This is a little later than I wanted it to be, but it’s more thematic if I publish this… at night. Last week (and again tonight), I saw the biggest guerilla-style horror film since The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity.

It all started in 2007, when Oren Peli wrangled up a couple thousand dollars to film a scary movie with two people in a house with a single camera. The final product screened at Screamfest 2007 and went completely silent until September 2009. The primary trailer contained more footage of the audience watching and jumping in terror, which generated an unexpected buzz. Eventful ran a promotion requiring one million votes before Paranormal Activity would have a wide release. It was seen as a way to accurately save money on their distribution to only cities that would see it, but it took only a week to break that goal. After seeing it, it's certain that the guerilla viral marketing matches the cinematic style of the film.

Katie and her boyfriend Micah (mee-kah) are a live-in couple in San Diego who appear to have some… paranormal activity… in the house. Not much is actually explained, we just get that Micah purchases a high-end video camera to document the experience. Micah seeks to debunk the activity through his scientific methods (videotape and my favorite, Firewire) to maintain his role as "the man of the house". He specifically states that he is going to kick this thing's ass, with no real plan other than to use his high-end camera as an excuse to make 'home movies' with his girlfriend.

It's when Michah starts using more invasive experiments in order to prove or disprove the activity that things start getting worse. They capture more and more evidence of a malevolent spirit and attempt to get rid of it. It seems like Micah (or the creator of the film) has watched too many of the recent paranormal investigation shows and mashed the techniques up. Powder on the floor, high gain microphones and even Hasbro-trademakred Ouija boards capture evidence inconsistent with any one idea within paranormal lore.

It gets to the point where it becomes obvious that the spirit is attached to Katie. It physically interacts with her and even influences her actions, while giving subtle hints that Micah is the one that isn't welcome. In supernatural studies, there's little else this could be than an incubus. It wants her, one way or the other, and definitely has the ability to follow through with that.

What makes this so effective is that the real threat isn't what we see, but what we don't see. Much like the "unseen character", the paranormal activity is performed by an invisible force, which forces our imaginations to create what isn't there, and in the safety of the home. Given the public's short notice exposure to the nature of the film, the general idea going in is that it's a real documentary. The film thanks the police department for letting them use the footage, but people die in it. If Paramount found a way to market and put snuff into theaters, that would a landmark.

Much like with these first-person perspective films (Blair Witch, Cloverfield), the translation from big screen to home video probably won't be successful. This film really has to be seen in the theater, where you don't feel as naturally safe as you do in your own home.

An entire hour of discussion can be found at the podcast.