I Want Paranormal Activity

I want Paranormal Activity. Not the actual occurrence and hauntings, although I think that would be kind of cool, but rather the movie. By all accounts, by all reviews, it’s a great flick, genuinely creepy, maybe even scary. Unfortunately, it's only playing in something like four cities. Okay, it’s more than four, but honestly in less than 15 states. I had the same problem with Quarantine. Although it had a wider distribution, I still needed to driver 45 miles to see it. On the other hand, Saw VI, scheduled to release on October 23rd, will no doubt debut in every theater across the land.

I think the root of that injustice lies in a culture that has lost its patience, a society that wants its thrills loud, wants its thrills crass, and wants its thrills now. Right now. Saw, at least what I have seen, provides that. It’s less of a horror flick than an extended exercise in gore. It takes no thought, no empathy on the viewer’s part, it’s mindless entertainment.

Conversely, Paranormal Activity doesn’t rely on blood, severed limbs, or punctured skulls to keep the viewer’s attention. In fact, if the reviews, cut scenes, and comments are to be believed, some of the scariest moments occur not when something happens, but rather when there is the threat of something happening. That’s the way it should be in film, and in books. Don’t underestimate your audience, provide the tense situation and let the audience fill in the blanks.

At least most of the time.

Every once in a while you just need to drop a fireman three stories onto a marble floor to wake everyone up.

See you tomorrow (Denver said I should say that.)