I’ve never known anyone who thought Paranormal Activity was “all
right.” It’s either another innovative testament
to our fear of the unknown or a boring, soulless attempt by Hollywood to
capitalize on cheap production costs. “Oh, doors slamming shut are all it takes
to scare you?” As someone who falls into the receptive camp, I’d like to
confirm that they totally are, because in that moment we’ve got no idea what’s
on the other side.
There’s gotta be something to the hot-cold split in the
reactions to this movie. Those who hate it tend to claim it’s poorly made and
those who defend it insist the detractors “didn’t understand it” (which I guess
could be said of any argument over artistic preferences), but the all or
nothing dichotomy really has me thinking that an individual’s reaction to this
movie is somewhat independent of both the film’s quality and the viewer’s
critical merit.
Some stuff just isn’t for everyone. Some people’s taste buds
just line up in a way that they don’t like a certain flavor. Where a million
different variables create a more gradual distribution of enjoyment for most
movies, the sharp cutoff for receptiveness to this particular movie indicates
that it comes down to how affected you are by just a few distinctive elements. How
scared you are of a door moving back and forth in the night has a lot more to
do with your own subconscious ideas about danger and the unknown than it does
with the ability of the person presenting it to you. Granted, it’s a storyteller’s
job to figure out which concepts will press the right emotional buttons, but in
the case of Paranormal Activity, the filmmakers did just that. The people whose
fear nerves got all tingly when an invisible figure began pounding on a slammed
door can attest to it.
This isn’t an argument for artistic quality being determined
by popular opinion. This is a guess about this movie involving elements of
horror that simply don’t resonate with everyone, based on the fact that the
people who don’t like it tend to feel that none of it was even slightly scary.
I’ve felt some fear watching horror
movies I didn’t like. I’ve felt some fear
watching horror movies I ultimately didn’t think of as scary. If you came away
from Paranormal Activity completely unfazed by a single part of it, then, I’ve
gotta ask: Do you think that you experienced Paranormal as it was meant to be
experienced and simply saw through shoddy craftsmanship, or that there’s a
chance that the movie hinged on an avenue of horror that just doesn’t click for
you?
I think that the unrealistic camera/acting aspect soured the opportunity for fear for me. That, and Micah. >.< Gah... That character irritated me to no end. His behavior, for me, was the biggest distraction from the rest of the things going on in the movie.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. I was scared the first time I watched it. I was entertained. It wasn't the most terrifying, wonderful film in the world, but I didn't hate it. The second time, I was bored out of my mind. I have experienced both sides of this conundrum.
ReplyDeleteI think, in my case, it was the telling, not the tale. I love the unknown, and the unseen scares me far more than the seen. As I wrote in my post, the movie should have worked for me; so much of it was my “avenue of horror.” But it didn’t. Once in a while I felt a frisson of suspense, but in the end, it dissipated with my overall boredom.
ReplyDeleteThis movie and the sequels are pretty much feature-length versions of those old GIFs that had messages saying stare at this room for twenty seconds to see something cool--then a demon's face would pop out at you to make you jump. It's cheesy, and a low form of horror. The films try to build suspense on the fact that you now know something might jump out or happen, or nothing might happen. If that form doesn't resonate with a viewer, the whole film is ruined. The first one, I would argue however, has an interesting touch the others don't: Katie gets so run down in it. Very few movies have effectively illustrated just how lethargic a person can become in a nasty situation, not just hauntings and possessions, but abusive and toxic environments. I connected with Katie because I saw her as being at the end of her leash and having no other options but to be abused. That, above the cheap thrills, really stuck with me. Maybe the film nearest to this lack of hope would be Requiem for a Dream, which is so horrific (in the purest sense of the term), I can't watch without feeling terrible for a week after.
ReplyDelete