I’ve been hearing for months about how scary Paranormal Activity is. Dubbed by many as the “scariest movie of all time”, many world renowned movie sites and critics have been praising this movie. Honestly, I hate scary movies so it took me a while to get enough courage to go see this in the theatre.  After watching Paranormal Activity, I would have to say I have mixed emotions regarding the film. This was the perfect example of being psyched out before the event actually happened.

Have you ever sat at the doctor’s waiting for a shot and all you can think about is the potential pain that you may be facing? Your palm gets sweaty and your heart pounds a thousand beats per minute? This is a perfect description of what you may face in Paranormal Activity. As I sat in the theatre, all that was going through my head was the words, “scariest movie of all time” that you see on posters and advertisements.

If you are not familiar with Paranormal Activity, it is a low budget “mockumentary” that follows the story of a couple named Katie and Micah who recently moved into a new house in San Diego. Katie is under the impression that a supernatural entity (perhaps a demon) has been haunting her since she was 8. Now Katie is twenty-something and the entity is back showing signs around the home of its existence. Unlike Katie, who has been facing this haunting for over a decade, Micah is new to this phenomenon, and views the haunting as a thrill.

One thing that Paranormal Activity taught me was DO NOT FUCK WITH DEMONS. In the beginning, Katie calls upon the services of a psychic to help her understand what is happening to her. Unfortunately, the psychic explains to the couple that they were dealing with a demon and not a ghost. The energy that the demon was emitting was not human and this was beyond his field of expertise. However, he does give the couple a fair warning that demons are not a force you should mess with. He warns the couple to not make any attempts to contact or communicate with the demon as this will be an invitation for the demon to be more aggressive. Katie and Micah are also warned not to antagonize the demon as the entity may become more violent. The psychic explains that demons feed on negative energy and any of the couple’s actions can be like feeding fuel to a fire. Due to the psychic’s limited knowledge on demons, they are advised to contact a demonologist. Unfortunately, due to Micah’s thrill-seeking attitude, he talks Katie to not do so and that he will “take care of it”. Big fucking mistake. Micah’s inability to listen to warnings and follow clear instructions is equivalent to disregarding the instructions to taking care of a Mogwai (1984 Gremlins). The warnings are clear as day and if you choose to ignore those warnings, suffer the consequences. Of course, if the characters followed the rules, the movie wouldn’t be that good.

Paranormal Activity was as scary as advertised, but it wasn’t the visual effects that had me at the edge of my seat. It was the combination of anticipation and hype that really got me. It is very hard to ignore the claims of Paranormal Activity being the “scariest movie of all time”. You catch yourself being on edge through out the whole movie waiting for that horrific scene to happen that will scare the shit of you. It was almost a tease, but don’t get me wrong. The movie was scary, but I had to wonder whether the movie itself was actually scary or was it the effects of psyching myself out before the movie even started. Regardless, Paranormal Activity was brilliantly written and the writer, director, and actors found a unique way of pulling the audience right into story. At moments, it feels like you are there watching the phenomenon through the camera. Paranormal Activity pulls your heart is all directions and prays upon your emotions and senses. Sometimes, you catch yourself screaming silently at the couple when they are sleeping to warn them of bad things to come. You may want to turn away, yet you feel yourself wanting to watch as you are already emotionally invested into this couple and want to see it through. You can argue whether this will be the scariest movie that you have ever seen, but Paranormal Activity will not fail to satisfy your willingness to crap your pants.