Being the huge horror movie buff that I am, I joined the masses in viewing Paranormal Activity last Friday. If you have a weak stomach, this movie is definitely not for you. You’d think I would have done my research and known that Paranormal Activity uses  a hand-held camera a la The Blair Witch Project  before I paid my $9.25 and sat in the middle of a full row of a packed theater. Long story short, not only did those around me get to hear my girlish gasps of horror and the occasional outburst of “okay, idiot…are you seriously going to open that door?”, they also got the privilege to witness me tossing my cookies not once, not twice, but three times into popcorn buckets (thank you roomies).

Do not continue to read if you don’t want to be spoiled. The basic premise of the movie is follows: a young couple, Micah and Katie, decide to move in together. But little does Micah know that Katie has been haunted by a demonic spirit since childhood. You’d think that’d be a detail about your life you’d want to divulge before playing house with your man. Micah decides it would be cool to catch all of the paranormal activity happening in their home by setting up a video camera to record it all. But all this does is tick off the evil presence after Katie. Again, to make a long story short: The demonic thingy-ma-jig gets so peeved with Micah that it possesses Katie. And she kills him. Muahahahaha.

Despite the hand-held camera technique, overall I felt this film was decent. The film used some unique spook techniques, even though I reacted in a normal way for me: seeing my dinner in reverse. It may seem like it moves slow at first, but all of the events culminate really well in an ending that definitely shocks you. If you are spooked easily, I would highly recommend not waiting until it comes out on dvd and watching it alone in your room. The final image of demon/creep/Katie smiling devilishly at the camera over Micah’s body is one you won’t be able to shake for a while.

~ Kate

(photo courtesy of ew.com)