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Is the Paranormal Activity movie any good (the original)?

IHateMyJob2004

IHateMyJob2004

Lifer
I jsut saw that Paranormal Activity 2 is opening tommorrow and getting good reviews. 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

So, I took a look at Paranormal Activity 1 and it also has favorable reviews.

To be honest, the ads for 1 looked stupid (my opinion) so I never even thought about seeing it. Was it actually good? I mgiht rent it if so.

EDIT: I am 35
 
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It was ok, but did not really do much for me. Some people thought it was crazy scary and fun though.

KT
 
I should add, that I am 35. Which is why crazy scary might not be that scary ... or fun .. for me ... dot dot dot. Opinions in this regard?
 
i was bored by the entire movie until the last 5 minutes which was actually pretty decent and kind of redeemed it for me. I would say if this is on tv and i had nothing better to do I would watch it again.
 
I usually think scary movies are retarded. Blair witch was a yawn fest for me. Any so called "scary" movie to come out in the last 20 years has barely even appealed to me, much less scared me. I still like zombie flicks and some others here and there, but they don't really "scare me"

There are a few exceptions. Ringu, the original Jap version before the US version even saw our shores. As well as the japanese Grudge.

The only other exception was this movie. I wasn't scared so much as just creeped out, in a good way. Very creepy. There are only a couple scenes that creep me out but they are very good. I would watch it, and plan on watching the second one.
 
It's not crazy scary but it was worth the watch. The characters in the movie weren't winking at the camera and playing it off like they were in a horror movie. Some of the scenes were definitely creepy.
 
Definitely not the scariest movie I've seen, but I really enjoyed it. It was a change of pace from the gore flicks that have been coming out recently. I would say it was more fun, than scary.
 
first one really won't be the same unless you watch it in a theatre that is pretty much sold out. it really makes the tension grow a lot more.

i thought it was entertaining, and definitely different than i expected. started out kind of slow but overall i enjoyed it, and it was something that we talked about for a coupld weeks after as well.

but i don't think i'd ever rewatch it on dvd, because it would not be even close to being the same as the theatre experience.
 
i just watched it on netflix 3 days ago.

It could have been so much better, but the ending sucked (the real ending must have totally blown w/out spielbergs help)

My biggest problem was with the characters, they did not interact well or consistently considering the plot of the movie, the wife/girlfriend was too distracting.

My verdict (7.5/10). It's fun, maybe more fun watching with more people, but overall just a popcorn flick. On a side note, one of the better POV filmed movies out there that doesn't feel too forced.
 
mizzou said:
i just watched it on netflix 3 days ago.

It could have been so much better, but the ending sucked (the real ending must have totally blown w/out spielbergs help)

My biggest problem was with the characters, they did not interact well or consistently considering the plot of the movie, the wife/girlfriend was too distracting.

My verdict (7.5/10). It's fun, maybe more fun watching with more people, but overall just a popcorn flick. On a side note, one of the better POV filmed movies out there that doesn't feel too forced.
Click to expand...

if i'm not correct, i believe there were 3 different endings, with the theatrical one being the best.
 
mizzou said:
i just watched it on netflix 3 days ago.

It could have been so much better, but the ending sucked (the real ending must have totally blown w/out spielbergs help)
Click to expand...

I was going to say I think they changed it to pull a better rating (as in PG-13 instead of R), but it apparently still got an R rating somehow (cussing? the ending?) so there goes that idea. I think it actually sounds like a better ending than the wide theater release.
 
purbeast0 said:
if i'm not correct, i believe there were 3 different endings, with the theatrical one being the best.
Click to expand...

typical of a good idea with no thought out concept, sort of like a MAD TV Sketch (did any of those have any good endings, but appeared to be hilarious in concept?)

Anyway, for just 2 average joes in acting school I thought they did a phenomenal job, it is DEFINITELY worth seeing at some point, but absolutely not owning.

Blair witch was better in my opinion, scary woods vs. a really freaking nice house that I would love to have, hauntings and all.

I think if it was less "devil 666" and more like an extended and freakish episode of ghost hunters, it would have been a historical piece of film. Instead it's just a piece of blair witch forgettable one hit wonders.

Add more realism, tone down the devil thing, allow the characters to make well thought out decisions, and combine that into something with a definitive beginning and end, you got yourself a movie that has never been made before.
 
It's kind of a love-or-hate proposition. I thought it was brilliantly conceived and well executed, and generally smarter and more believable than the Blair Witch Project (not that I thought it was real - it was just more immersive to me than BWP). I found it very tense and frightening. FWIW I am a few years older than the OP.
 
mizzou said:
typical of a good idea with no thought out concept, sort of like a MAD TV Sketch (did any of those have any good endings, but appeared to be hilarious in concept?)

Anyway, for just 2 average joes in acting school I thought they did a phenomenal job, it is DEFINITELY worth seeing at some point, but absolutely not owning.

Blair witch was better in my opinion, scary woods vs. a really freaking nice house that I would love to have, hauntings and all.

I think if it was less "devil 666" and more like an extended and freakish episode of ghost hunters, it would have been a historical piece of film. Instead it's just a piece of blair witch forgettable one hit wonders.

Add more realism, tone down the devil thing, allow the characters to make well thought out decisions, and combine that into something with a definitive beginning and end, you got yourself a movie that has never been made before.
Click to expand...

Funny how opinions can be. I hated Blair Witch and thought this did everything much better than Blair Witch ever managed to. I'd recommend PA but would recommend steering clear of BW.

I thought it maintained a higher level of scariness than BW and for longer. Though it suffers the same problem of all horror movies which is that at least one character is a complete moron (to the point of unbelievability).
 
CountZero said:
Funny how opinions can be. I hated Blair Witch and thought this did everything much better than Blair Witch ever managed to. I'd recommend PA but would recommend steering clear of BW.

I thought it maintained a higher level of scariness than BW and for longer. Though it suffers the same problem of all horror movies which is that at least one character is a complete moron (to the point of unbelievability).
Click to expand...

I'm the exact opposite. Blair Witch was extremely effective and convincing to me, but Paranormal felt like people trying to act and the situations did not feel real, which made them not scary to me at all.

KT
 
It was not as scary as it was cracked up to be, but it was fairly creepy. Kept my attention, and I don't regret watching it.
 
KeithTalent said:
I'm the exact opposite. Blair Witch was extremely effective and convincing to me, but Paranormal felt like people trying to act and the situations did not feel real, which made them not scary to me at all.

KT
Click to expand...

It seems a lot of people I've talked to are the same way with these two movies (PA / BWP). You liked one and disliked the other. I'm in the liked PA and disliked BWP camp myself. I just didn't get anything out of BWP, not a single shiver, not a single fright. Maybe because I grew up in the woods, camping, etc.? Darkness in the woods/noise did absolutely nothing for me. Like I said earlier, PA wasn't exactly scary either, but I did think it was fun - but I do agree, I definitely felt like the situations in PA were forced and the acting did not feel all that real.
 
Ns1 said:
BWP was one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
Click to expand...

I just want to be clear on my prior post, neither BWP nor PA are great movies, they are just mindless popcorn movies.

I think my BWP preference though comes form the fact I was young when I saw it, saw it with a bunch of friends, and we routinely partied out in the woods so it just resonated a little better.
 
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