OT: Paranormal Activity (Spoiler Alert on endings)
Just got back from seeing paranormal activity tonight and I thought it was pretty decent. When I heard some reviews and people were saying it was the scariest movie ever, I had to see it. Basically it's not anywhere near the scariest movie I've ever seen. I don't know what movie that would be, but this one wasn't very scary until the very end, and even then it wasn't a big deal. I was laughing with my friends for most of the movie because you can hear people yelling random things and there are a few jumpy moments in the movie. I really never jumped or was surprised during the whole thing. I was shocked at how much other people freaked out. The ending is pretty damn creepy, though. I thought it was at least a pretty interesting movie in the way they made it and at least made it seem somewhat realistic even though it's obviously somewhat farfetched. I did hear that there were two other endings that the director thought of that weren't included. One was in the original, but the other wasn't even filmed because it was so messed up. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want to hear about the endings, STOP READING NOW.
So the ending in the theatrical version I saw is that the girl is possessed at the end and she just walks out of the room and the you hear her screaming. Next the BF runs down to her to check on her and you hear some movement and noises. Then you see her come back and, I think, throw him in the room. Next she crawls on top of him and creepily smiles in to the camera and kind of jumps at it.
The other ending possible was that she slits her throat at the end after killing the guy and then she drops on the floor and the demon floats away.
The ending not even taped had her beating the guy with the camera and we would see it from the cameras perspective (Supposedly. This is just what I read)
Anybody else see the movie? Thoughts on the ending? I thought it was alright but I heard friends complain about it for whatever reason. Maybe a little more of a closed ending would've been nice.
October 31st, 2009 at 2:36 AM ^
I saw it two weekends ago. I had the end spoiled but still found it to be really good. I don't know if it's the scariest movie I've ever seen you could certainly make an argument that is on par with The Exorcist.
What I liked about it is that it sort of creeps on you... IMHe it seems like horror movies nowadays try to "scare" you by having something jump out at you while turning the volume up to 11.
October 31st, 2009 at 2:45 AM ^
I never saw the exorcist, but I hear that's pretty scary. This movie was pretty creepy, though. Mostly when you see the chick and she is obviously possessed. That's the worst thing about the movie. It's one of the creepiest movies I've seen for sure. I liked it quite a bit, too. A little humor in it during the day scenes. I'm betting that the alternate endings will be on it if it comes out on DVD. All of the videos on Youtube are being deleted by Paramount.
October 31st, 2009 at 3:18 AM ^
There's also the alternate ending where she stabs her BF, walks back up to the bedroom, and sits next to her bed rocking back and forth for a whole day. The next night, her friend comes into the house, sees the BF dead on the floor, screams, and calls the police. The police come in, walk up stairs and the girl gets up and walks towards them confused, and they shoot her.
I personally would like the ending where she slits her throat because it's the creepiest. The ending where she jumps at the camera is too "Hollywood".
October 31st, 2009 at 3:53 AM ^
Yeah, I watched it online and got the original police ending. I like that more than the theatrical ending, but I too like the throat slashing ending a lot.
I was scared, not going to lie. I was jumping all over the place.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:16 AM ^
I watched it on my computer at home. I was so scared by the end that I stood behind my chair to watch the ending. And I watched it in full daylight, when my house wasn't empty. I am not manly.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:15 AM ^
You were by yourself and completely immersed in the movie. That's how I saw it and I thought it was scary as hell too. When you pay attention to other people comments in the theater, like the OP, that sense of dread will escape you. I think in order to really enjoy a horror movie you have to take it seriously. Srlsy.
October 31st, 2009 at 12:01 PM ^
same here, downloaded it and watched it last night. we actually downloaded the theater ending too, i think i liked the original better.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:59 AM ^
Funny you should use the term "Hollywood". The ending with her throwing the guy and sniffing at the body as opposed to the original endings was done at the suggestion of Steven Spielberg, who I would say is normally a steady hand at these matters. In spite of that, I thought the ending was the only moment where the movie really cheated by using facial morphing special effects. It was a haunting image but out of place. Everything up to that point had relied on subtlety and tension, and noise.
I probably would have liked the one where she beats him with the camera since I think that was the point of the movie - the camera as like a corrosive influence on this situation.
Did you guys ever take Mark Kligerman's horror film class at Michigan? It was one of my favorite classes. Would have loved to hear Kligerman's thoughts on the movie.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:48 AM ^
I thought it was terrific. I haven't seen the throat-slitting ending--I don't know if there's footage of it--but I did see the alternate ending with the police and thought they definitely made the right move with the theatrical ending.
It might not be the single most frightening film of all time--The Exorcist, The Shining, Night of the Living Dead, and Evil Dead come to mind as scarier--but it's definitely one of the most entertaining horror films I've seen in a while.
I remember reading an interview with John Carpenter in which he made note of the difference between horror and terror. Horror is the fear of what you see; terror is the fear of what you don't see. The best horror films, I think, are really "terror" films.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:57 AM ^
Definitely a good "terror film". The problem isn't really that you see the creepiest stuff, it's what you have to assume based on what you see. It's a good combination of some horror and some terror. It would've been way worse if I watched this by myself, though.