Paranormal Activity

Good move picking the alternate ending. I knew what the original ending was like (spoiled in the trailer), and I was sure my friend would be able to handle it (she doesn't like gore). However, we watched the alternate ending and agree that it is superior to the theatrical one.

Yea, that movie really gets you listening to all the creaking and such around the house at night, don't it. If you haven't seen it yet, ignore the hype and give it a try. Late at night, with the lights off.

you people are nuts. the movie wasn't scary in the least. LOL I was incredibly disappointed in it. Even the alternative ending, although it was better than the theatrical ending.

They talked too much. Way too much. I mean, I know there wasn't much else for them to do, but they talked, she cried, he yelled and cussed.

You know what movie I thought it was like? This super-low-budget, church-produced Christian 'horror' movie called "Spirits Among Us" (which for a church-produced movie wasn't too preachy or terrible). Even that movie had more thought-provoking demon activity than this one. There was even some minor gore in that movie.

Guess I'm just a fan of the slow burn. I didn't find the characters that offensively portrayed, and I really like how the screenplay got around the simple solution of most haunted house movies (Get the hell out of the house!) by having it a reoccurring event in her life.

I think it will be one of those films that will be endlessly debated by genre fans for years. All I can say is, it really got to me. Just call me crazy.

You either love or hate this film. I have grown more and more unhappy with it as time has gone on, especially since Tristan hyped it up 90000% before I saw it.

and the spielberg ending was just retarded.

Creepy moment? The strange sleepwalking.

Oh, I didn't hype it that bad! Geez. I saw it in an early screening. I liked it a lot. It also had a different (i.e., better) ending at that time. I stand by that I liked it, and I also submit that I saw it without the baggage of two years of chatter behind it.

The great majority of those who saw the early screenings went away describing it in a very favorable fashion. The fact that all others were denied the chance to see it, for at least two years until they finally released it, bubbled this "very favorable fashion" into a gushing froth. Nothing can live up to what it had, through lore, turned into.

It's a fact of life that, if you start to REALLY look forward to something, it rarely, if ever, manages to live up to the grand expectations. Two years of being hidden really made a lot of horror fans look forward to this film, and it really let the hyperbole bake. After that much chatter and talk, it's hard for some people not to go into it without a chip on their shoulder.

I think it's a great movie. I don't think it's perfect. The new ending is definitely weaker (why the cheap CGI morph, oh why) than the one I saw. But I think it had some great contextual scares and those are the sort of scares I love the most. I love a good creepy movie. I thought it was very refreshing to have a film that was sincerely trying to be scary. Most films these days just try to gross out with gratuitous gore; but they fail to even try to build up good contextual creepiness. Frankly, I think it's easier to go the route of disgusting people with gore. Being genuinely creepy requires a lot more thought.

Bigmac - I'm glad the movie scared you too. Because of that movie I sleep with my bedroom light on (seriously). Anything about demons spooks me pretty bad, especially in a movie as realistic as P.A.

Ash - I think I'm one of those types of personalities that gets more scared by a movie that I think could actually happen in real life. They did talk a lot, but that got to me because that's what real life usually is - a bunch of boring talk. Also, Spirits Among Us is now on my must-watch list - you had me at "Christian Horror".

Heidi - Since I watched it on DVD, I had enough time to get over the hype. By the time I watched it, the movie had been hyped to death and then backlashed because of it, so my viewing was pretty neutral.

Tristan - That CG ending - I know, right? What on earth were they thinking? I can imagine it now. Spielberg is like, "Hey guys, let's make it look super cool at the end with some CG!" and the writer/director is so starstruck that he's like, "Dude, that's the best idea I've ever heard in my life!" Maybe it didn't happen like that, but I would have probably done the same thing if the most powerful director in the world loved my movie. But honestly, that CG ending (the morph and the "throwing") makes the movie a total piece of shit. It goes against the grain of everything that went before in the film. I bet the ending you saw was the "Night of the Living Dead" ending, where SPOILER ALERT the cops arrive at the house and cap the woman. I saw that one too and it was decent, but a little long-ish. My fave is the simple and quick kitchen knife ending.

To me, the hardest hitting scene in the film is near the end when the man and woman argue and start blaming each other, and the woman pounds up the stars enraged, and then you see she's collapsed on the floor weeping, exhausted, terrified. That scene was so realistic that it just made the scary stuff even more scary!

Wolves, Spirits Among Us is a interesting movie. Very low budget and obviously so, but I was surprised the producers went as far as they did with the effects and all.

Another Christian horror movie is one based on a novel by Ted Dekker and Frank PEretti. It's called "House". I LOVE it. I actually like it as much as I like the book.

Was HOUSE the movie that starred the blond guy from Greatest American Hero? Cause I think I liked that movie if so.

No Heidi, she's talking about a different House that I've never seen before, not the classic "Ding Dong, You're Dead" House that I've been a huge fan of ever since it used to run on HBO (I own it on DVD now). Bull from Nightcourt, Greatest American Hero, and Norm from Cheers - winning combination right there. I remember seeing House II, The Second Story, in the theater and thinking, "What the hell is this crap?" as it had nothing to do with the the first installment, but now when I watch the second one it's okay (although nowhere near as good as the original).

Yeah definitely different movie. But the one I'm talking does star an incredibly hot guy...I think I watch it as much for him as I do anything else LOL.

And it's got a really creepy BIll MOseley too.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0837796/

ahhh. also, not to be confused with the Japanese movie from the 70s 'House' (AKA 'Hausu') which is a fucking weird haunted house story involving a group of teenaged japanese girls, a singing cat, a haunted piano, and a creepy old grandmother character. VERY weird.

sounds awesome LOL.

I'm with Tristan and 1kw on this. Saw it last night in extremely creepy circumstances: stranded in a very bad snowstorm, mostly empty island, lights out, fire going, decent buzz. Thought it had some fresh DIY ideas and for those who laughed at the ending, you should have seen the possible ones going through my mind when she left the room. I was creeped to the bejesus before she even started screaming.

As for lasting effects? Check out how my brain works: went to bed, cable goes out. Not just out, but it "turns off". And then my remote refused to work. So I'm in total silence, as the storm has stopped. This allows my always settling seashore condo to creak, pop and thud all night. I had to laugh at the head-to-toe chills I was getting.

Pissed I don't have an iPhone to see the "Search for Katie" app. Apparently it picks up at the final frame. Worried about the sequel in the works, though.

Crap, does everything have to have a sequel?

Yep. Or a remake. That's a scarier idea.

One reason I don't find the movie scary. I was raised charismatic Christian, so when there's demons roaming around, we just start pleading the blood of Jesus LOL. Movies like that just make me wanna shake my head and say "Them people need Jesus." (yes, southern inflections intended).

Frankly, if demons exist and come from Hell, then God exists, and Jesus too, and praying is probably the best damn idea at that point! crosses, holy water, the whole bit.

I was discussing the "Christian element" of demon films in another forum and many of us agreed that faith barely plays into our reaction to these kinds of films. It's more or less a malevolent entity, and the concept of "possession" is acceptable enough to suspend our disbelief. I'm not a "God-botherer" at all, but that we might be surrounded by "evil forces" that can do us harm is totally believable enough for me to allow myself to get sucked into demon stuff. In fact, I thought the "cross scene" was kind of unnecessary, but understood why it was there in a narrative sense.

what bugs me about modern films trying to use a faith element in ridding the house/person of demons is that they don't use the biblical "right" methods...they use over-used, hollywood inspired, completely inconcievable methods, usually some parody of catholisism.

LOL I keep yelling, "Do it right, people, and you won't have them there problems no more!"

I finally saw this movie oh my god hah it has some like creepy moments, but in now way was I scared. Well I haven't gone to bed yet, so I don't know lol I saw it with the police ending where they shot up katie spoiler alert.

Like ash said they talked way too damn much and what annoyed me the most was like how they spoke like so matter a fact about it. "Oh yeah some spooky demon haunting me since I was 8 like for sure so I'm going to call this psychic!"

On a 1 to 10 scale I give it a 6

The original ending isn't so bad, not as bad as I thought it would be. But I agree the sliting throat ending is better.

Plus those characters were annoying as fuck. Espeically the boyfriend I wanted to beat the shit out of him when he brought the Ouija board over.

I did think the boyfriend was really insensitive.

The boyfriend may have been insensitive, but I found him hilarious lol.

I actually did enjoy the movie, I found it very scary at times and loved the way they approached the haunted person idea. And like pretty much everyone here, out of all of the endings, the one where she slits her throat is the best.

BUT for some reason it doesn't make sense to me why the demon would keep being a douchebag all her life just to kill her boyfriend and then her.

Why did she need to die? Was it just some sick game?
Questions, QUESTIONS!

God I hated how he was like "Show yourself mother fucker! Fuck you!" I'm like You idiot you really think you can fight a demon! lmao

Not sure why the demon attached itself to her in particular (starting with her house fire), but I think it ratcheted up its demon activity as things got more negative. It fed off that energy, they explained, and as the couple became more estranged and angry, the demon got more and more powerful. I think.

Yeah thats true, and I guess in any ending you can kind of explain it. Like the one where she goes missing is clear, the demon is using her to be an asshole everywhere, and in the cop scene, he used her to kill her dumbass boyfriend. haha

I liked the fact that the demon's motivations were left unclear. Some things just don't need to be explained.

And yea, the boyfriend is an ass. But I also have met a lot of men who would behave that way, so I didn't find it a distraction.

I think the boyfriend was a regular guy. His g/f waits until after they move in together to say, "Oh, by the way, I'm being stalked by a demon who burned my house down once, and now it's probably going to get you too." What he should have done was pack his bags and get the hell out of there in the first scene of the movie. The woman should count her stars that he stuck around to not only support her, but actually attempt to solve the problem. He did get over zealous with the video camera and witchboard (especially after the psychic warned him against it), and maybe while he was trying to help he was also having some fun and being slightly opportunistic, but she should have been honest with him from the beginning. That's just wreckless endangerment, akin to not telling someone you're infected with a sexually transmitted disease before sleeping with them. And look what happened to the guy - SPOILER ALERT - he ended up dead!

Very good point!!!

Ok true, but its not like that girl was expecting that thing to follow her around all her life. And besides how can you bring that up in a conversation and do you think your boyfriend would take you seriously? Granted yes she should of told him I have this demon haunting me since I was 8, but his whole behavior of the whole thing was ridiculous not wanting to call the demonoloigist at first because he thought he was a wack. He wanted to do the manly thing and handle things himself and look what that got him dead.

I found the boyfriend to be very realistic, and at times justified.

have you ever met a demonologist? They're whack jobs for the most part (Ed and Lorriane Wack Job Warren being the easiest to point to)

Has anybody had any paranormal experiences? I lived in THREE fucked up houses in a row, and I'll say this: I was either followed, or I was manifesting it myself. I was a teen, living in a very depressing environment. It's confusing above anything else when it happens. I'm going to leave it at that for now.

okay okay... LOL Charismatic Christian theology coming in here.

We believe that demons and evil spirits CAN attach themselves to a person. These can be anything from drug addictions, some (note I said some) mental illnesses, violent tendencies, etc, on down to actual physical manifestations. These spirits attach themselves to people because of things they've gotten into, ouija boards, satanism, mediums, psychics, deathmetal music (lol), negative peple in your life, and what have you. Sometimes they attach to a person when something traumatic happens and they let down their spiritual guard. These spirits exist solely to torture this person to death. The only way to get rid of it is to confess your sins to Christ (NOT some dude in a fancy bathrobe in a tiny little room), repent of your sins, and do your dangest to live for God. It ain't magic and sometimes these things hang out even after a person turns to Christianity. sometimes spirits are the effect of generational curses, and those curses have to be broken, or th results of having spiritually unclean items in your home or life. It takes 'maintenance'-- lots of deliverance prayers, intercessory prayers, cleaning out of closets and attics and basements (you think I"m kidding???) to cleanse a person's life of these influences. Christians aren't immune to it, and in fact suffer from spiritual attacks too. There's a Bible verse that says something along the lines of once a house (meaning a person) is cleaned out, that demon will try to come back and bring seven of his friends with him.

The bible also says the devil and his demons exist to 'steal, kill, and destroy.'

Side note-- i love this forum. I can talk about the stuff I believe in, and not get flamed outta town! LOL

"deathmetal music"

OH PLEASE.

Plus, WRONG GENRE. DM doesn't preach Satanism, it's for the most part about horror movies, literally trust me, I know many many DM bands personally. That's like saying horror movies do it too (which you wacth or you wouldn't be here, yes?) Neither is the severely misunderstood BLACK METAL sub genre, which yes is anti-Xtian for the most part, but really about being a Viking. It's inarguable that the Xtian church decimated Norway and subjugated an entire culture under the threat of death (and the Xtians lived up to that threat)

I'm not flaming you Asha, but that piece of info is as antiquated and misinformed as Art Linkletter. You want to know what is demonic? Brittney Spears and her ilk and progeny. Let's teach little girls to be Lolitas and use their crotches instead of their minds.

Ok I'm going to mention this here I think my boyfriend's house is haunted it like shakes sometimes and I hear thuds at night. But there could be a explanation for that but it scares the shit out of me. I never really dealt with paranormal experiences before but his house it makes noises for real. Plus you hear footsteeps like someone is upstairs when no one is up there. He doesn't believe in that stuff, but I'm like ah I don't know maybe. I don't know why I'm mentioning this, but its been bothering me since I have been here for the past week.

Butcher, I think I put an "LOL" behind the deathmetal thing. I listen to deathmetal, speedmetal, screamo, just about every type of 'metal'. I support many local bands. I also have tattoos (another thing many Christians believe are 'evil'), I'm a single mother by choice (another eevvviilll thing), and yes, I watch horror movies, write horror novels, and hang out with lots of people in the horror industry. I'm not saying those things are evil-- I'm saying that traditionally, in Christian theology, they are considered by a lot of believers to be evil. I personally belong to the modern generation that believes that there aren't demons hiding behind every bush, CD, or DVD case. A lot of the beliefs are 'antiquated' as you put it, but I'm a bible-believing Christian. I've seen and experienced things of the supernatural--both good and bad--that most people wouldn't even imagine. And I know without a doubt there's a God and there's a devil, however antiquated that notion may be.

I'm just stating what I believe, not telling anybody else they have to believe it.

Two more things. My name is just plain old "Ash". And I wish Britney spears and all those other hootchies would drop off the face of the earth.

Oh thank God Ash (no pun intended, but I'll take 'em where I can get 'em!) I was like "WAH?" and knew something was askew.

It was obviously my inability to decipher a post directly in front of my eyes.

I dig the fact you can be an Xtian as well as be into what you are into. You are the breed that can and will dispel misnomers that a person of faith has to be pent up and misguided.

I am Episcopal myself, but non-practicing. Am I glad I have been baptized. Darn skippy.

hey, that's the thing about being on the 'net and not in person. it's hard to see the nuances and body language and stuff. Most people who know me well enough know I'm not the type to bash people with my beliefs.

I think these sort of posts are interesting. I can relate a point of view that a lot of people who like horror don't know.

Absolutely. On all counts.

Oh you're both so fucking mature.

I thought the sign said "no grown ups!"

By the way, I still think about that long smile Katie gives to the camera in the penultimate scene. That's some staying power.

And speaking of pathetic suckers (other thread), I'm now in pursuit of an iPhone. Not really because I need to be able to access email and junk outside of my office (which I do), but because I really want that PA app "The Search for Katie".

*hangs head, sells things*

All is I know that the film genuinely unnerved me in the quiet moments. I've been alone in a home where the creaking old house sounds like it might be someone walking around...that's creepy stuff. The movie wasn't perfect...but I am feeling even more generous after watching the Asylum knockoff (which apparently included someone saying... "I bet supernatural rape is missing from Paranormal Activity!").

maturity is my middle name.

We have to be grownups in here? Bummer!

I'm not so good at being all mature and intellectual all the time.