(MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD)
“I’m not going to kiss the camera. I’ll kiss you, but I won’t kiss the camera.”
Paranormal Activity was touted as the scariest film since The Blair Witch Project. This is a downright lie, but I’ll get on to that later. The first-person handheld camera horror genre both began and ended with The Blair Witch Project. Admittedly, most of the film is merely creepy, but the end…oh the end. Pure psychological terror. I’ll never get over that lingering shot in the end, full of ambiguity and sheer terror. Paranormal Activity has a few creepy moments, but the overall experience was one of disbelief and laughter. The main grievance is not just a fault of the film, but of the genre itself. I find it hard to believe that in the direst of situations, the first instinct is ‘I’ve got to film this!’ For example, in Paranormal Activity, at one point Micah finds his partner, Katie (the one who’s being haunted), missing during the night. Instead of thinking ‘Holy Shot, where is my wife?’ and immediately rushing to find her, he grabs the camera and then goes to find her. Continue reading
Hammy Reviews 