So the family went to see Paranormal Activity today. I don’t usually go to horror flicks as, these days, they are all just low-grade snuff films… but Brittany likes scary movies and the reviews were good, so we figured why not?
I’d give it a rating of 4 Blair Witches out of 5. Absolutely no plot, of course, but it was interesting/entertaining watching the events unfold. For a film with a Craig’s List casting call, they did a really good job with the casting. The leading lady is an absolute “Every Girl” for any college town. You’d swear you know her or have seen her, and that helps draw you into the story. The male lead is a typical 20-something male douche, so utterly believable as well.
I won’t go into the story so as not to ruin it with spoilers, but my one big complaint is that after all the comparisons to Blair Witch, they actually used an extremely Blair-Witch-esque ending style which was a bit of a let down… other than that… lots of fun.
If you start getting the creepy crawlies after seeing the flick, you could always check out Sarah’s adventures online. She’s the sort of feisty, redheaded heroine we need in this internet age. (This is a bonus week as there are *two* codes visible! Go there for double points!)
I don’t do horror movies anymore. I just don’t find them scary. Not worth a waste of my time. Watched 4 of the Saw movies on halloween and was bored. Pointed out escape routes and flaws. Nephew’s girlfriend wasn’t pleased when I did that. No Riff Trax for her.
I’d say we’re in general agreement then. This is the first horror movie I’ve been to since… my freshman year in college? Go figure. Oh, wait… I went to see Bram Stoker’s Dracula (it’s a Winona Ryder thing)… so whenever that came out…
…and I recently saw Extract. It wasn’t a horror movie, but it was horrible, so not sure if that counts…
Oh… and if your nephew’s girlfriend is not Riff Trax friendly, he may need to look for a new lady love!
I loved this strip – I had to get my husband to check it out, too, because he felt the exact same way as above. I appreciated “Paranormal Activity” b/c I respect a low-budget movie with that much buzz gaining momentum (like “Blair Witch”), but I found it over-hyped, and yes, not scary in the least. And like “Blair Witch”, I hated that some people were actually going in, thinking “this really happened” (seriously – a friend took me to “Blair Witch” thinking that – I wasn’t having it…).
I think I’d have liked it better if I didn’t have friends telling me “they couldn’t sleep for days” and read tons of comments about others being “really scared”.
Very true on the ending (though I heard there are 3 endings that are shown in different areas – don’t know how true this is).
I love the genre – even with the lack of quality these days, I just can’t kick the habit (and don’t want to). In fact, for me, I love the cheesy 80s/early 90s horror like “Troll 2”, “Trick Or Treat” (featuring The Blizzard of Oz), and Freddy Krueger (yes, even joking Freddy) is my favorite horror icon.
I will admit, I’ve been scared during one part of one Horror movie – The TV crawling scene in the American version of “The Ring” – that bothered me for days after and it was truly unexpected. And that’s why I appreciate that movie so much, because it let me experience a bit of irrational fear in a dark movie theater. [/novel]
Yeah. People who think “that really happened” worry me. I tend to point out to them that ‘Psycho’, ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ and ‘Silence of the Lamb’ are all based on true stories… the exact same true story… and none of them are even close to the ‘actual’ story.
I think the thing that makes BW and PA work is not that they are scary, but that they are seriously creepy. We’ve all heard things that go bump in the night, hesitated that half-second before heading downstairs in the dark. Shivers down the spine are a not uncommon part of the human experience, and these movies succeed because they play to that.
Blair Witch 2, of course, did not play to that in any way whatsoever and, not surprisingly, tanked as a result.
Darnit, Dave – I was trying to erase the existence of “Blair Witch: Book of Shadows” from my mind’s eye… because I just read an article yesterday about how the studio (as it is apparently mandatory to “think sequel”) is debating the merits of “Paranormal Activity 2: Ouija Board Wishes and Baby Powder Dreams” (by the way, I loved the “eyes on the shadows, Mister” portion of the strip). Or a prequel, for the adventures of young Katie…
Your second paragraph is how a couple of friends explained their fear, and I can definitely appreciate that, but I guess it just bothered me to basically salivate over the hopes of being scared again, only to be denied. [/dramatic]
Indeed. For all the people that told me that this movie is wicked scary, it was certainly a let down in that department.
Incidentally, I think your sequel suggestion may be the best sequel title of all time! I would think for a sequel they’d tell Diane’s story. Though from the wikipedia entry that may come off as just an Exorcist ripoff…
I couldn’t even get in to Blair Witch due to the idiot behind me that talked, not riffed either, through out the movie until I had him removed. It was creepy not scary. DVD isn’t even worthy. Modern horror movies are horror in the gore sense, not scary.
You and Dave are right about present-day horror films. And yes, I mean, I like to mock and crack jokes at home during movies, and I might whisper something (quietly and quickly) to my husband while I’m in the theater, but I would never ruin someone else’s experience while watching a movie – no one wants to pay for that!
That’s a big struggle with my daughter. She’s not trying to be rude, but she’s *ALWAYS* asking questions during movies. It’s not like we’ve seen it yet either, sweetie!!!
Yeah, I wondered about that for him (and wouldn’t do it to anyone else), but I always ask him (not during the movie) if he minds, and he says he enjoys that part of me. But for some reason, he always buys me peanut butter and caramel candy to eat during films…hmm…is this his way of circumventing the “Yes, Dear” mandate?