Paranormal Activity Over the Years

Last night, my friends and I filled an entire row in the center of the movie theater to watch the midnight showing of Paranormal Activity 4. I will admit, I was terrified, but I laughed and screamed the entire time, thanks to a group of guys in front of us making jokes along with us. It was like a big slumber party, except you had to pay eight bucks for your drinks. After seeing it, I thought I'd take a nice little stroll down memory lane with each of the films and compare and contrast them, along with my most memorable moments while watching them.

Paranormal Activity: This movie scared the crap out of me. It came out in 2009, my senior year of high school. I went with some close friends at the time, and the theater was absolutely packed. That was probably the best experience to see it in, when the theater was completely full. You could feel the tension from everyone, and not a single person dared to say anything or look away from the horror on the screen. It was unlike any other film we'd ever seen before (well, Blair Witch Project had influence, but Paranormal had something new entirely).
        Comparison: The first one didn't have any animals, it didn't have any creepy kids, it didn't have any whiny teenagers. All it had was a guy, a girl, and a creepy ass demon. AND THAT WAS ENOUGH. I thought the first one was so simple that it was perfect. It didn't need more than what it had, because let's remember how frightened we were just watching what happened every night in the bedroom. We didn't need to go all over the house, we didn't need more characters, we just needed those footprints of flour and our bladders betrayed us.
        Memory: My friends and I had gone to the theater the night it came out, and the ONLY time they checked my ID was that time. I was eighteen, but I didn't have my ID so I couldn't get in. I WAS FURIOUS. So I immediately got my ID and the next weekend we went! AND I DIDN'T HAVE MY ID CHECKED. Just my luck. The best part, though? Our guy friend was sitting next to my jumpy friend, and it was during a part where it was daylight and no scary things happen during daylight, right? She was texting and all of a sudden a picture frame gets smashed, and she jumped and flailed her arms, punching him right in the eye with her phone. Priceless.

Paranormal Activity 2: I saw this one my freshman year of college, 2010, with my boyfriend Nick. I was dying to see it, it had been out for a week and I needed to see it. So, before he took me back to school on a Sunday night, we decided to go. I didn't really know until we sat down that Nick hated scary movies. And we had gone to see it in IMAX, on the huuuuge screen with surround sound. This one made me jump a bit, but I wasn't as pleased with it as I thought I would be. It didn't really scare me as much, but I will not deny it had some definite creepy parts. The theater wasn't as interactive and was pretty empty (well, we did see it on a school night), so I think that took away from the film.
        Comparison: Well, this was a continuation of the previous film, a prequel and a sequel at the same time, I'd guess? It had a little kid, which you know makes the film 10x creepier because you know shit's gonna go down with him. Then it had the teenage girl who has an annoying boyfriend and a dad that doesn't listen and then the stepmom who ties us to our dear Katie from Paranormal. Just a happy family, right? WRONG. This one definitely ties up a lot of loose ends that the first film gave us, and also makes even new discoveries for the audience. It has a dog, which everyone knows animal sense ghostly presences, so that dog was a definite device to creep you out. Creepiest scene in my opinion? Mom getting dragged down the stairs (it can't be a Paranormal film without someone gettin' a ride on the Spectral Express), or when she's in the room with Hunter when the girl walks in and she jumps up and does this demon-y voice.
        Memory: Well, it was a daytime scene (again!), and I felt Nick kind of relax. I just knew something was going to happen. I tried to predict what would happen, but once the cabinet ripped open and shot out, I could have sworn Nick and I were going to have heart attacks. We both jumped so high, and the few people in the theater all screamed. Everyone looked around and laughed nervously. You got us, PA 2.

Paranormal Activity 3: This came out last year, 2011, when I was a sophomore. I didn't get to see it in theaters, but my friends and I did end up seeing it, watching it in my friend Leah's room. She, my friend Kyra, and I huddled up on Leah's little bed, gripping blankets with our eyes glued to the television. I thought this had better moments than the last one, and the boyfriend and his friend weren't too bad looking. It also gave the audience way more answers to what was up with this demon in the family, and how it came to be and why everything was happening to this family, and why they were all rich as hell.
        Comparison: No animals to creep you out, but now DOUBLE the creepy kid dose! Plusss now one of the kids has an imaginary friend (guess who!), who lives in a little cubby. Not scary, not at all. Paranormal 4 is a prequel to the others, showing how it all started out. I really liked that idea, and thought it was ultra creepy. I will never forget the babysitter moment when the 'kid' stands behind her in a sheet Casper style, then right before she turns around, it falls to the ground. NO THANK YOU. I would never ever babysit there ever again. Oh, and remember when the mom walks into the kitchen and just at the moment where you and her realize that everything is sitting on the ceiling? THEN IT ALL CRASHES DOWN. And then there's that creepy witches' coven that just has to ruin everything. Why couldn't you guys be the Sanderson Sisters, instead?
        Memory: My favorite moment with any of the Paranormal films. We were all huddled there, watching it on this huge TV. It sat on a shelf, where there were some knick-knacks and her roommate's hat that her boyfriend had given her. Well, of course stuff was moving around, thanks to imaginary friend Toby, and a bear in the movie falls off a shelf. Not even two seconds later, the hat falls off the shelf, and I see it starts to fall, so I'm scrambling back, then I start screaming, then we all start screaming and grab each other. Her roommate walks in, thinking we're dying, while the three of us are all hugging and just staring at the hat in terror. That was scarier than any moment in the Paranormal films. Of course, we laughed after the fact, all the while keeping that eye in our sights....

Paranormal Activity 4: Well, let me just say that this one probably has the most intense moments back to back than the others. The last twenty minutes will be a lot of heart gripping, yelling, screaming, and possibly not even looking at the screen. At least that was my experience. I'm not going to say a lot about it, so I won't spoil it to any readers out there, but just be prepared to be pleased. I will tell you that, for me, it left a lot of questions unanswered and not many ties fixed. BUT I did call part of it, in a way. Won't tell you what, but you'll see!
        Comparison: So, just to compare all the ones before to this: Paranormal 4 is a combination of the third one and the second one, in the fact that there is two kids AND a cat, so animals and kids combined make for a weak bladder's enemy. Also, there is the teenage girl that no one listens to, the boyfriend, and parents that barely do anything. And, warning: think Xbox Kinects aren't scary? Think again.
        Memory: Well, I think the whole night was memorable, but I really loved that, at one point, I was hiding my eyes and glanced up for a second and saw that almost half of the guys sitting in front of me were hiding their eyes, too!

Some of the jokes last night were priceless, I wish I could remember them exactly. If you're going to see this, I'd suggest seeing it at a later time when more people are there, or with a large group of friends. If you don't like that community fright feeling, then go on with your bad self and see it alone! I know I wouldn't be able to...

Horror Movie Month Night One: Texas Chainsaw Masacre

So, last night my friends and I rented the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I hadn't seen it in almost nine years, so I was pretty pumped. That is, until after I watched it and remembered why it had been nine years since I'd seen it. IT WAS HORRIFYING. I mean, that is the whole point of the film, to terrorize you into skipping trips into Texan territory (or am I the only one to get that feeling?), but COME ON. I sat there, with my belly full of happy little Halloween cookies in my newly decorated home, feeling all ooey gooey and pleased. That feeling stopped abruptly when that weird camera noise and the grotesque body came on the screen. Do you know what I'm talking about? That high-pitched noise that cuts through the air and right into the very core of you where you store all your warm, cuddly thoughts and makes them scurry off to hide? Oh, you don't? Well, HERE IT IS. Just listen to it in a dark, silent room.

Did you cry? Oh, then that's just me... Anyway, that's only just the beginning of the horrorfest. Remember that part when the hitchhiker cuts himself and keeps cackling? I didn't either, until my brain was introduced to that awful image again. And then you have creepy ol' Gramps whose drink of choice is BLOOD. I couldn't stop cringing back in disgust when he sucked Sally's finger dry, with his crinkled skin and awful noises. That entire scene just gave me the goosebumps...

But, of course, the most terrifying of all is dear old Leatherface. One: he's wearing a woman's face. Or a drag queen's, but either way it is THE FACE OF A PERSON. Fun fact: this movie is based on the serial killer Ed Gein. SO IT'S REAL. Well, partially, but back to our friend Leatherface. He's a silent killer, all for the occasional grunting and the whirr of his sidekick, his chainsaw. And let's not look past the fact that he can run like a linebacker all the while wielding that heavy chainsaw like it's a bouquet of flowers. Add a nice bloody apron and he's the perfect guy to take home to the parents. He can carve the hell out of a steak. Or your brother.

My brain was rescued from the depths of terror at the end, at least. When Sally hops in the pickup and drives off in a laughing frenzy, Leatherface does this cute little dance, twirling around with his chainsaw in the fading sunlight. Figure skaters, take note.

I literally typed in "Leatherface Dancing" and this golden nugget popped up. Oh, internet, you slay me. All in all, this movie, on a scale of one to a change-of-pants, it receives a definite on-the-edge-of-no-bladder-control. And then your bladder loses it at the sight of Leatherface's dance, srsly.

Well, the month long horror movie agenda has officially started, beginning with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Not sure what's on the agenda tonight, but I can guarantee it won't have a wonderful musical number in it like Leatherface's.

xoxo