Blog Post #3:Things that go bump in the night

So being that it was Halloween, I figured I needed to watch at least one sort of scary movie. Gathering my roommates together, we all sat down, cued up Netflix and quickly scrambled to the Horror section. It's rather amusing how amazingly convenient this whole convergence thing is. We didn't even have to run out to the video store only to be disappointed by the slim pickings. We simply cued it up on the Xbox and started searching

www.coated.com

Netflix...bringin' down every video store in your town before you even know it.

Anywho, since it was the internet amped freak-fest of 2009 we settled in on Paranormal Activity. The film follows a young couple who has just recently moved into a new house and is experiencing some intense disturbances. The main female lead suspects it is a ghost or demon of some kind so in order to solve this problem they set up and begin recording their lives to see if anything strange is truly going on. And yes indeed...things are going bump in the night.

http://www.horrorphile.net

Production Technique is a huge part of this film. We view the events from the point of view of the home video camera. It's very handheld, shaky and appears extremely amateur. This is done on purpose and gives the film a very realistic edge that makes it all the more tense.

With most horror films, Paranormal Activity does a good job of appealing to the reptilian brain. The tension builds over the course of the film making the audience more and more nervous as time goes along. Things creak and jump out at you, eliciting a visceral "FLIGHT FLIGHT!" type of response.

See? It gets pretty freaky at times. Paranormal Activity is an interesting example of filmmaking because it utilizes the digital medium to its advantage. Instead of being dragged down by the video format, it embraces it to help tell its story.

Also, the ad campaign is something worth noting. Being a rather independent film, the production team behind the film used social media as a way to get the word out. The online campaign reached millions across America, and in effect created a cult following for the film even before it was released. Audiences were asked to 'demand' the film be shown in theaters near them, and it worked. This shows a true mastery of the cultural shift on behalf of the films' producers.