary they are saying it is the scareist film of the year. ha NO WAY
yea i jumped like 3 times but once was because my mate pocked me when i wasnt expecting it
i do not recamend it.

the trailer is way better than the film.
im not sure if it true or not but i can tell you one thing the when the show the woman on the internet that is a pile of bull****!
no i just hate the film it is crap!
laurenhayward

so is paranormal activity true no one knows, i watched it and im only 10 is wasent scary. The best bit was were the demon dragged her out of the bed and she started sreaming lol my mum jumped!
Olivia

Most disturbing film I have ever seen..But shows how good it was that I'm still thinking about it and researching it online the morning after.
Diego

same im like researching everything about it this crap is very intresting
Mc Lovin

That Shit Isnt reall Fuckk What Yuu Sayyyy!!!!!!
me

I really liked this movie... it was subtle, which is something audiences are not used to nowadays... I thought the relationship between Micah and Katie was very beleivable, which definitely helps to plant the question Is this real? when you're watching the movie and have no prior information on it (which was my case). I love the understated, growing horror of something happening... and I love the fact that nothing jumps out at you and there are no useless bumps or dramatic build ups that ammount to nothing (think:creepy music... phone ringing... ringing... ringing... it turns out ot be Mom. or something like that).
marie

I've watched the movie and i find it not scary as i thought it would be...considering all the hype...but i have to admit, i had a hard time watching the last few parts ...those were the most freaky part ...
E. Hillard

I don't know where the rumor that the movie's real came from- all I heard was that the actual DVD was "haunted". I finally saw it, and even knowing it was fictional it was one of the scariest movie's I've ever seen. The fact that it lacks high-budget effects makes it scarier because it's more believable...I have a theory that the people who weren't scared haven't experienced any sounds or events that weren't easily explained.
Name

Alot of people thing that the creators of the movie specifically stated that it was real footage of a real house hold. at no time during the movie does it say said specific comments. they play it off as a real documentry at the end... just like they did for Cloverfield and whatnot. it's suppose to give the sense of reality and you move you away from the "normal cop super heroe against solo'ing giant mobs of gangs" thing... really, it's a style of movie that people just aren't use to. looked good to me, scary? nah not really, would be had i been the one to experience the event in person.. but a movie is a movie, either it's fake or already happened so it doesn't bug me.
Name

I went to see this movie and I must say in the middle of the movie it started getting interesting, but there was a catch. Certain issues in the movie just played out to be fake and the acting on the girl's part sooo gave it away that this movie was just another fake run documentary made up by smart people to make a quick buck!
I was very disappointed at the end of the movie...that's what did it for me. I actually came out of the theater laughing and saying " ARE YOU SERIOUS!"
Turkish

I kept waiting for the movie to get scary, and right as it did, right as things finally started to get interesting, IT FUCKING ENDED.
jfingaz

Yea the beginning I was waiting to be scared and then once I thought it was real and made myself think it was real It became interesting...they make you believe there are demons which isnt true except from meteaphysical realms...The part when the Ouija moves and catches fire is cool because it seems like its live on camera...the movie is like insider clips of Ghost hunters and has some nice scary parts..
lucky

This movie suck!!!
cortneyalexiskressley

well...it is 12:27. i just got back from watching this "paranormal Activity" and i believe that this movie was scary but also funny that they could try to scare me into believing that there are actual demonds that take over a humans body to kill someone...the footprints on the floor were obviously staged everything is fake and is very rediculous. i think this ruhmor of steven speihlburg is deff a lie b/c he as a director knows things like this can easily be preformed.....

this movie was scary yes, but i dont think u should lie and make the viewers of this movie believe that its a true story and make them lose sleep at night and think that there are demonds taunting them for the rest of theyre life...thank you and please stop making movies like this....
xXDEMONXx

What's a demond?
Kathy

ok i dnt no wat the deal is it was pretty scary but not be walking out and fainting!!! i think it kinda sucked and to me it wasent all that scary and like really boring in the begining
hahahahahah lord_typthis

it was
Name

To me it was pure suspense but not scary enough for me to walk out. I must give the director his props for being a low budget film it captured alot of great fake paranormal activity that could be believable by some audiences. It is obvious to me that it was not true but the fiction was good enough to make it seem real. Although the movie could have ended better and not drag on like it did. We could have seen more of how the girlfriend was haunted as a child which led to her being haunted as an adult. It had a great plot but it dragged on and the psychic that came in was so fake usually a psychic puts all fears aside and will do a walk thru of the haunted place and then give their opinion and they made it look as if he was a psychologist doing a house call. Again this is only my opinion.
MeetBob

This movie could be a decent mediocre horror flick if people would not perpetuate the hype. Some people actually believe this happened and it is real footage. Here is a quote I actually heard from someone, "There is no way that they could have staged those footprints in the baby powder." Wow...some people are so gullible. Philosophically, ghosts, demons, and such are a metaphysical claim so I suspend judgement on their existence from that standpoint. Personally I do not believe in them, nor has anyone ever produced conclusive evidence of their existence to me.
huguesdesautels

do you ever saw predator? in a scene the predator is invisible and walk in water and you see the footprints. in the making of they show how they make it and its really easy for professional to do it. its the same thing for the baby powder
diana

I think the movie was awesome. The thinking that this movie can be real is the best. I live through this and it seem so real and how I feel since I was 4 and now I am 26. Great movie.
Jordan Raup

Yeah, I saw this last night. Absolutely amazing film. I was scared shitless.
Courtney

To set the record straight the couple was not married, they were just boyfriend and girlfriend. This is not a true story, it is an exaggeration of the director's experience of living in a starter home him and his girlfriend bought, and they heard the house settling at night and creaks. So he decided to take it further and make a movie like this....it was good and different take on horror film. The ending is what topped it off for me, all the suspense built it up and it was a very nice ending without blood and guts. However let's keep things into perspective people, its just a movie dont believe the perverbal hype that this is true and stories about Stephen King and the DVD, believe the hype that it is a good flick to see. Period.
tenacious.v

parts seems way too staged. hello the guy wrote the story so everything is staged & the cam view is to make you believe its there. when you trick your mind to believe in scary things & you feed your brain fear, it eats off of it. you;ll become gullible to everything.
kathryn

i watch the show ghost hunters on sci fi channel
i dont think they have caught this much activity in on season
hmm 2 seasons
this wasnt real
i have seen real stuff
nothing even close to this
except the movement of the door

great film
but not true
parnormal activity does exist
but not sure to this extreme
me

there were some funny parts the guy is silly. but over all it was the scariest movie i've seen i cried and screamed after it all i was shaking and breathing very hard! CRAZYYYY MOVIEEE
lord_typhis

do you wish you never say it?
lord_typhis

i ment saw it?
dildo

man it made scream like little bitch!
Liz Lafferty

Great review - looks like a "must see"for me. Probably won't come to the blackhole that is Waterbury,though....
Jordan Raup

This looks great! Can't wait to see it.
lord_typhis

dont watch it. its the devils movie. your sickye will be ruind. {sorry for my spelling} i was watched a lot of gory bloody and sick movies but this movie will ruin your life. dont know if this movie is real. i almost barfed. i was shaky, and i couldnt breath beacause wierd things are starting to happen to me. i was an idiot for watching this movie. this movie is pure in difference from the rest of the scary movie there are out there. im sorry for who ever watched this.
Rick

Come on, I mean yeah it was a pretty scary movie, but it's not traumatizing. I enjoyed it very much, I'll say it's one of the most realistic ghost films of all time.
Krysteene_12

he just gave his opinion... ^_^ and his opinion is same as mine.. i couldn't breathe after the shocking scenes were watched.

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Categorized | News

‘Paranormal Activity’- A Real Life ‘Ring’?

Posted on 21 September 2009 by Emily Hillard in News

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