Up & Coming Weekly

28 UCW NOVEMBER 4-10, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Overall, Paranormal Activity (86 minutes), directed by effec- tive newbie Oren Peli, is worth the price of admission. The film is sold as a low budget independent "based on true events" horror movie, and it certainly delivers on that pitch. The freakiness of it is not depen- dent on expensive special effects, but on the fact that up until the last few minutes, you can imagine the exact events depicted on the screen happening to you. The film is so effective because it is operating the realm of the real. It starts slow, with Micah Sloat playing with an expen- sive new recorder that he has pur- chased in order to capture film evidence of paranormal activity centered on his girlfriend K atie Featherston. The two share a great on-camera dynamic, and the first half of the film establishes the character of their relationship nicely. Gradually, the audience gets the backstory for what is happen- ing, although in some instances the two leads are overly (unreal- istically) casual in discussing the events that have brought them to the point of evidence gather- ing. Eventually, a psychic (Mark Fredrichs) confirms that the duo have a legitimate problem, and refers them to a demonologist. Over time, the slow building atmosphere leads the audience to anticipate the next escalation in the activity. At this point, the film loses a little bit of its realism. Here's why. Everyone knows the best defense against the creatures of the night is to conceal yourself safely under a blanket. These two wackos are aware that something is approaching them at night, but still dangle their limbs, not only outside of the covers, BUT OVER THE EDGE OF THE BED. Seriously, who does that when they are scared of a haunting? I don't spend hours quivering in fear over big bad malicious creatures, but I can't even relax, much less sleep, without my anti-monster blanket completely covering me. Honestly, The Blair Witch Project scared me more, but the impact of Paranormal Activity lasted longer. All those Blair Witch scares dimin- ished once I left the theater, pos- sibly because I didn't head out to the woods imme- diately after seeing it. All the scares in Paranormal, how- ever, take place in the home. So, after watching the movie you get to go home to your house (that is sort of like the house in the movie) and sleep in your bedroom (which is basically like the bedroom in the movie) and listen to creepy noises. But, if you're reacting to the movie like me, you think, no big deal. It wasn't that scary. At least, not until (like me) you wake up at 3 a.m. and realize that's the exact time weird stuff was hap- pening in the movie you just saw. We all hear weird noises that we can't explain, and if we are lucky we have monsterbait in bed with us that we can send off to go investigate. Note: when the Monster Under the Bed attacks, you don't have to be fast. You just have to be faster than the person in bed with you. Unfortunately in my household, I am the light sleeper, and I am also far too polite to wake someone else up. And that's when I real- ized, despite the occasional slow moments, the movie was scarier than I thought it was. Scary Enough, But I Expected Scarier Paranormal Activity (Rated R) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS WEDNESDAY, 11/6 FRIENDS OF MUSIC GUEST ARTIST SERIES 7:30 PM — HENSDALE CHAPEL Featuring Megan Murphy Kenny (violin) and Jesse Davis (Piano). Contact 910-630-7252 or smarosek@methodist.edu for more information. Admission is free. THURSDAY-SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19-22 RIDE, RIDE! THE JOHN WESLEY MUSICAL THURSDAY-SATURDAY 7:30 PM SUNDAY 4:00 PM Free general admission seating for Methodist University ID holders. $5 General admission seating for groups five or more (group rate), seniors, military ID card holders, and students with a valid student ID card. $10 general admission seating. Contact 910-630-7157 or dlwilson@methodist.edu for more information. For more information, go to www.methodist.edu. Engage. Enrich. Empower. NOVEMBER

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