THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: Ecrofirt on September 27, 2009, 01:41:42 AM

Title: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Ecrofirt on September 27, 2009, 01:41:42 AM
I drove out to State College, PA last night to catch the midnight showing. After getting stuck in traffic hell TWICE, we barely made it there. We walked into the theater, went to the bathroom, found seats, and the previews pretty much immediately started.

That being said, the trip (9PM - 4AM round trip) was well worth it. The movie doesn't rely on cheap scare tactics, and it's got a nice sense of dread that builds in a linear progression throughout the film. The scares didn't pile on at the end, and it got more and more tense as it went on. And yes, people were screaming in the theater.

I highly recommend seeing it in a theater if you can.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on September 27, 2009, 02:41:30 AM
How is it compared to [REC]?
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Himu on September 27, 2009, 02:51:58 AM
How is this compared to Drag Me To Hell?
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on September 27, 2009, 03:08:05 AM
Don't be distinguished mentally-challenged, Himuro.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Himu on September 27, 2009, 03:15:27 AM
What? Drag Me To Hell was a really enjoyable movie to me and I wanted to know how he thought this was compared to it!
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on September 27, 2009, 03:16:43 AM
They're practically not even in the same genre.

That's like asking how Walk the Line is compared to The Blues Brothers.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: fistfulofmetal on September 27, 2009, 10:18:42 AM
movie not showing anywhere near me. at all.
this was also the movie i was referencing in my last post in the Log thread. :(
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Brehvolution on September 28, 2009, 11:01:05 AM
Hows the old lady, Ecro?
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Mr. Gundam on September 28, 2009, 02:59:46 PM
It's going to have midnight screenings at the Neptune in Seattle October 1st through the 3rd.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Robo on September 28, 2009, 03:05:11 PM
Blues Brothers >>>> Walk the Line
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Ecrofirt on September 28, 2009, 08:17:22 PM
Willco: Not really the same as [REC] aside from the self-shot footage aspect. This movie has a creepiness that [REC] never had, and although [REC] was very tense, it doesn't have that feel of 'what's going to pop out from out behind the corner' that [REC] had. It feels a lot more real. And I've definitely had the movie on my mind a lot more than I ever did with [REC].

Himuro: Nothing like Drag Me To Hell.

Zero Hero: Nikki is doing well. she's got a big belly now, but she won't be ready to squirt out our son until January. I can't wait.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Brehvolution on September 28, 2009, 10:18:58 PM
Glad to hear and I hope all is well.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: TakingBackSunday on September 28, 2009, 11:14:53 PM
The movie is getting a wider release in like 20 more cities.  Woohoo!
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on September 30, 2009, 07:27:59 PM
I got tickets for tomorrow at midnight.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: chronovore on September 30, 2009, 08:14:23 PM
According to Wikipedia:
Quote
The contract required DreamWorks to hold one test screening before starting the remake. Several screenwriters were invited to the March 2008 test screening in Burbank in the hopes of finding a scribe for the new version. Moviegoers began walking out of the screening, claiming they weren’t bored but scared. After the screening it was decided to release the original in theaters.
If that's just PR claptrap, it's pretty effective. If it's not just PR, I have to see this movie. Scary films are so few and far between.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on September 30, 2009, 08:21:10 PM
No, that's true. I remember when that happened, I was still living out in California. Dreamworks was pretty set on a remake until then, which is why it's been such a long time coming.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Joe Molotov on October 01, 2009, 12:49:33 AM
Crap, I went to Wikipedia to see what this movie was about, and some dick posted ending spoilers in the first paragraph. :lol
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: chronovore on October 01, 2009, 01:21:56 AM
Quote from: Joe Molotov on October 01, 2009, 12:49:33 AM
Crap, I went to Wikipedia to see what this movie was about, and some dick posted ending spoilers in the first paragraph. :lol

Sorry, either I dodged those or they weren't there when I read it.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 01, 2009, 01:40:48 AM
Yeah, I'm going in pretty blind.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Ecrofirt on October 01, 2009, 09:26:14 PM
Quote from: Willco on October 01, 2009, 01:40:48 AM
Yeah, I'm going in pretty blind.

Best way to do it, I'd say.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 02, 2009, 01:13:40 AM
Will have to wait until this weekend, couldn't go tonight. Personal stuff. :-\
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: G The Resurrected on October 02, 2009, 05:14:16 PM
I went into the movie with a little hype and was left with nothing more than a few cheap thrills.

Originally I had planed to go to Santa Cruz to see the movie but was unable to. A little less than a week later it got somewhere closer to home. So me and the misses went to go see it last night for the premiere opening. To say that this movie is scary is pathetic. Yes there is a sense of dread that grows and the progression is nicely paced, but it lacks substance. This movie could have been a lot better given a bit more explanation as to the connections they hint at in the movie. The two main leads are good though and the humor was well done.

Spoilers about the movie

spoiler (click to show/hide)
The ending could have been a lot more horrifying had she just gone back to sleep after killing Micah and then her being pulled away into the darkness of the other rooms. Hell a lot of the scares were not even that frightening. Her standing over Micah was freaky though, and her being pulled away was just fucked up. The original ending might have been better as well cause it at least ends the story. Her just sniffing Micah and then looking at the camera and smiling, while being disturbing does not truly make for a lasting horrific image. Instead of her standing near the bed maybe the "demon" should have stayed in front of the camera as the camera caught footage. Hell just seeing Katie in front of the screen at the end proves it could have been one hell of a scary ass scene. That girls got some range and seeing her with eyes open looking into the camera as Micah lays sleeping unaware as to whats going on.
[close]

FUCK THIS MOVIE!

Zombieland is probably the better choice of horror flicks.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Ecrofirt on October 03, 2009, 10:06:27 AM
Quote from: G The Resurrected on October 02, 2009, 05:14:16 PM
I went into the movie with a little hype and was left with nothing more than a few cheap thrills.

Originally I had planed to go to Santa Cruz to see the movie but was unable to. A little less than a week later it got somewhere closer to home. So me and the misses went to go see it last night for the premiere opening. To say that this movie is scary is pathetic. Yes there is a sense of dread that grows and the progression is nicely paced, but it lacks substance. This movie could have been a lot better given a bit more explanation as to the connections they hint at in the movie. The two main leads are good though and the humor was well done.

Spoilers about the movie

spoiler (click to show/hide)
The ending could have been a lot more horrifying had she just gone back to sleep after killing Micah and then her being pulled away into the darkness of the other rooms. Hell a lot of the scares were not even that frightening. Her standing over Micah was freaky though, and her being pulled away was just fucked up. The original ending might have been better as well cause it at least ends the story. Her just sniffing Micah and then looking at the camera and smiling, while being disturbing does not truly make for a lasting horrific image. Instead of her standing near the bed maybe the "demon" should have stayed in front of the camera as the camera caught footage. Hell just seeing Katie in front of the screen at the end proves it could have been one hell of a scary ass scene. That girls got some range and seeing her with eyes open looking into the camera as Micah lays sleeping unaware as to whats going on.
[close]

FUCK THIS MOVIE!

Zombieland is probably the better choice of horror flicks.

spoiler (click to show/hide)
I would wholeheartedly agree that the end of the movie was a bit of a cop out. The original ending would have been a lot creepier.
[close]

I didn't feel the movie was scary scary, but I found it very creepy. It was a lot creepier than other horror movies I've seen lately.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Third on October 03, 2009, 10:21:48 AM
Awesome. Will watch.

Will be released late november here.  :-\
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 04, 2009, 04:51:02 AM
I disagree, Ecrofirt. I'm man enough to admit when something has scared me, and Paranormal Activity did manage to scare me.

Calling it the best horror film since The Exorcist is total hyperbole, but the scariest?

Maybe.

There's no bones about it - this is a totally visceral experience that feels more like a rollercoaster ride than a film. The way the film builds tension is unbelievable. It's wonderfully edited, and at no time does its running time feel like a detriment.

Paranormal Activity easily stands as the best example of the "found footage" genre, because of its seamless incorporation of effects and real lack of shaky cam.

That's right, even amateur filmmakers have finally discovered that regular people own tripods! Nervous filmgoers can't put away the Pepto and motion sickness pills. And I must say, the static shot  seems even scarier than someone moving a camera around like a maniac.

Neither of the leads will win any awards, but the film was surprisingly funny in a believable way. There is some questionable character decisions, but the nitpicks fly out the window in the face of building terror.

Walk into this film as blind as you can, and you were almost certainly enjoy the ride.

I don't think I ever saw a theater collectively shit its pants until tonight.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Ecrofirt on October 04, 2009, 10:58:06 AM
Quote from: Willco on October 04, 2009, 04:51:02 AM
I disagree, Ecrofirt. I'm man enough to admit when something has scared me, and Paranormal Activity did manage to scare me.

Calling it the best horror film since The Exorcist is total hyperbole, but the scariest?

Maybe.

There's no bones about it - this is a totally visceral experience that feels more like a rollercoaster ride than a film. The way the film builds tension is unbelievable. It's wonderfully edited, and at no time does its running time feel like a detriment.

Paranormal Activity easily stands as the best example of the "found footage" genre, because of its seamless incorporation of effects and real lack of shaky cam.

That's right, even amateur filmmakers have finally discovered that regular people own tripods! Nervous filmgoers can't put away the Pepto and motion sickness pills. And I must say, the static shot  seems even scarier than someone moving a camera around like a maniac.

Neither of the leads will win any awards, but the film was surprisingly funny in a believable way. There is some questionable character decisions, but the nitpicks fly out the window in the face of building terror.

Walk into this film as blind as you can, and you were almost certainly enjoy the ride.

I don't think I ever saw a theater collectively shit its pants until tonight.

It was unreal, I will agree to that wholeheartedly. Perhaps scary is a good word for the film, I don't know.

I didn't feel really scared at the theater itself, but I did find myself a bit freaked out at home with Nikki over the course of the following week.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 04, 2009, 12:27:42 PM
I don't think I screamed or anything, but the last minute or so did manage to make me jump - although how much of that was a reaction to almost everyone around me doing so or the film remains to be seen. The film felt suffocating its last thirty to twenty minutes, that's for sure.

My brother found the film so scary that he took off his glasses at one point, because he didn't want a clear image of the film as the tension got kicked up to eleven. I had to take him to Denny's for coffee and food afterwards, and I just woke up to find out he did not go to bed at all (just stayed up with the lights on and played Halo).

The film does veer a little into Hollywood shock territory near the very end, but I can't say that's a deal breaker and the business side of me says the original ending would've been divisive amongst audiences.

Also, I think the filmmakers show a remarkable amount of restraint (more likely due to restraint). There aren't a ton of cheap scares piled on each other, very little is actually shown to you and they cleverly condition you to start feeling dread at certain points - only to work that to your disadvantage.

As presented, people actually clapped at the end. There was a lot of applause.

And that's something I don't ever remember seeing at a horror film.

Here are some pictures I snapped while we waited in line for two hours. This is what the place looked like 90 minutes before the film started, in the only theater in the DC/VA/MD area playing the film (AMC Loews in Georgetown - home of The Exorcist!). Place was packed; management had to open three more screens to meet demand.

(http://photos.thebore.net/images/A_1/7/4/9/89471/pa1_91f1a.jpg) (http://photos.thebore.net/images/A_1/7/4/9/89471/pa2_eb719.jpg)
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 04, 2009, 01:06:05 PM
Oh, and do not watch the trailer.

I just did and it pretty much spoils everything in the entire movie. Go in as cold as possible. :lol
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: G The Resurrected on October 04, 2009, 02:08:17 PM
I seriously cant believe two horror buffs (wilco and ecrofirt) liked this movie but my ass just didnt like it one bit. I love freaky shit too, it makes no sense. All of the scares except for a few were lost to me. Maybe that was cause I'm asking too much of the story to be enveloped by the tension. All I could think is that maybe my audience didnt react in a way that would force a emotional reaction from me.

I will say its one step in the right direction for the genre but thats it.

and yes the trailer is full of spoilers. I kept myself away thankfully and still figured out what was gonna happen before it happened.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 04, 2009, 02:16:00 PM
This is definitely something to watch with an excited audience in a packed theater. Watching it on a television will almost certainly neuter the experience.

I found it remarkably well made, and more importantly, well edited. Most of these handheld, mockumentary-style films suffer from fatigue as they near the home stretch. That really wasn't the case here.

I'm sure people will find reasons to not like it. You can definitely nitpick character motivations and decisions to death. I felt the film was legitimately creepy with some good shock value. I really dug it.

More interesting is the shoestring budget it was shot with. Some of the effects were really impressive, even moreso considering the budget. I'd be really interested to see how they pulled off a few scenes, but that's just the Hollywood side of me talking.

I got off the horn with some of my Los Angeles buddies, and the industry politics behind this film are kind of neat.

This calculated rollout is a smart move by Paramount, but everyone is kind of holding their breath to see if they'll go nationwide against Saw. Lionsgate has owned their October slot for five years in a row, and studios move competing horror flicks away from it (including Zombie's Halloween) out of fear of being left in its wake.

After dominance in October for the better half of a decade, will this be the year that something finally beats Saw?
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 04, 2009, 08:55:37 PM
Paranormal Activity made $535,000 this weekend, despite only available in 33 theaters nationwide.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: TakingBackSunday on October 04, 2009, 09:51:58 PM
That's mighty impressive.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: G The Resurrected on October 04, 2009, 10:06:33 PM
First day in 33 theaters it made 148K which is pretty crazy considering this is just 33 midnight showings.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 06, 2009, 06:45:12 PM
Paramount announced today that if they receive one million online demands for Paranormal Activity, they will open it nationwide.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 06, 2009, 07:05:09 PM
This link should work. (http://eventful.com/performers/paranormal-activity-/P0-001-000212499-6/competitions)

Vote now, because the DC area is dropping like a rock. They're about 600,000 votes away from a million.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 06, 2009, 08:02:44 PM
Quote from: Green Man on October 06, 2009, 07:08:43 PM
Whoa, 21 other people actually want the movie to come where I live. Thought I'd be the only one.

86 people :rock
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 06, 2009, 08:12:53 PM
How so?

They dominated the box office this past year, and their rollout of Paranormal Activity has been nothing short of brilliant.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 06, 2009, 08:19:33 PM
Quote from: Willco on October 06, 2009, 08:12:53 PM
How so?

They dominated the box office this past year, and their rollout of Paranormal Activity has been nothing short of brilliant.

As seen here:

Quote
1    Warner Bros.    20.4%    $1,619.1    30    21
2    Paramount    16.8%    $1,332.9    14    11
3    Sony / Columbia    12.8%    $1,020.6    18    15
4    20th Century Fox    12.2%    $966.6    18    13
5    Buena Vista    11.8%    $935.2    20    14

I haven't crunched the numbers but it looks like they're consistently one of the top studios in total revenue and average more money per movie than anyone else.
Title: Re: Paranormal Activity was a pretty awesome movie
Post by: The Fake Shemp on October 06, 2009, 08:34:59 PM
You don't think they'll get a million? :lol

They're doing midnight releases in a handful of college towns to build a ton of buzz... and it's working.

They did something like $16,000 per theater last weekend. This is Paramount building a grassroots campaign to put more buzz behind it than it would get with a traditional release.

Really, if this was a regular release, you think people would flock to a small indie flick shot with a handheld and featuring no name actors? Absolutely not.

But create the perception that it's the greatest thing ever, manufacture long queues, limited screenings and so on, now folks want to know what all the hype is about. What is this flick that came out of nowhere that all my twenty-something college friends say is awesome?

It's pretty smart, dude.

Now they're getting the Internet folks hyped.