Don't watch this alone...

I thought I'd do a film review for you. It's been a quiet Easter this year with poor weather and with nothing much on, I've spent more time in front of this dreaded computer writing than I intended. I've written quite a bit, some chapters of a book and a paranormal investigation report from an investigation we did a couple of weeks ago. We spent a little time in the garden between showers and shifted some bark and about a third of a ton of soil. If the weather is good on Easter Monday, hopefully we'll finish off the jobs with a trip to the tip with some last vestiges of winter debris.

Last night a friend, Tammy who is a work colleague and a fellow psychic came round for tea and in the evening myself, Tammy and two of my kids watched the much anticipated Paranormal Activity film. It's a while since I've done a film review, so here goes.

This is only one hour and 23 minutes long and filmed from the perspective of one of the two main characters, Micah who buys a film camera to solve the mystery of his live-in girlfriend Katie's paranormal experiences in the house. The action is shakily filmed and the script feels amateurish but in fact it's made to look like you or I could have filmed this with our little family movie camera - and it works well.

You remember Blair Witch Project, filmed on a hand held? Well this is more controlled and better quality. Micah captures strange goings on in their bedroom in the middle of the night which neither of them realise is actually happening at first. It starts off with just one or two strange little things and builds over a three week period of increasing activity to a crescendo and a grand finale which I won't spoil for you. There is a brief appearance of another actor, a psychic who comes to visit at the start to set the scene and a female friend of Katie who makes an appearance for support, but 95% of the film is just the two main characters.

The acting is good, the scene is inside a house in America and that's it. This works at the psychological level. There are many shadows, cute and in parts clever sound effects and at the end some very good visual effects which I'm still trying to work out how they achieved - but they look very natural.

If there is a credibility issue, it's about how long you should stay in a house with weird stuff happening to you. You wouldn't see my ass for dust, but they hang around to the bitter end despite the protestations of the victim that she needs help but still carries on living there and sleeping in the bedroom where all the action takes place.

This is an interesting film which we deliberately watched in the dark to create atmosphere, and I think it's worth watching but a word of warning, don't watch it alone and watch a comedy programme before you go to bed. MWAHAHAHAAA (that was a creepy manic laugh.)

Helpfully, the DVD comes with a 'post viewing help sheet' which is possibly unnecessary, but I guess the producers are trying to mitigate for anyone who sues them for being scared shit-less and who now can't sleep. This is rated 15 - do NOT let your kids watch this.

Sleep well.

Chat soon

Ta-ra