Paranormal Activity

[TheWrathOfGod]

This movie is pretty underwhelming. It basically consists of doors opening and closing while a chubby chick freaks out/sleeps. I’m only impressed that a movie with this low of a budget can make so much money. Maybe with all of the profit they can add a demonic Stan Winston studio monster at the end to make it worth buying on Blu-ray.

 

[Crook]

I thought that original ending posted above sucks. And the ending where she [blackout]slits her throat just seems pretty anticlimactic. I don't see why the demon would waste all that time if it just wanted to slit her throat.[/blackout] I think the theatrical ending is the best one.

One can't really gather any true intentions of the demon from any of the endings. I mean, what's the end-game?

 

[craigdbfan]

There are actual three endings not just two.

Thats just the other alternate ending. The other has

Spoiler

The girlfriend going downstairs and then we hear a scream, Micah rushes down and we hear him say "wtf!" and then groan.

After this there is just silence. We hear footsteps and it turns out its the girlfriend with a knife in hand with a bloody shirt. She then sits and starts rocking back in forth for 2 consecutive days beside their bed. The friend shows up after not hearing from them and screams when finding Micahs dead body, the police show up start calling out for anyone in the home.

The girlfriend then snaps out of her trance an seemingly confused asks for Micah while the cops have their guns drawn and she continues to approach them with her knife in hand and the cops gun her down.

The ending then has a dedication for both Micah and the chick.

 

[Bond]

One can't really gather any true intentions of the demon from any of the endings. I mean, what's the end-game?

That is true, but it still seems like a too 'WTF?!" moment. I liked how the theatrical ending was an "AHHHH OH MY ****" moment.

 

[omid17]

There are actual three endings not just two.

Thats just the other alternate ending. The other has

Spoiler

The girlfriend going downstairs and then we hear a scream, Micah rushes down and we hear him say "wtf!" and then groan.

After this there is just silence. We hear footsteps and it turns out its the girlfriend with a knife in hand with a bloody shirt. She then sits and starts rocking back in forth for 2 consecutive days beside their bed. The friend shows up after not hearing from them and screams when finding Micahs dead body, the police show up start calling out for anyone in the home.

The girlfriend then snaps out of her trance an seemingly confused asks for Micah while the cops have their guns drawn and she continues to approach them with her knife in hand and the cops gun her down.

The ending then has a dedication for both Micah and the chick.

we already know

 

[Kane52630]

wheres the one that Bond is talking about? i havent seen it

 

[omid17]

That is true, but it still seems like a too 'WTF?!" moment. I liked how the theatrical ending was an "AHHHH OH MY ****" moment.

same here,

[BLACKOUT]i don't remember but did Mikah say anything when he went downstairs at the end?
[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Bond]

wheres the one that Bond is talking about? i havent seen it

As far as I know, there is no video of it. Just descriptions saying that it was one of the endings that they filmed and wasn't used.

same here,

[blackout]i don't remember but did Mikah say anything when he went downstairs at the end?
[/blackout]

[BLACKOUT]Nope, he just screams like in the video Crook posted.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Crook]

There are actual three endings not just two.

Thats just the other alternate ending. The other has

Spoiler

The girlfriend going downstairs and then we hear a scream, Micah rushes down and we hear him say "wtf!" and then groan.

After this there is just silence. We hear footsteps and it turns out its the girlfriend with a knife in hand with a bloody shirt. She then sits and starts rocking back in forth for 2 consecutive days beside their bed. The friend shows up after not hearing from them and screams when finding Micahs dead body, the police show up start calling out for anyone in the home.

The girlfriend then snaps out of her trance an seemingly confused asks for Micah while the cops have their guns drawn and she continues to approach them with her knife in hand and the cops gun her down.

The ending then has a dedication for both Micah and the chick.

I posted the video of this ending on the previous page.

wheres the one that Bond is talking about? i havent seen it

Only 2 have been released, the theatrical and the [blackout]police[/blackout] one, on the previous page. The other hasn't been released yet.

same here,

[blackout]i don't remember but did Mikah say anything when he went downstairs at the end?
[/blackout]

Nope.

 

[The Apatow Crew]

So it appears that this film might have ripped off another film of the similar premise that's not released yet.

The low-cost spooker PARANORMAL ACTIVITY has proven to be quite a phenomenon. And while I haven't had a chance to see it yet myself, I couldn't help but notice it seems to bear some resemblance to a movie I did see several years ago -- another little household horror indie called IN MEMORIUM. Made in 2005 by filmmaker Amanda Gusack (who went on to MGM's recent DVD thriller THE BETRAYED, starring Melissa George and Oded Fehr), IN MEMORIUM also took the DIY approach to the premise of capturing the domestic supernatural on camera.
Although its similarities to IN MEMORIUM are probably just a casualty of the collective unconscious, PARANOMAL ACTIVITY had the fortune of finding a considerable audience, while Gusack's film made the festival rounds but remains without distribution. Perhaps that will change in the wake of PA's success, since there's clearly a market for it.
I reviewed the movie for another online outlet a few years back, and I've reposted it below. You can also check out the IN MEMORIUM trailer down there, see some clips over at B-D, and learn more about the film at the official site.

When aspiring filmmaker Dennis (Erik McDowell) is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decides to leave his legacy in filmed format. Along with girlfriend Lily (Johanna Watts), he rents a small house and wires it with microphones and motion-activated cameras to keep a grim record of his final weeks as he withers away. But the footage isn't exactly what Dennis had hoped for as an unwanted tenant from the afterlife has decided to make a guest appearance in his documentary, causing his illness to accelerate and making his remaining days a literal nightmare. [/color] The faux-documentary approach has become a customary method of circumventing budgetary issues for independent, low-tech filmmakers, but it's not often nearly as effective as writer-director Amanda Gusack's morbid and creepy horror film IN MEMORIUM. Gusack's actors do a convincing job of being utterly terrified by the proceedings, and perhaps more importantly, they feel like an organic couple who would subject themselves to such a morose notion as filming one's eventual demise (Watts' fondness for wearing baby-Ts around the home certainly doesn't hinder the film's watchability).
There's no musical score, only the ambient sounds of creaks and chilling groans, while the unwelcome spirit is only glimpsed through shadows and freaky static-filled video, all with rather unnerving success -- I started watching the movie at 10pm one night and truly regretted it after the lights were turned off. For many horror fans, that's as sincere an endorsement as you'll find.

http://www.joblo.com/paranormal-similarity

 

[Kane52630]

oh ok thanks

 

[omid17]

As far as I know, there is no video of it. Just descriptions saying that it was one of the endings that they filmed and wasn't used.


[blackout]Nope, he just screams like in the video Crook posted.[/blackout]

it would have been good [BLACKOUT]if he ran downstairs and all you hear him say "oh my god" than a sec later you see him flying towards the camera
[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Bond]

it would have been good [blackout]if he ran downstairs and all you hear him say "oh my god" than a sec later you see him flying towards the camera
[/blackout]

Eh, I thought one of the scariest parts was [BLACKOUT]just hearing her silently walking up the stairs in the dark. That was a great scene.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[omid17]

Eh, I thought one of the scariest parts was [blackout]just hearing her silently walking up the stairs in the dark. That was a great scene.[/blackout]

that was

 

[Krozee]

In the beginning, I found myself smiling because I thought it was cool rather then scary. Like when [BLACKOUT]they hear that loud boom and they go downstairs and the ceiling lamp was shaking.[/BLACKOUT] Then, I don't know what happened but I found myself laughing more then scared. I just kept picturing this big demon pulling these pranks, then laughing about it after he scared them. [BLACKOUT]Especially when she got pulled out of the bed.[/BLACKOUT] I was giggling more then scared.

And I have to say that I'm really disappointed that that's the ending Spielberg came up with. It was so cliche, [BLACKOUT]her looking at the camera, smiling, then lunging at it.[/BLACKOUT] I felt it took away all the realistic-ness of the movie and just made it another Hollywood horror film.

I'll admit, the ending made me jump and kinda gave me the chills, but it was threw the use of cheap horror techniques rather then what the movie had been building on, which was scary moments that actually could happen and would make people scared of their own bedroom.

 

[Bond]

Is it officially confirmed that Spielberg actually DID come up with that ending? That just sounds like something someone would type in on Wikipedia because people would believe it.

 

[The Apatow Crew]

No, all he did was advise the people to change the ending to something else.

 

[Crook]

In the beginning, I found myself smiling because I thought it was cool rather then scary. Like when [blackout]they hear that loud boom and they go downstairs and the ceiling lamp was shaking.[/blackout] Then, I don't know what happened but I found myself laughing more then scared. I just kept picturing this big demon pulling these pranks, then laughing about it after he scared them. [blackout]Especially when she got pulled out of the bed.[/blackout] I was giggling more then scared.

That's....beyond backwards. The [blackout]ceiling lamp[/blackout] had absolutely no purpose but to f**k with the couple. The [blackout]dragging[/blackout] incident was the first time there was actual personal contact.

How could you possibly see the latter as funny, especially in comparison to the former?

 

[Bond]

The [blackout]leg-dragging scene[/blackout] was the first "whoa OMG" moment for me. That's when **** got real.

 

[Kane52630]

The [blackout]leg-dragging scene[/blackout] was the first "whoa OMG" moment for me. That's when **** got real.

oh yea that was just crazy when i first saw that
my whole theater jumped and yelled bloody murder

 

[Asgard]

Micah was a ****ing idiot for two reasons.

Spoiler

1. Egging on the demon and trying to mess with it. The thing with the Ouija board was especially stupid.

2. Staying in the friggin house after Katie was acting all googly eyed and saying they should stay in the house. Seriously, I wouldve pulled a Kanye on her. I probably wouldve left after the footprints on the floor. Kinda mean, but goddamn Im not staying with anyone after that kinda **** goes down.

 

[omid17]

Micah was a ****ing idiot for two reasons.

Spoiler

1. Egging on the demon and trying to mess with it. The thing with the Ouija board was especially stupid.

2. Staying in the friggin house after Katie was acting all googly eyed and saying they should stay in the house. Seriously, I wouldve pulled a Kanye on her. I probably wouldve left after the footprints on the floor. Kinda mean, but goddamn Im not staying with anyone after that kinda **** goes down.

haha i totally agree, i would of abandon ship and got the **** out of there asap

 

[Crook]

Ya'll would abandon a girlfriend you've loved and been in a relationship with for 3 years? After you've just moved in all of your stuff no less?

You guys are either:

1) making this a lot easier than it really is
2) asswipes

 

[Asgard]

Ya'll would abandon a girlfriend you've loved and been in a relationship with for 3 years? After you've just moved in all of your stuff no less?

You guys are either:

1) making this a lot easier than it really is
2) asswipes

Lol.

Actually to be honest with you, I would have stayed through everything except for when she was in bed and saying that they should stay in the house and that everything would be ok. That's like universal code for GTFO or you gonna die.

There's no way in hell I would have stayed no matter who it is. It could be my mother saying that and Id be running down the stairs and outta that house before she even finishes speaking. That might make me an asswipe, but Id rather be known for that than to have my soul eaten by a demon. I wouldnt totally abandon that person though. Id probaby look for that excorcist they were talking about or find another one.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

I might be seeing this today, but I don't have high expectatinos at all. From what I'm hearing, it doesn't sound all that scary at all.