Oren Peli wrote and directed "Paranormal Activity" but you wouldn't know that from watching the film. The beginning is simply a "Thanks" to the families of the characters in the film for allowing Paramount Pictures to use the following footage - which gives you some sense these characters aren't going to bode well for the duration of the flick.

There's also no end credits, which I would think violates the rules of some/several unions. But all of this is part of the larger stunt of the film itself. (Plus, with a $15,000 budget and week-long shoot, there's probably not much of a crew to credit.) "Paranormal Activity" is a film that wants to scare you not through gore but through suggestion. There's no blood, no gashes, no weapons. There's nothing but bumps, off-camera screams, and suggestive images throughout. The story is simple but the context is probably more complicated than even the filmmaker expected.

Our setting is an undefined subdivision in San Diego. Katie (Katie Featherston) is a graduate students who lives with her day-trading boyfriend Micah. (Micah Sloat). The couple's professions don't give them, or the film, much of an excuse to leave the house. Unfortunate, since the couple is developing a real concern that the house is haunted. They hear things at night: creaks, footsteps, and whispers. What could this be? They hire a psychic (Mark Fredrichs) but he has no answers. (He's plenty freaked out, but offers nothing.) Micah buys a snazzy video camera that has night vision and runs all night in the couple's bedroom. This might be the first time a bedroom camera has been used for such purpose, but I digress. The film is a showcase for various evenings where we see doors crack indiscriminately, moans projecting from downstairs, shadows move across the wall, and footsteps left by...something. This doesn't seem sinister at all when it begins. Could be anything. But part of "Paranormal Activity"'s effectiveness is the way things keep building and building as the tension tightens in trying to figure out where all of this is heading, what this disturbance is exactly and what precisely is going to happen to our two leads.

To say "Paranormal Activity" is a relief after years of "victim porn" films that laid heavy on blood and brutality while highlighting a sense of post-9/11 helplessness that has plagued our country's mindset is an understatement. This is a film that relies fully on suggestion and suspense in building its atmosphere and dread. It's telling that "language" is the only reason for the film's "R" rating. I wouldn't call the film scary as I would call it unnerving. Nothing really jumped out at me while I watched it but one can be sure that I spent a lot of time thinking about the movie before I went to bed that night. There is a technical brilliance to the simplicity of the proceedings: Lay a tripod down with a time code and make the audience wait for something you've already told them is out there. (We know something bad is going to happen so most of our fear comes from anticipation rather than what's actually on-screen.) Watching people trapped by the seemingly "perfect" house represents a litany of social ills: the failings of the suburban lifestyle, Homeland Security. Grad students, knock yourselves out.

But great horror films, or good horror films as the case is here, usually tap into some sort of societal trend in order to catch fire with an audience. This film has caught fire as quick as anything since "The Blair Witch Project", having earned $33 million dollars in its run thus far (That's 2200 times what it cost to make) and selling out late-night all over the country. It had two screenings at the same time Saturday night at the Campbell 16; both were sold out. What explains this? The suburban backdrop with the feelings of entrapment is not enough. But what this seems to be is the first horror film to capture the aesthetic and texture of reality television. Both lead actors look eerily normal; attractive but not necessarily attractive enough to be movie stars. They are average. Yet, Micah becomes obsessed with his camera, obsessed with sharing whatever is going on with...whomever. So much dialogue and discontent from Katie derives from the constant filming of their predicament. ("You picked up the camera before you got here", is a concerned sneer she spits out at one point.) The intrusive nature of the camera drives the conflict between our main characters and also picks up every pertinent portion of the story in the film. "Paranormal Activity" has the low-budget, low-rent feel of television's most tireless popular culture. The fact that it also features an other-worldly force that tortures and plagues these slightly annoying, too true characters gives it that much-needed punch.

Then again, I've been told I am giving the film too much credit. I also said "Blair Witch Project" was a parable on our reliance on technology. I still believe that, but the film hasn't necessarily become a horror film staple. It's become more of a staple of movie marketing. "Paranormal Activity" could suffer the same fate. There are ridiculous moments (such as the importance of a Ouija board) that undermine the film's credibility. There are several repetitive scenes. The filmmakers seem to believe simply making bumps in the night should scare the audience. Noises are not scary; what happens after the noise is scary. This film seems not interested in the distinction. Forgiving these transgressions, "Paranormal Activity" is a film that sneaks into the audience's mind and does an effective job with its simple task. This film wants to freak you out in a no-frills sort of way. That it does. While there are aspects that explain its current popularity, there is no exploration of these aspects that suggest this will be a classic. Only time is an indicator of that. We'll see if we're talking about "Paranormal Activity" next Halloween.
 

Three and a half stars (out of five)

"Paranormal Activity" is Rated R for language.