Talking Pictures

Rich Bonaduce reviews “Paranormal Activity”

Rich’s Quickie: Promotional Activity.

Here is Rich Bonaduce’s General Theory of Relatively Independent Films: because most of them are normally not very good, when one IS marginal, word of mouth blows it up to blockbuster proportions.  It worked with the Blair Witch Project; and it is at work again with “Paranormal Activity”.   I mean; are the people at these film festivals really this easy?

“Activity” suffers from actors who aren’t quite believable (and who rarely respond to paranormal activity the way most people would), and from a hype machine that raises expectations to unrealistic levels.  It gets some genuine props for making a movie on a budget, and for using small events to develop a decent if somewhat prolonged build-up.  But there’s not enough of a payoff to warrant either the hype or the build-up.  Maybe if they’d left the original ending intact I might feel differently; but since they tacked on the silly, Hollywood ending, I’m stuck with this version and it’s stuck with THAT rating.  I do think it might be genuinely better if watched at home, especially at night; so watch for the DVD and the original ending they will no doubt include.

Rich’s Movie Grade: C-

Rated R for language.

Director: Oren Peli

Writer(s): Oren Peli (screenplay)

Tags: bonaduce review, paranormal activity
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