A couple lie sound asleep. Footstep after thumping footstep can be heard pounding towards the bedroom door. The door flies violently open, the covers are thrown off the bed and a woman is ripped from her bed and dragged, screaming, downstairs into darkness. Yet there is not one single sign of a physical manifestation of evil. In fact, there’s no sign of anything present at all. Welcome to Paranormal Activity.
Released in 2007, American horror film Paranormal Activity focuses on young couple Katie and Micah, who start to experience strange goings on around their home ; keys moving place, chandeliers swinging, doors slamming shut. Katie believes that a ghostly presence that haunted her in her youth has followed her to the house. Frightened and confused, Katie calls in the help of a spiritualist, who tells her that the haunting is not that of a ghost, but of a far more dangerous entity : a demon. An intrigued Micah sets up a video camera in their bedroom, in the hope of capturing any paranormal activity and solving the mystery himself.
Filmed using a handheld video camera, in a similar way to The Blair Witch Project, Micah captures every moment as the violence escalates and the true horror of the haunting is revealed.
Its success is remarkable, especially considering the tiny budget that it was made with of only $15000. Box office figures so far indicate that the film has grossed closed to $200 million. Now that is one mightily impressive return!
On its release, Paranormal Activity was perceived by many to be one of the scariest films of all time. It was a film that gripped a nation, shook it to the core, then scared the living daylights out of it. If this film came from the school of horror, then this was the biggest bully of them all.
Once out of the cinema however, the film continued its hold, with many people taking the terror from the chilling atmosphere of the theatre, to the comfort of their own homes.
Hannah Broadhurst is a 19 year old psychology student. Intrigued by the television adverts for Paranormal Activity, she decided to go and watch the film with a group of friends. Her reaction is similar to that of the millions of people who have witnessed the ordeal…and taken it home with them.
“It didn’t really hit me until I got into bed,” she recalled.
“When you think about what happened to her during the film, there was nothing she could do about it. The fact that it all happened during the early hours of the morning when she was in bed, when you’re meant to feel at your safest, that scared me. Even now, months on from watching the film, if I wake up around 3, the hour when the paranormal activity was at its highest, it is the first thing I think of, and I always remember to tuck my feet firmly in the covers.”
Hannah is not alone in her experience. Across the globe, thousands of others were left quaking in their boots having seen the film for the first time. There were numerous tales of people shaking with fear one they had left the cinema. There were even cases where people got up and left, simply because they were too frightened to stay.
Blogger, Jacob Rice, after watching one of the preview screenings in America
Emphasising just how afraid he was, Rice added ; “ You might find that ‘sleeping’ suddenly sounds as fun as ‘setting yourself on fire’.”
Various videos from within cinemas captured audience reactions world wide, and many have been posted onto the internet. Mouths wide open in terror, jumpers clutched tightly for protection and eyes widened with fear were some of the reactions to what many have hailed as the scariest movie of all time.
And now there’s a second film.
Switching family and format slightly, Paranormal Activity 2 is centred around Kristi Rey ( Katie from the first film’s sister ) and their family. After an apparent break in, Kristi’s partner Dan installs security cameras all around the house. It is via these cameras that the paranormal events unfold. Falling pots and pans, kitchen cupboards that explode open, toys moving on their own are just the start. The second coming really is a nasty piece of work.
Cinemas in Texas
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” the famous quote from former American President Franklin D Roosevelt reads, and he’s right. Fear is the most primeval of emotions, evolving from the early dawn of man, the genetic reaction programmed into our bodies of ‘fight or flight.’ Sweating of the palms, quickening of the heart and a rush of adrenaline are all signs that our bodies are preparing to face our demons.
But what happens if what we fear does not exist? Many occurrences that appear to be of the ‘unknown’ can be dismissed with a laughter, with what was feared seeming daft in hindsight. A flick of a curtain can be explained away as a mere gust of wind. Glasses clinking together can be attributed to a passing train. But what if there was no wind? Or no train for that matter?
Fear is an innate emotional response, part of our most basic psychological framework, engrained within us. It can be triggered by the threat of pain and suffering, or by the coming of future events. However, it can also be brought upon by the continuation, or the prospect of an event happening again. This is where Paranormal Activity 2 utilises fear to petrify viewers all over the world.
As the film escalates and unfolds, the trauma increases for the viewer. Not only are the events continuing, but they are worsening, multiplying the fear factor yet further.
Director of the Paranormal Activity films Oren Peli, despite himself having a fear of ghosts, knew the film could be a success. He said “I thought it would make a great movie. I think a lot of people can relate to the question of what happens at night when you’re most vulnerable. You have no idea what’s going on. This taps into the most primal fear, if something is lurking in your home, there’s not much you can do about it.”
Investigations in the paranormal have been going on for years, but have gained far wider exposure of late, due to programmes such as Most Haunted, and of course the release of films such as those in the Paranormal Activity series. These examples of cinematography have seen such huge success because they tap into what an audience fears the most: the unknown and the unexplainable.
Despite feeling terrified after watching the first Paranormal Activity film, the second film in the franchise soon saw Hannah heading back to the cinema and facing her fears head on. The latest incarnation had an interesting effect;
"I'm less fearful now I've watched the second one," she said. "I felt a bit on edge after the film and then I thought 'oh, I'll just go to bed, it will be fine.' But, unexpectedly if I'm honest, I did think of the film during the night."
Certain elements of the new film were more chilling than other, one such theme being that of possession. 19 year old English student Becky Hewlett saw the film on its release and admitted that the theme of possession and demonology was petrifying.
“I’ve never liked things like possession, exorcism and religious things like crucifixion. As soon as demons come into the equation, I’m petrified.”
Her partner and class mate, Joe Brennan, found the paranormal events, such as the kitchen cupboards exploding open and doors slamming shut, equally scary. The 20 year old said;
“All the stuff going on in the house was very well done. It made me jump every time.”
One of the most hyped films of 2010 did leave some lasting effects on the trio. Both Joe and Hannah insist on checking that doors are properly shut before going to bed, whilst Becky’s fear of possession has bubbled to the surface once more.
“There’s no way I could watch The Exorcist again,” she joked.
Despite this, the overriding feeling within the group was that the franchise was rapidly running out of steam. Hannah believes that even the second film was even one too many; “They should have stopped at the first one. The ending of the second film is not sufficient for a blockbuster. It is all too obvious that a third film will be made, which took away a bit from the second film.”
A sympathetic Becky agreed: “The second (film) lost out a bit because there was no new material, so it wasn’t quite as affective as the first time around. To make a third, they would have to do something drastic, something that we have never seen before.”
The films within the Paranormal Activity series have done something that only real work of cinematic genius can do: leave a truly lasting and unforgettable impression. Not only that, it has demonstrated how a film can change peoples thoughts about the paranormal. What other film makes you get up in the middle of the night to make sure a door is shut properly, or leave you petrified at the slightest unexplainable sound. Oren Peli has done what Dr Frankenstein achieved first; he’s created a monster. And a third film is on the horizon.....
Check out the trailer for Paranormal Activity 2 to see what you're in store for.....
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