BY CAMILA RYDER

In print | Published November 5, 2009

All the hype surrounding “Paranormal Activity” began with the trailer, which mixed scenes from the movie and clips of screening audience’s reactions. With rumors of people walking out because it was too frightening or not sleeping for weeks after, “Paranormal Activity” drew comparisons to “The Blair Witch Project” and seemed poised to be one of the scariest movies of the year. But was all this hype just that?

“Paranormal Activity” was shot in a week in director Oren Peli’s house with one of the main actors, Micah Sloat, collecting footage with a hand-held video camera. An unmarried couple moves into a new home and believe they are experiencing a demonic presence. Micah hopes that the video camera, which is set up facing their bed and hallway, will capture what goes on at night and help them “solve the problem.” Over the two weeks of recordings, the demonic presence becomes stronger every night, ranging from the doors moving and footsteps to even more scream-inducing moments.

While patience is needed to get through the couple’s string of arguments, the slow build-up of the demon’s scare tactics gets your heart beating quickly. The acting was not superb, though that could be expected for a horror movie, but people yelling at the screen, “Wake up, Micah!” or “Leave that crazy bitch,” along with an excess of curse words, made “Paranormal Activity” a more enjoyable experience.

Most horror movies traumatize me for weeks, even months, after watching them. But “Paranormal Activity” was not the frightfest it was made out to be.

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