Posts Tagged ‘Paranormal Activity’

Short Take: An all around solid effort on a cool premise, but couldn't reach the point of excellence it was trying to

Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego

Screenwriter: Brian Miller

Cast: Warren Christie, Ryan Robbins, Lloyd Owen

Length: 1h 17m

Synopsis: In 1973 astronauts Ben Anderson (Christie), John Grey (Robbins), and Nathan Walker (Owen) are asked to lead the originally canceled Apollo 18 lunar expedition in order to place missile-detecting equipment on the moon in defense against the Soviet Union. Unlike the other Apollo missions, however, this one is Top Secret. Not even the astronauts’ families know where they’re going, but what’s worse is that they never return. Fast-forward to present day: 84 hours of video footage which captured what went on during the mission somehow made its way onto the internet, and the film we see is a spliced together version of all of it all. The fate of the astronauts, we see, was a horrifying one. Aside from finding themselves stranded, they faced creatures that give new meaning to the term extra-terrestrial. For those wondering why we haven’t been back to the moon, Apollo 18 provides the answer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Movies that genuinely horrify are few and far between, and many feel it's been too long since the last one. It would appear American horror faces yet another threshold.

In order for a horror film to be affecting it must accomplish an array of feats that manipulate its audience in a way that steers it toward a desired end, which is usually one of disenfranchisement, disgust, dismay, or paranoia. But one key element to effective horror that goes largely unmentioned is the importance of pity. When a horror film does not take seriously this pivotal aspect, or neglects it altogether, what usually results is a campy flick that allows, if not promotes an audience to react with disinterest or laughter instead of shock, terror, or other sorts of psychological distress. In order to properly convey the importance of a scary movie’s ability to make an audience pity we must first examine precisely what pity is and how it works to assist a movie’s efforts to jar its viewers. From doing this we can hopefully discover the major faults of modern American horror, and see what needs to be done to revive it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Area 51 - It doesn't say filming prohibited!

Oren Peli, director of the supernatural haunting hit Paranormal Activity, has just finished principle filming for his newest film Area 51, which Paramount Pictures has just bought the distribution rights for.

Paranormal Activity has become one of the most profitable films ever, costing just $11,000 to make and grossing over $100 million. Such success for the small independent film allowed Peli’s newest effort to garner much attention in the bidding for its distribution rights. How much Paramount paid for the rights is unknown.

Area 51 is said to be made in a similar style to Paranormal Activity in that it’s made up of “found footage.” Its story is reportedly about three teenagers who wander into the secretive Area 51 section of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and then experience strange happenings.

“These films show that real franchises can be successfully launched from the independent side of the business — not something the marketplace necessarily believed five years ago,” said Adam Goodman of Paramount. – Variety

Paramount’s unique and successful promotion campaign for Paranormal Activity, as well as other efforts it made for the film, are exciting executives at the studio about creating more high-grossing franchises from small independent productions.

Source: Variety

Quick Opinion: It is the opinion of Movie-Thoughts that Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity is a very notable effort that deserves the accolades it has so far received. Its “found footage” style fit well with the material and went a long way towards making said material very effective. To hear that Peli’s latest film is using the same style is – at this point – nothing more than intriguing. However, it is of note because if Area 51 enjoys box-office success (regardless if its the same level of success as Paranormal Activity or if Paramount launches another innovative promotion effort) I see the “found footage” style potentially becoming the next stylistic wave in the horror/thriller genre. Torture films have been on the decline both financially and in popularity (with slight exception to the Saw series), and being that other directors have proven to be able to use the “found footage’s” realistic style with success (unlike during the period immediately following 1999′s The Blair Witch Project, which was filled with mostly parodies), not to mention the style is perhaps the cheapest to finance, studios will be itching to get a piece of the pie (namely Lionsgate, Dark Castle, and that ilk).

Micah Sloat, Katie Featherston, and director Oren Peli

The Los Angeles Times published an article a few days ago catching up with Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, the two lead actors in the recent horror hit Paranormal Activity. The piece talks about what the two’s lives were like immediately before getting their parts in the film (no, they aren’t a real-life couple) as well as how things are going present day.

Katie was working as a waitress, and Micah was a computer technician – and both were close to giving up dreams of a career in acting. After being paid only $500 each for their roles in Paranormal Activity, both say the immense popularity of the film has resulted in them getting tons of audition invitations.

Featherston, whose next acting credit is a bit part in the horror indie “Walking Distance,” has a different measure of success. “My old crush was like, ‘Hey, Katie. How’s it going?’ ” she said coyly. “I was like, ‘Uh-uh. You didn’t like me then.’ It’s sweet revenge.” – LA Times

The article also goes on to detail the film’s rise from irrelevancy, mentioning for example the reactions of Katie and Micah as the movie spread further and further throughout the country.

If you enjoyed this spooky flick, or you’re just looking for a genuinely happy tale from Hollywood, give this feature article a read. And for you struggling actors and filmmakers out there, it’s stories like these that remind us that it only takes the right break to make it big and that said break can happen when you least expect it. So hold your heads high, and keep trying!

Short Take: The buzz is true - scariest movie in years

Director: Oren Peli (debut)

Screenwriter: Oren Peli

Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong

Length: 1h 26m

Synopsis: In 2006 a young couple living in San Diego begins experiencing strange happenings in their home for no apparent reason. The girl (Katie) claims to have endured the stalking of some strange ghost-like figure since she was a child, and it has haunted her periodically no matter where she lived. Her long-term boyfriend Micah decides to begin videotaping as much as he can to try and capture these hauntings as evidence, and what gets recorded truly shocks them. Read the rest of this entry »