I had been itching to see Paranormal Activity since the very first time I heard about it.  Then it was announced that the drive-in would be showing it and I about needed a moment alone.  I never did make it to the drive-in for it though (stupid scaredy-cat people I call my friends).  Instead, I got to listen to everyone ELSE I know talking about it.

And talk about it they did.  It seemed that everyone had some kind of an opinion about it.  Some people told me that seeing it in the theater was a must.  Others said it would’ve been better to watch at home in the dark.  And then there were those people that were just too cool for it and pretended they laughed through the whole thing.  Liars.

Months later, I finally got the Blu Ray from the Netflix and I was oh so totally stoked to check it out.

So Katie and Micah are being haunted by some kind of presence in their condo.  Micah decides to conduct his own little “investigation” and picks up a way over-the-top video camera to try to capture some of the strange things they’ve been experiencing.  And the freaky-deaky begins.

Time and time again Paranormal Activity has been compared to The Blair Witch Project.  The big thing everyone clings to like Conservatives cling to Jesus is that the whole thing is filmed from the perspective of a camcorder.  GASP!  Not that!  But as far as I’m concerned, that’s where the similarities end.

The Blair Witch Project had very little coherent substance.  The plot was very thin and all over the place.  And the characters were deplorable.  The only thing that movie had going for it was that, at the time, it was revolutionary.  Nothing like it had ever been done before.  But that doesn’t make it great, or even good.  That makes it fresh and that’s different.

Paranormal Activity isn’t the first movie of its kind, but it’s far better than its predecessor(s).  The plot isn’t the most thrilling idea out there and sure as H-E-double-hockey-sticks isn’t original.  But it’s put together well.  It’s believable – mostly.  There were a few scenes that genuinely gave me the heebee jeebees.  The special effects are subtle, yet impactful.  And the characters don’t make me wanna claw my eyes out.  Well, I did want Micah to die a dramatic and painful death because he was a serious a-hole and as annoying as “a thick piece of shizz in a shallow bucket”, but I found myself rooting for Katie pretty much throughout so I’ll call that a wash.

(NOTE:  I don’t have any firsthand knowledge of how annoying a thick piece of shizz in a shallow bucket  is exactly, but Urban Dictionary says it’s pretty bad and that’s on the interwebs so it’s gotta be true!)