Have you ever been so scared, so absolutely terrified, that you can literally feel yourself trembling?
Have you ever seen something that haunts your thoughts and lingers in your memory like a bad taste in your mouth, for days and days afterward?
Have you ever experienced true, mind-numbing horror?
Well, my friends, I can now say ‘Yes’ to all three of the above statements. That’s right: last night, I saw Paranormal Activity. No, wait, that’s not quite right…I didn’t see the movie…I experienced it.
This film can be summed up in one word: astonishing!
Now, folks, I don’t scare easily. You’re talking to a guy that saw his first horror movie when he was 10 years-old (the movie was Alien…I snuck into the living room while Mom and Dad were watching it). Then I followed that up with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre a couple of years later…when I was living in the panhandle of Texas! So, all in all, I’m pretty desensitized to horror films as a whole.
But WOW…this movie SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! Don’t get me wrong…I loved it! But I kid you not…I actually had trouble sleeping last night!
Here’s the plot: (WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead)
A young couple, Katie and Micah (pronounced Mee-ka), move into a house and start hearing noises at night; they also start noticing things being moved around and put in places they shouldn’t be. Micah brings home a video camera and sets it up in their bedroom to try and get a glimpse of what could be happening while they sleep.
But what they see on the camera every morning is not something that logic can explain or justify.
The “occurrences” that are recorded start out simple: a door opening and closing by itself, random banging noises, moving shadows, etc. But the events quickly escalate. Soon, the camera starts showing Katie and Micah things beyond comprehension.
And that’s when the real terror begins.
The budget for the movie is rumored to be only about $11,000 dollars. (Yes, that’s right…$11 THOUSAND dollars…a price unheard of for today’s theatrical releases). And a lot of people are wanting to compare this to The Blair Witch Project from about 10 years ago…but don’t worry: Like my buddy Hayes says:
“It is not a total letdown like TBWP was. This movie is great and actually lives up to its hype. If you haven’t seen it yet, please, do yourself a favor and go see this movie right now! And remember, don’t forget to breathe!”
Well said, Hayes. Strong words from someone who has seen it twice now…and STILL got scared the second time! LOL (He was with me last night at the theater, so I can say that out loud!)
The movie had such a profound effect on me that I only have two Sci-Fi tidbits for you today:
First, SciFi Squad lists The Top 10 Sci-Fi Robots for Boys. I have to commend them for listing the Iron Giant as #1. My family and I love that movie and we would even like to see a sequel.
And secondly, Screen Rant lists Horror Movie Animals from the Past Five Decades. I love the picture of the kitten with the sniper-rifle. Two titles on this list stick out as classics for me: Jaws and Piranha. But after seeing the covers for movies like Strays, I don’t think I can take the list seriously anymore.
That’s it for me. I’m going to go find a priest to follow me home now.
Later.
MSB
Strays was a last minute decision because I wanted a cat movie to balance out the dog movies and it was either that or Sleepwalkers. Apparently cats aren’t scary enough to make a bunch of horror movies about. The rest of the list I stand by
LOL Point taken, Paul…thank you. I’ll have to agree with you on not putting Sleepwalkers in there. I think Strays has more, ah, credibility as a horror movie than that one.
Scariest movie of all time? That’s a pretty bold statement. I guess I have been living under a rock because I hadn’t heard of this until some friends told me last night. They also said it was terrifying. In fact, our waitress overheard us and she jumped right in with how terrifying she thought it was. Like you, they all mentioned how they had trouble sleeping after seeing it. Wow, now I am now all giddy to go see it.