Paranormal Activity

So, saw Paranormal Activity last night. And it is good. It would be better if it wasn't just a version of The Blair Witch Project with less attractive scenery and even more irritating characters, but it does work hard at creating a level of fear that didn't rely mainly on special effects. It has atmosphere; if only because it lacked the budget to go for scares through gore. Still, I do have some advice for anyone who wants to make a similar film based on the flaws of this particular motion picture:

1. Don't make the leading male into an amazing tool who not only disregards every piece of advice he is given but also has a go at his girlfriend for bringing a demon into the house. Look, Micah, Katie didn't choose to have a demon molesting her, and it isn't helping to throw that in her face as her life turns into a terrifying quagmire of unsettling shit. The problem with making a character like Micah is that no-one really gives a fuck what happens to them because they are such a grade-A, prime dickhead.

2. It's all very well setting up that they can't leave the house because the supernatural entity will follow them, but if you keep on going on about it, then it simply highlights the fact that there isn't any slack in the budget to film anywhere else.

3. All the talk about demons made the film at times feel like a low-rent version of Drag Me To Hell. You don't need demons to make something scary, and you end up over-egging the pudding. The concept of a unseen, extremely powerful ghost fixated on a woman in an increasingly terrifying way is unsettling enough. All the talk about house-fires in the past and the heavy-handed insinuations about demonic possession simply bring to mind other famous horror movies that had more money to throw around. Furthermore, with horror movies, the less you explain, the better. The unknown is almost by definition unsettling, so don't be afraid to use that.

And some advice to any potential viewers going to see this film: don't go to a cinema in central Nottingham as it will be filled with chavtastic teenagers screeching at just about everything except the shots of the woman in a low-cut top and shorts. At which point the feral, lusty lads will start wolf-whistling...