Finally, Paramount is releasing this awesome film to theaters. Demand to have it shown in your city!

http://www.ParanormalMovie.com

Got 1 Million hits! Has anyone seen the film yet?!!

Well, I know I'll never see it, because I like sleeping nights! :-)

The reviews sound promising on this one!!

Looks really interesting, but not coming terribly close to my area. :(

tomorrow night is date night at the Kennesaw AMC 24. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yes!! It's about an hours drive away for me. :(

I am PSYCHED for this movie.

I was a bit concerned I'd have nightmares. Didn't, but there was that possibility.

It's a lot like "Blair Witch Project" in that it's filmed from the perspective of a single video camera by "amateurs" trying to investigate supernatural phenomena.

Instead of woods it takes place in a CA home. A young couple brings home the video camera in the hopes they can watch weird things on film to prove/understand/deal with whatever has been happening (we're not really told).

I don't want to say too much about it, it's more how you perceive it when you see it. But I will say the beginning is monotonous; this is effective into lulling you into a state where you're looking for small things, and when you start seeing them it's kinda freaky.

If you didn't like "Blair Witch" you probably won't like this, although it's about twice as well written, acted, and edited. Also the characters engendered much more sympathy from me than the kids in "Witch." Wife was digging her claws in my hand, "Oh it wasn't that scary," she said. Heh. OK I was holding onto my seat.

Made for only ten thousand dollars, I'm guessing it'd be a financial success even if it closes after one weekend!

The story is, Steven Spielberg's distribution company purchased the rights to the movie in order to "remake" it with a much bigger budget. Someone gave Spielberg a copy of the original and he found it so creepy and effective that they decided to go with the original instead, employing a clever viral campaign to promote it.

The reviews I've read have been generally quite good - no gore, no big cgi - just effective story-telling that builds on a sense of good old-fashioned dread.

After this weekend's take they'll be able to print some more copies.

Finally, I can see the movie in my town!!!

It's now showing in the Greater Little Rock area, too. Hope it's still here next weekend, as I don't think I can make it this weekend.

Just got back from seeing it.

Creepiest (and smartest) horror film I've seen since Blair Witch.

Like that film, PA plays its low budget and no-name cast to its advantage.

Just when you're sure the fine art of suspense is dead and buried a gem like this pops up.

Bravo to the cast and crew for managing to spook an old guy who, generally speaking, is pretty hard to spook -- at least as far as movies are concerned.

If this is truly anything like Blair Witch then I know it's a waste of my time and money. Blair Witch was one of the most pointless, boring, nothing ever really happens movies I ever frequently dozed through. I see the series 'Ghost Hunters' copied the basic concept and have someone frequently say things like 'What was that?' or 'Did you hear something?' in a frightened manner in order to try and trick people into thinking that something is happening.

If on the other hand it really is not like Blair Witch, please make this clear. Or PM me with specifics and let me know if anything actually happens 'for real' in this movie. My daughter wants to go see it with her boyfriend and I want to know if I should recommend it or not.

I love the fact that you have to use your imagination on what is happening and not having to have CGI shoved down my throat to be scared. I loved the Blair Witch, and will love this movie.

If this is truly anything like Blair Witch then I know it's a waste of my time and money. Blair Witch was one of the most pointless, boring, nothing ever really happens movies I ever frequently dozed through. I see the series 'Ghost Hunters' copied the basic concept and have someone frequently say things like 'What was that?' or 'Did you hear something?' in a frightened manner in order to try and trick people into thinking that something is happening.

If on the other hand it really is not like Blair Witch, please make this clear. Or PM me with specifics and let me know if anything actually happens 'for real' in this movie. My daughter wants to go see it with her boyfriend and I want to know if I should recommend it or not.

It's like Blair Witch in the aspect that almost nothing ever really happens.

You are missing the whole idea- Something Horrifying is happening- in the darkness in the IMAGINATION!!! This is far more terrifying than having special effects do all the work for us.

Oh I agree. I almost had to leave the theater it was so painful to watch. But physically, cinematically, almost nothing happens. Half the movie is time lapse photography watching the couple toss and turn as they sleep. heh.

If this is truly anything like Blair Witch then I know it's a waste of my time and money. Blair Witch was one of the most pointless, boring, nothing ever really happens movies I ever frequently dozed through.

You may want to sit this one out, then.

Horror is like comedy in the sense that what works for some people may not work for others. It's a very subjective genre. PA scared the bejesus out of me (as well as the audience I saw it with), but I can understand how some might be bothered by the mundane trappings and meandering pace.

I'm of the opinion that the most terrifying cinematic moments are those in which the audience is waiting for something to happen. That something, when it happens, is seldom as thrilling as the preceding build up. Modern filmmakers have forgotten this, preferring to forgo suspense in favor of gore and FX. That's why it's been over a decade since I've seen a film that truly frightened me.

Paranormal Activity will not scare everybody, but if you found Blair Witch to be frightening on a primal level (as I did) you may get a kick out of it.

You may want to sit this one out, then.

Horror is like comedy in the sense that what works for some people may not work for others. It's a very subjective genre. PA scared the bejesus out of me (as well as the audience I saw it with), but I can understand how some might be bothered by the mundane trappings and meandering pace.

I'm of the opinion that the most terrifying cinematic moments are those in which the audience is waiting for something to happen. That something, when it happens, is seldom as thrilling as the preceding build up. Modern filmmakers have forgotten this, preferring to forgo suspense in favor of gore and FX. That's why it's been over a decade since I've seen a film that truly frightened me.

Paranormal Activity will not scare everybody, but if you found Blair Witch to be frightening on a primal level (as I did) you may get a kick out of it.
Yeah, like he said!

If it is like "Blah Witch" and it sounds like it is, then I will forgo seeing this. I love suspense and a good movie to scare me on a primal level, and I too slept through BW...... it just didn't have it.

I'm hopin' it'll still be playin' here next weekend!

Are the husband and wife the pair of normal people?:wave:

If this is truly anything like Blair Witch then I know it's a waste of my time and money. Blair Witch was one of the most pointless, boring, nothing ever really happens movies I ever frequently dozed through. I see the series 'Ghost Hunters' copied the basic concept and have someone frequently say things like 'What was that?' or 'Did you hear something?' in a frightened manner in order to try and trick people into thinking that something is happening.

In defense of the Ghost Hunters, I don't think that when they ask one another if they heard a certain noise or saw a shadow 'over there' that it's all for show.

I have met and talked with many members of TAPS and they are long experienced as paranormal investigators and seem very honest. They debunk about 85% of the claims that people make. What they cannot explain they state "we can't explain that" and whatever is left is what is on video and audio for all to see and debate over.

Unlike Most Haunted in the UK or some other ludicrous shows like Paranomal Extreme, TAPS members don't take every bump, slam and ping as a haunting without first trying to debunk it.

I've been in enough investigations to know that yes, you can get spooked out and yes, you might jump at almost every sound. It's just human nature.

Ditto Carson's point about subjectivity.

Nothing ever happened on "In Search Of..." either, yet as a kid it constantly creeped me out with it's intentionally spooky music and Leonard Nimoy's leading narration. And what was it? A lot of moldy ruins, people reciting things half-remembered, still lifes of Van Gogh's bedroom, etc.

Blair Witch was "In Search Of..." redux, skillfully recreating rhe same ethos and mindset...and the same chills down my spine. What made it brilliant (IMO, of course) was that it was a deliberate fabrication that played note-perfectly like an actual (if film-school-naive) jaunt to to uncover local legends. Nuts, I don't even believe in the stereotype "evil witches", and it still did a number on me!

To each his own, though. :) I'm looking forward to PA.

I've met the TAPS guys and they are great guys!

I saw Paranormal Activity! I enjoyed it. I was terrified to sleep that night, (I grew up in a haunted house) but it was fun!

Not to hijack the thread here, it's not my intention, but after watching one episode of Paranormal Extreme, I think that show is a bit on the cheesy side.

Both Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International mostly put me to sleep, but I still watch them.... when I'm not sleeping.

My favorite is Ghost Adventures. If they find something, they show you right away. Plus, I like the team.

The new Ghost Lab on the Discovery Channel after Dirty Jobs, is also pretty cool. They show you evidence right away too.

These type of shows are becoming way to common and are flooding the market.

I'm skipping Paranormal Activity, as it takes quite a bit to scare me. Maybe I will rent it from Netflix when it comes out on DVD.

I'm skipping Paranormal Activity, as it takes quite a bit to scare me.

Over the course of my adult life (I'm 47) there have been six, and only six, films that have truly and consistently given me the creeps...

The Exorcist

The Tenant

Halloween

Alien

The Blair Witch Project

Paranormal Activity

Granted, I've been scared by certain scenes in other films (mostly scenes directed by David Lynch), but the pictures listed above are the only ones which "haunted" me after I saw them.

Watching it at the theater helps with the scare effect. All the screaming teen age girls.

Over the course of my adult life (I'm 47) there have been six, and only six, films that have truly and consistently given me the creeps...

The Exorcist

The Tenant

Halloween

Alien

The Blair Witch Project

Paranormal Activity

Granted, I've been scared by certain scenes in other films (mostly scenes directed by David Lynch), but the pictures listed above are the only ones which "haunted" me after I saw them.

Rob -

That's a pretty good list and mirrors my personal experience for the most part. I haven't seen "The Tenant" (I'll have to look that one up) and I've tentatively got "Paranormal Activity" on my viewing list.

I tend to respond with films that have a lot of suspense in them. At least moreso than films with a lot of gore or shock value. Some films are just plain freaky and have a good effect on someone if they're up for it at the time.

"Blair Witch" was particularly effective for me at the time because I hadn't followed any of the online hype and I thought that I was seeing a film in a documentary format and totally fell for what I was seeing that day. It was only when I saw some of the film's actors show up on talk shows the week afterwards that I realized that it was 100 percent fiction. I felt pretty gullible after finding that out, but at the time, the film felt pretty real. Considering that the film was done on low budget, didn't reveal much to the audience and all it really had going for it was suspense....I think that it worked very well.

If "Paranormal Activity" is half that good, then I'm sure that I'll probably enjoy it. I loved having the wits scared out of me.

Bryan

It's basically the same ride as Blair, except they are in a house.

After further consideration I'll add Carpenter's "The Thing" to my list -- not so much for the gruesome FX as for the scenes when you're waiting for something awful to happen.

Carpenter's one of the few directors I know who's managed to deliver gore without it being at the expense of suspense.

I think the last time I was really "scared" watching a movie was the scene in "The Sixth Sense" where Haley Joel Osment sees the dead girl under the card table. That one did it to me.

And "Pan's Labyrinth" gave me a genuine sense of unease.

Not to hijack the thread here, it's not my intention, but after watching one episode of Paranormal Extreme, I think that show is a bit on the cheesy side.

Both Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International mostly put me to sleep, but I still watch them.... when I'm not sleeping.

My favorite is Ghost Adventures. If they find something, they show you right away. Plus, I like the team.

The new Ghost Lab on the Discovery Channel after Dirty Jobs, is also pretty cool. They show you evidence right away too.

These type of shows are becoming way to common and are flooding the market.

I'm skipping Paranormal Activity, as it takes quite a bit to scare me. Maybe I will rent it from Netflix when it comes out on DVD.

The audience reaction is as much fun as the movie. Don't miss it!

Over the course of my adult life (I'm 47) there have been six, and only six, films that have truly and consistently given me the creeps...

The Exorcist

The Tenant

Halloween

Alien

The Blair Witch Project

Paranormal Activity

Granted, I've been scared by certain scenes in other films (mostly scenes directed by David Lynch), but the pictures listed above are the only ones which "haunted" me after I saw them.

Is The Tenant the one with cockroaches? They give me the creeps too. (I was roomates with Matthew Modine's brother for a year. ahhh the stories he told... you don't want to take a cockroach bath)

oops no, that was Pacific Heights.

I heard there is another ending when it was originally screened last year.

yeah according to IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/trivia), Spielberg suggested a different ending.

yeah according to IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/trivia), Spielberg suggested a different ending.

Very interesting.

I'm sure both versions will be on the DVD.

i dont know it might just be me but this movie really was not all that great

i dont know it might just be me but this movie really was not all that great

Why was that?

In what way?

i mean the only scary part was at the end and she really didnt go in depth about her childhood that much

^ Careful now. I don't know if that's a spoiler, and I don't want any hints.

It's a good scare- GO when the theater is full! It's half the fun!

If you want a good scare, get to know my ex wife!

If you want a good scare, get to know my ex wife!

.....or my currant wife. :tongue:

If you want a good scare, get to know my ex wife!
LOL!! I have two of them!! it's like Hell in STEREO!!