Paranormal Activity

[Rockwulf]

I'm really surprised there's no thread on this flick yet. Anybody else see it? It's really, really, awesome and suspenseful.

I don't normally get scared by flicks but I was watching it alone at work last night and it totally got me creeped out. The pacing and the deliberate slowness punctuated by bursts of activity really sets the viewer on edge.

As scary movies go, this one was a hundred times scarier than whatever dreck the Saw franchise is putting out this year.

[Amelia G]

I think their viral campaign is clearly genius. Their opening weekend grossed under a hundred grand and they are at almost fifty mill now. That said, I expected this to be a bot spam thread and was surprised to see it was a regular poster. But a thing a lot of marketers don't get about viral promo is that it works best if the product is decent. So it is likely a decent product as a movie. This is the sort of viral campaign, like Blair Witch, which can only be done once though.

What's the movie about?

[Rockwulf]

It centers around a couple living in "anytown, USA" who live together and at the outset of the movie have had some weird occurrences like noises etc in the house while they sleep. The movie begins on the day the man brings home a new camcorder to investigate. The premise is that the tapes were found after the facts, a la Blair Witch.

Unlike Blair Witch however, shit actually happens! There are effects shots and physical manifestations of there being something in the house. It's a really suspenseful flick.

There's actually 2 endings, the theatrical release, which I thought was kind of forced and a little out of tone with the "realism" that the movie had built around itself. The "Official Bootleg" ending I thought was way better and a much cleaner wrap-up, not to mention much more realistic.

[nathanmbailey]

Yeah, the movie was awesome. I hate that people keep comparing it to the Blair Witch Project solely based on the 1st person point of view used in the filming. That's the only real similarity that I see since it didn't suck like BWP.

I only saw it last night, but the theater was still half packed and people were jumping and screaming and all that the whole time. My friend being one of them. I still have marks from her nails being dug into my arm.

The advertising campaign was perfectly done with the limited theater release to build up more word of mouth advertisements and make people want a full release. I think they had a million signature petition signed in only a couple of days.

[Amelia G]

Yeah, the movie was awesome. I hate that people keep comparing it to the Blair Witch Project solely based on the 1st person point of view used in the filming. That's the only real similarity that I see since it didn't suck like BWP.

I only saw it last night, but the theater was still half packed and people were jumping and screaming and all that the whole time. My friend being one of them. I still have marks from her nails being dug into my arm.

The advertising campaign was perfectly done with the limited theater release to build up more word of mouth advertisements and make people want a full release. I think they had a million signature petition signed in only a couple of days.

It may be an enjoyable movie, but the similarity to Blair Witch is the astroturf ad campaign. If you believe they had a million signatures from people who saw the movie, when it only opened in 12 theatres, I think I know someone with some awesome swampland to sell you.

[Rockwulf]

It may be an enjoyable movie, but the similarity to Blair Witch is the astroturf ad campaign. If you believe they had a million signatures from people who saw the movie, when it only opened in 12 theatres, I think I know someone with some awesome swampland to sell you.

I would think the signatures would be from people who wanted to see it, not that had.

That'd be a fairly ineffectual petition. "HEY! I DEMAND YOU SHOW ME THAT MOVIE I JUST SAW!"

[Mr Karl]

haven't heard of it..............yet

[nathanmbailey]

Yes, there was a petition to bring it to a full nationwide theatrical release, signed by the people who only got to hear about the movie.

I would like to talk to that guy about the swampland though. I could use a place to hide bodies and keep gators for livestock.

[Amelia G]

I would think the signatures would be from people who wanted to see it, not that had.

That'd be a fairly ineffectual petition. "HEY! I DEMAND YOU SHOW ME THAT MOVIE I JUST SAW!"

Good point, but can you seriously imagine a movie which really got enough of the total strangers who went to only 12 theatres to feel sufficiently invested in it that they got a million people to sign a petition to widen its release? There are movies I am really looking forward to seeing and, while admittedly I live in Hollywood which has good movie distro, I've never even seen a petition to widen a release, much less thought of signing one, especially when I could just wait for the flick to come out on DVD or cable.

[Amelia G]

I would like to talk to that guy about the swampland though. I could use a place to hide bodies and keep gators for livestock.

Good point. Who doesn't? I should really check the pricing on the swampland.

[Rockwulf]

Good point, but can you seriously imagine a movie which really got enough of the total strangers who went to only 12 theatres to feel sufficiently invested in it that they got a million people to sign a petition to widen its release? There are movies I am really looking forward to seeing and, while admittedly I live in Hollywood which has good movie distro, I've never even seen a petition to widen a release, much less thought of signing one, especially when I could just wait for the flick to come out on DVD or cable.

Eh, it got hyped on some big sites. And since it's an online petition all you really have do do is put up a button that says "click here if this trailer looks good." I could see making a million pretty easily.

[Ajax Knucklebones]

I'm really surprised there's no thread on this flick yet. Anybody else see it? It's really, really, awesome and suspenseful.

I don't normally get scared by flicks but I was watching it alone at work last night and it totally got me creeped out. The pacing and the deliberate slowness punctuated by bursts of activity really sets the viewer on edge.

As scary movies go, this one was a hundred times scarier than whatever dreck the Saw franchise is putting out this year.

Puss.....

[Morning Glory]

No more 1st person movies. Also no more zombies.

That shit is so played out. It's basically the pop-culture equivalent of making a pirates versus ninjas movie.

[Raza]

How many first person movies are there exactly, compared to third person ones?

There isn't really a default.

[Brigeyboo]

I saw it! I loved it...but I had to sleep with the light on for two nights >_<
Yea I'm a big baby haha

[RubyViolence]

I really loved the movie too. Tomorrow on Halloween, I'm going to see the alternative ending. Can't wait

[Ajax Knucklebones]

I really loved the movie too. Tomorrow on Halloween, I'm going to see the alternative ending. Can't wait

Just check it out on Yo%tube. It's there.

[athenahollow]

I really didn't like it. I thought there was maybe 15 minutes in the entire movie worth watching, and the rest was boring and sucked. Too much annoying melodrama, it wasn't convincing that they were a couple, just plain blah.

[RubyViolence]

I saw the alternate ending a few nights ago but I like the original theater one better. It was spookier

[HeadlessBill]

Based on what friends of ours have said about the movie, Nixon Sixx and I are planning on getting together and renting the DVD when it comes out and poking fun at it.

[Raza]

You're going to rent a dvd to express how you're unimpressed with the movie on it?

What do you do when you like a movie? Just skip the middle man and give them direct access to your bank account?

[HeadlessBill]

Yeah, I guess you can say I give them access to my bank account, but I do use the middle man and they have access to the one that has very little money in it.

Anyhow, we are renting it because we are curious to see it, but not curious enough to pay movie ticket prices. We did the same thing with 'Zombie Strippers' and we were entertained by the movie more than we had expected too.

Also, considering the whole movie is made to look like it's being viewed through the viewfinder of a camcorder, I have a feeling it will play better on the small screen rather than the big.

[Raza]

That's all perfectly reasonable, except for the part where you spend money to see a movie at home. =P