Paranormal Activity (2007) & Paranormal Activity 2 (2010): The first two entries of the long-running franchise are gems of the found footage genre

Christian’s Grade: B

The found footage genre for film is like disco. It’s dead, and those who try to occasionally bring it back are generally unsuccessful. But looking back at its explosive introduction to the public consciousness with The Blair Witch Project(1999) and its almost 20-year rise and eventual collapse as a viable storytelling format, there are a few gems that stand out. And my favorite ones are Paranormal Activity (2007) & Paranormal Activity 2 (2010).

Rather than picking one over the other, I’m putting them together because they really are one story told in two parts. It’s the story of two sisters that grew up experiencing an unusual amount of interaction with the paranormal. Although they didn’t fully understand it, they both accepted that spirits exist and eventually grew up and went on to live lives where this activity became less present in their lives.

So, what was the excuse for the almost constant documenting of their lives within this story? For Katie (Katie Featherston), in the first movie, it was the new house she and her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) bought as the next big step in their life together. Micah was having fun using the camera to document their early days in the new house until the strange occurrences began. Then he became obsessed with either proving or debunking this sudden invasion of their home by catching the activity on camera. The disturbances become more frequent, obvious, and violent as the days and weeks go by. They don’t know why this is happening, but nothing they do makes it any better. Eventually, they realize this isn’t the work of a mischievous ghost but a malicious demon who seems to be focused on Katie.

For Katie’s sister Kristi (Sprague Grayden), in the second movie, there is a similar build-up of strange occurrences. The sequel is set shortly before the events of the first movie. But this time, the demonic focus seems to be on Kristi’s baby. The demons’ attacks on the family as a whole, and Kristi in particular, get more vicious. When it finally seems to take control of Kristi, her husband, Daniel (Brian Boland), makes a desperate move and places a curse on Katie in hopes of luring the demon away from his family by offering her instead.

I love how these two movies feed back into each other. There’s a lot of story elements that build strong connections between the plots and characters. These two sisters didn’t happen to move into haunted houses, they are the ones that are haunted. The idea that this demonic activity in their lives reaches all the way back to their childhood, and their closeness as sisters, even living near each other, allowing the trouble to pass from one to the other, is heartbreaking. Especially when you see how Kristi’s husband and stepdaughter agonize over the plan to save her by cursing her sister. And that curse answers one of the biggest questions left at the end of the first movie. Other sequels in the franchise go deeper into the history of the sisters and what happens to surviving characters. But it all truly peaked with Paranormal Activity 2.

It’s important to note that most of the footage in the second movie is captured through surveillance cameras instead of a handheld. It gives Paranormal Activity 2 a look that’s slightly different from the first. However, stylistically these movies still feel like they belong together. It was a good idea by the writers and well executed by director Tod Williams.

Because these movies don’t lean too heavily on jump scares, rewatching them might give you a better appreciation for the writing, but the scare factor definitely lessens over time. Still, I give these movies a lot of credit because that first viewing can be terrifying. It’s an excellent example of letting tension build organically and using that tension to keep the audience on edge. The viewer keeps trying to anticipate the next big scare in every scene, and many times the moment is something so small you begin to question if it was the result of anything supernatural at all. In that moment, the audience is empathizing with the characters, feeling their fear, their doubt, their frustration. And it’s those moments that lull you into a feeling like the big scare won’t really be that big. Then when it comes, it’s all the more shocking.

I’ve never been a fan of horror films that fall into the columns of gore fests, slasher films, or torture porn. Psychological thrillers were more my thing. The horror stories that seem grounded enough that you believe they can really happen. They’re set in a world that looks like ours with characters that react the same way we might in situations we hope to never find ourselves in. That was the genius of the found footage horror movies, the good ones. They felt more like documentaries than fiction. It seemed like we were getting a peak at something the general public was never supposed to see. With horror movies, it’s not easy to break new ground. Looking back at this now-defunct genre and how good it once was, it makes me wonder what the next innovation in horror will be.