Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer Made Me Crap Myself

By ANDY MORGAN

I saw Paranormal Activity three times during its run in theaters last October and it scared the bejeezus out of me every time. Something about an invisible demon dragging a screaming chick down the hallway in her pajamas makes me pee a little in my pants every time. Apparently boatloads of Americans felt the same, because the movie made for $15,000 grossed over $107 million at the box office. I thought the concept was clever and well-executed and I thought the marketing behind the film was brilliant. Still, when a Paranormal Activity sequel was announced and fasttracked, I had to balk and give the finger to Hollywood and its propensity to overzealously hump the hell out of any film that is a surprise success. I immediately thought of The Blair Witch Project and its disastrous sequel.

And then I saw this trailer and changed my mind. Sure, it looks like more of the same, but if that’s the case, then we’re in for some butt-puckering goodness. Take a peek at the trailer after the jump and let me know what you think. As for me, I’m officially anticipating Paranormal Activity 2’s October 22, 2010 release.

You Like Paranormal Activity… But Will You Like Area 51?

Quickly dipping back to the same “found footage” well that spawned your shopping trip for new underwear after watching Paranormal Activity, camcorder-wielding director Oren Peli is running with his next concept: Area 51. The premise? Three teens and their new digital video recording device find scary/alarming/crazy alien unmentionables going on around the famed Air Force base. It’s some crazy s***!

From an early, leaked synopsis (Latino Review– you scoundrels!), folks are already titling this one Paranormal Activity II: Area 51. I’m not sure if that’s a Paranormal Activity backlash that’s brewing (which will inevitably come– it’s the way of popularity) but honestly– I have no problem with a revisit to Peli’s bank-swamping narrative framework. Sure, the whole found/real footage genre is in danger of burning itself out very quickly, but AATM’s motto just happens to be “strike while the iron’s hot” and if Area 51 delivers the goods in a story well told, all shaky-cam will be forgiven.

But will memory of The Fourth Kind be so generous? We shall see– if rumor has it right– sometime next year.

Paranormal Activity Original Ending, Part Deux

A few weeks ago I posted the original ending/alternate ending video for Paranormal Activity, but soon thereafter the video was removed from YouTube. Here it is again, this time from www.worstpreviews.com. As I stated before, the new ending, supposedly the one suggested by Steven Spielberg, where (SPOILER HIGHLIGHT TO READ) Micah is thrown into the camera, presumably already dead, by Katie, is by far the best ending. I appreciate what Peli was doing below, but it’s just not got the punch as the one attached to prints in theaters. See for yourself and let us know what you think.

Paranormal Activity Original Ending (POSSIBLE SPOILER!)

UPDATE: THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES. SORRY!

Hurry and watch this now, because I’m betting this will be gone within a few hours. If you’ve seen Paranormal Activity, then you know how the movie ends in theaters, but below is the original “alternate” ending for Paranormal Activity.

I can appreciate what Oren Peli is trying to do in this alternate version, but the ending now in theaters is by far the creepiest and better finale to the surprise hit. How about you? Have you seen Paranormal Activity and if so, what do you think of the two conclusions to the film?

Memo to Paramount: Do Not Make Paranormal Activity 2

“We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do Paranormal 2 and we’re looking to see if that makes some sense.”

That quote comes from Paramount Pictures chairman, Brad Grey, and I can tell Mr. Grey, without hesitation, that making a follow-up to Paranormal Activity would be a terrible mistake. Not only does it have a 99.9 percent chance of bombing at the box office, but making it would tarnish the sheer genius and creativity of the first movie. Anyone who has seen Paranormal Activity has to agree with me. Its novelty does not extend past one film. Period.

I get that Paramount is excited about the success of Paranormal Activity but they need to be cautious. Sure, the movie has made $61 million in limited release (it just expanded to nearly 2,000 theaters) and that’s a massive profit when you consider they bought the film for $300,000. However, just ask Artisan how making a sequel from a one-shot, gimmicky film turned out. Yeah, I’m talking about The Blair Witch Project. Back in 1999 it made $140 million domestically and a sequel was greenlit and released on October 27,2000. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 made roughly $26 million domestically and is nothing short of a fantastic failure.

Brad Grey and Paramount Pictures would be wise to pat themselves on the back for a helluva marketing job with Paranormal Activity and kudos to Oren Peli on a turning a $15,000 nugget of ingenuity into a absolute sensation. However, if they want to cement the movie’s place in cinema history as one of the best scary movies of all-time, they need to erase all thoughts of continuing the story and move on to another project. Any attempt at a sequel will produce scant revenue and spoil the applause and reverence extended to it’s predecessor.

Movie Review: Paranormal Activity (A-)

Forget aliens, vampires, and werewolves. Screw zombies and gremlins. And don’t even think about Nessie, Bigfoot or Freddy Krueger; Paranormal Activity scares the crap out of viewers by asking the simple and uncomfortable question: What happens when you sleep? One thing is for certain, after watching this movie last weekend in a theater packed with squealing girls and laughing dudes, not much happens when I sleep. Because I don’t anymore. I’m too busy looking for demons that are going to yank me out of bed in the wee hours of the morning and bite me on my keister. If I lived at home, I’d be sleeping with my parents.

If you’ve missed the buzz about Paranormal Activity, let me be the first to welcome you home from your trip to Mars. Director Oren Peli’s low-budget thriller has been a social media event. The marketing gurus behind the movie opened the picture in a few college towns and then encouraged theatergoers to spread the word by “tweeting their scream,” as well as petitioning people to “demand” Paranormal Activity come to their local theater. Considering the movie made $20 million last weekend in 760 theaters and Law Abiding Citizen made $21 million in 2,890 theaters, the word is spreading quickly and adamantly about how fun and scary Paranormal Activity is for audiences.

Katie points out the lurking shadow by the door.

I can’t go too deeply into the details of the story, because I don’t want to ruin any of the surprises or scares, but the movie is pretty simple – it revolves around a young couple, Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston), who are convinced their small San Diego home is infested with some spook or specter. Michah sets up a camera and a high frequency microphone in their bedroom to record the sights and sounds of whatever is causing the strange happenings in their home. They also have a psychic come to their abode and he confirms to the couple what they have been dreading all along: a demon is living with them and they better not piss it off.

Micah and Katie contemplate getting the HELL out!

In a logical, normal world, this freaky film would end right now, but of course Micah and Katie continue to sleep under the same roof as the malevolent ghost and Micah takes great joy in heckling and provoking the demon, much to Katie’s protest. Come to find out, this thing has been following Katie her whole life. As Micah points out toward the end of the movie, this might have been a good thing to share with him before they decided to live together. Micah has a good point. I don’t care how hot a girl is, if she’s got some angry ghost on her six, I’m staying far, far away.

Part of what makes Paranormal Activity so creepy is the director’s actual fear of ghosts. That’s how he conceived of the concept and is something I think all of us fear deep down. That feeling of someone looking at you, standing next to you, but yet nobody is in the room. And it’s enough to make all of us develop gooseflesh in a matter of nanoseconds. Every bump and noise I hear nowadays late at night makes me have a Depends moment.

Micah has made the demon reaaalllly pissed.

This film is a true success story and I’m happy for critical reception and financial gain Peli is earning. It cost him $15,000 to make and was shot in Peli’s house over the course of seven days. He didn’t use a script, didn’t have a camera crew (because the movie is shot via handheld or a tripod mounted camera), and editing and the addition of visual effects all occurred simultaneously while they filmed throughout the week. Once it was finished, it made the rounds at various film festivals and was snagged by DreamWorks. There is a rumor that Steven Spielberg loved the movie, but was convinced it was haunted, because after viewing the DVD, his bedroom doors locked and he couldn’t get out without the aid of locksmith. At any rate, Paranormal Activity found its way to Paramount Pictures, and now, this weekend, it’s available for you at the University Stadium 6 theaters in Logan.

Is it the movie for you? Remember those words I mentioned earlier in my review – fun and scary – because if you go into Paranormal Activity looking for top-notch acting and a deep, moving story, you’ll be disappointed. The movie is the cinematic equivalent of a well-done haunted house. Whether you scream or laugh, you will enjoy yourself and that’s a great thing to have as we get closer to Halloween.

Paranormal Activity Update

Apparently the 66 people in Logan, Utah demanding Paranormal Activity come to our town isn’t quite enough to warrant the poop-your-pants scarefest to Cache Valley. Nope, instead the movie expands to 20 new cities, all of which are not named Logan. But if you live in the likes of Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, San Diego, San Francisco or Las Vegas, you’re in luck (for the full list of expanded cities, click here).

And again, if you want this The Blair Witch Project meets Poltergeist meets The Exorcist to come to Salt Lake City or Logan, visit the movie’s website and demand it come to your town! To me that’s like demanding you get diarrhea or a punch to the soft parts, but hey, whatever floats your boat. This movie is proving to be the biggest “scary” buzz since The Blair Witch stormed theaters in  1999. In fact, as of last weekend it was only on 12 screens nationwide and averaging nearly $6,500 per screen. That’s way above what Surrogates and Fame averaged and both films were splayed across 3,000 plus screens.

At any rate, if you’ve seen this, let us know if the hype is true. If you haven’t, is this something you’ll run out to see because of the buzz. Inquiring minds want to know.

Eh, Okay, If You Say So

A few years ago a movie was made by Oren Peli called Paranormal Activity, sort of like The Blair Witch Project sans the trees and the witch. The movie follows a couple living in San Diego who buy some video equipment to film the spooks and specters they believe are haunting their house. Obviously not a smart move because, really, who in the hell wants to know what kind of mysterious shenanigans are happening whilst they sleep? Not me.

DreamWorks bought Peli’s movie and had plans to remake it, much to the shagrin of fans who had seen the flick at various film festivals, most notably Telluride. When Paramount Pictures bought DreamWorks, they found this gathering dust in the ol’ vault and now – boom – the studio has a “creepy” trailer out and is trying to push this film virally, asking visitors to “tweet” their screams. The site claims limited release now and asks you to “demand” this movie come to your city. I demanded Paranormal Activity come to Logan, Utah and the site told me 10 other people are demanding the movie come to my city. Um, I don’t think it’s going to come anytime soon. Shucks.

But that’s okay, because based on this trailer, I’ll have to take the word of Ain’tItCoolNews.com, BloodyDisgusting.com and FilmThreat.com that Paranormal Activity is one of the scariest movies of all time, because this trailer looks lame. It looks like a fun movie to hit up with your significant other, where you can be scared just because everyone is anticipating being scared. But real, legitimate chills? I’m not convinced.

Check out the trailer for Paranormal Activity below. What say ye?