****DISCLAIMER**** I will reveal spoilers. If you don’t want to know anything about the movie DO NOT read any further! I will not be held responsible for ruining the movie for you.
So tonight I went and saw Paranormal Activity. The short review is I was highly disappointed. Now let me make some things clear…..I DO NOT beleive in demons. I do not beleive anyone can be possessed unless they consciously allow themselves to be possessed. That is why I think people who beleive in demons and possessions can be possessed, those who do not cannot.
Let’s start with the marketing for this movie. It has been dubbed as the scariest thing since Exorcist. Well, I am not gonna lie but Exorcist scared the pee out of me. I mean I couldn’t even sleep after watching it. The documentary on the boy that the movie is loosely based off of was even scarier to me. And for the record, he was at that time a religious person. I don’t know if he still is or not (yes, he is still alive). So I completely went to this movie expecting to be scared out of my wits. It’s the sole reason why I wanted to go. As I type this, I am sitting in the dark (which makes for alot of mistakes but I don’t want to disturb the kiddies). I am not scared. Sure….I jumped a few times. But it was because things happened that I wasnt expecting. It wasn’t anything horrifying. I seriously think that movie directors and script writers have forgotten how to scare people to death. Poltergeist was scary, it featured all kids fears. The original Nightmare on Elm Street was scary if you were someone who had horrifying nightmares all the time (I still do). Those movies preyed on what you were already afraid of. So I guess if you are a very religious person who beleives every bump in the night is a demon, then you will be terrified by this movie. But PA has left me feeling scammed out of $20 to go see it.
The movie is full of stereotypes. Here we are with a ghost story that is a demon. Not all things that happen mean demon. And when I have worked in the field, I have come across negative entities. You have to give them the power over you, they can’t take what your not willing to give. If your a strong person, grounded in your beleif (or non beleif) your safe. And what angers me is people will walk away and now equate with every thing they hear in their house to be a demon seeking to possess them.
Another stereotype is your typical douchebag who provokes the spirit. I know some people think they get more results from provoking. I, however, do not provoke. You get more flies with honey as the saying goes. And if I was a ghost and had some douchebag yelling obscenities at me, I sure as hell would feel like dragging them out of bed or anything that will terrify them more. Or the complete opposite, find someone else who feels like communicating in a positive manner. Just to be a pain in the tush. Furthermore, said douchebag feels a need to completely disregard his girlfriends feelings every chance he gets. The last thing you would want to do is to purposely go against their wishes and scare them even more. You get help if your scared. That is what we are here for.
The next stereotype is the psychic. I actually kind of like him. But he made the biggest mistake by informing the girl she had a demon after her. In my opinion, he planted the idea of it in their head. When I work with someone I am not looking to plant ideas in their head. I am looking to help them. If I can’t, I find someone who can. I don’t leave them hanging, I will even check back with someone to be sure they are ok. You never leave someone hanging. And if you feel that your presence in the home is more detrimental to their safety, talk to them outside the home!
My next stereotype really ticks me off. The Ouija Board. Of course it had an upside down pentagram on it. Automatically that gets people assuming negative things. I am ok when someone says they won’t mess with one. If you don’t have the desire or fear it, you shouldn’t be using it. If it goes against your beleifs, don’t use it. If you don’t beleive it doesn’t work, don’t use it. But putting it in a movie as a way for a demon to come through is utter nonsense. The people who run around talking about their negative experiences with it have no idea how to use it and assume that everything paranormal that happens afterwards (or just plain negative) has to do with a board. More than likely it doesn’t. If you use it with negativity or outright disbeleif, your going to get that back on you. Use it with positivity and you are ok. I have had one negative experience and it was due to the fact that I was scared and clueless on how to use one. Once I knew what my mistakes were I have never had a problem. And no, I don’t buy mine….I make mine.
Lastly, the camera. Constantly running around filming everything is ridiculous. I could beleive it better in Cloverfield but even then it ticked me off. Most people ONLY have a camera going at night to see if things happen. Or they grab it when something has happened. Not the entire time. Of course I knew it was filmed in this manner but I found myself wanting to hit douchebag everytime his girlfriend begged him to put it down and he kept filming. Real people don’t do this!
Now, it wasn’t a complete negative experience. I enjoyed the banging. I enjoyed lights coming on by themselves. I have had those experiences so it brought the movie close to home. And I found myself analyzing everything as we watched shadows move and saw footprints (well hoofprints since it was a demon) appear on the floor from powder. Powder is something we do. Analyzing shadow movements is what we do. Listening to evps is what we do. So all of that appealed to me.
So think hard before you go. Don’t go expecting to be scared.
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