With the rise of digital streaming services, torrenting and the brief window between theatrical and home releases, the cinema experience has fallen out of favor with the current generation. Going out to a multiplex, going broke on tickets and snacks and seeing a film front-loaded with advertisements just isn’t enticing to some. Which is understandable, but also a shame – especially in this month as horror films start to populate theaters. Some of the best theater experiences I’ve had have been with horror, and the most intense have been with the Paranormal Activity franchise.
It’s easy to mock Paranormal Activity. These films kick-started a trend of low-quality imitators, all cheap to make and heavily profitable. But as the last entry (The Ghost Dimension, now in eye-straining 3D) preps its release, I hope people will fill theater seats and go for one more ride.
In fall of 2009, word of a small horror film spread around social media – a micro-budget ghost story with a simple premise and wildly frightful execution. Horror fanatics had to “demand” the film come to their hometown, breeding a culture of loyalty for a film that nobody in the room had even seen. When the scares hit, an entire wave of screams rolled through the auditorium, followed by relieved laughter. That first Paranormal Activity was a moment in time, a shared experience that I’ll hold onto forever, and I’ve been lucky enough to recapture that moment with each entry of the franchise.
The first two sequels are some of the best horror follow-ups ever, forcing clever new restraints on the found-footage architecture. Plenty of genre franchises are willing to throw aside their original characters for a new slate of victims, but PA built a mythos around the original’s demonic possession. Paranormal Activities 2 and 3 are prequels, following the demon’s journey in reverse. The subsequent films (4 and The Marked Ones) aren’t as inventive or clever but continue on the legacy of this curse. There’s no reason for these films to have lore, yet they do. It’s a touch that adds something special, proving there’s passion inside of this blockbuster beast.
It’s the theater that makes these films memorable. Each one is an extremeky slow burn, with long stretches of inactivity to build tension. Watching the film on a smaller screen, it’s too easy to disconnect. Looking away seems inconsequential, but it rips you from the film’s stakes. The theater setting keeps you glued down, focusing on the banal. The seemingly mundane can become something terrifying.
During a midnight screening of Paranormal Activity 3, there was a moment when the entire audience was enraptured. The nighttime scene was eerily quiet, and the crowd was on mute. On the edge of the auditorium, one person’s keys fell out of their pocket with a startling clang. Half the audience jumped. That’s the experience that this franchise delivers, and one that has fallen out of favor with moviegoers.
Follow Chris Berg on Twitter, @Mushroomer25
Berg: The “Paranormal Activity” franchise is what I love about the movies
Christopher Berg
October 11, 2015
While many mock the “Paranormal Activity” franchise their will still scare the pants of you. (Creative Commons)
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