Paranormal Activity (A Recommendation)

When I pay about $10.00 for popcorn and a soda, I don’t want to enjoy it twice by barfing it up in the movie theatre. I know this sounds very crude, but there are many of us that have problems with motion sickness. When I saw The Blair Witch Project, I was so nauseous that I spent half of the movie staring at my shoes. During Cloverfield, I closed my eyes periodically trying to keep my stomach settled, but no matter how hard I tried I eventually threw up. Not a pleasant outcome after spending so much money on tickets and refreshments. Therefore, by the time Paranormal Activity came around, I was really reluctant to go.

Being a movie lover, Paranormal Activity has gotten so many positive notices that I felt like I had to see what all the fuss was about. But I was still leery of the hand-held camera work. I asked a friend about it and he said that it wasn’t that bad, so after four weeks of media hype, I finally gave in and just as expected the film made me queasy. As I sat in the theatre, taking deep breathes through my nose and alternating between closing my eyes and watching a bit, I found myself really bored. It took forever for anything to happen and as a fan of 1963’s The Haunting, this film paled in comparison. However, many people think this movie is great, so I’m going to compromise and make a recommendation.

I am going to recommend that instead of seeing Paranormal Activity in the movie theatre that you wait until it comes out on DVD. In my opinion, this film will be even more creepy watching it in your own home. Plus, every time your furnace ignites or your refrigerators starts you’ll get an extra bang for your buck. In addition, if you have motion sickness issues like me, you can pause the film and finish watching it later once the queasy dies down. No use barfing up a nights worth of entertainment.