Last week I gave up on trying to find someone to go and see Paranormal Activity 2 with me at the cinema, so I went by myself. I was desperate to see it on the big screen to get the full effect of the movie and also because I couldn't wait for the DVD. So far I have found most of these 'found footage' format movies to be very good. The Blair Witch Project was the first to do this successfully on the big screen (to my knowledge), and divided the movie-going public, some loved it, others loathed it. This seemed to set the tone for the success of other movies to follow in this format. Cloverfield astounded me with how effective it was to give a sense of being in New York City and the vast scale of destruction, on such a small budget. Both Cloverfield and Blair Witch used clever internet marketing campaigns leading up to the movie, driving people nuts to find out more about the movie, which played a great part in the box office takings in my opinion.
Anyway, I adored the first Paranormal Activity movie. The slow build of tension, the mystery behind what was going on and never went for full exposition, something that should be used more in Horror movies. What I loved most about it was it was the closest a film (including TV) has been to representing what people, witness at a haunted location. It effectively demonstrated the types of phenomena I have seen myself, and also read and heard about. Yes, the plot was a bit o.t.t. and the characters in the movie were quite annoying, but I think that helped involve the audience in the movie. I was very pleased with Paranormal Activity 2 as it is even more effective as a horror movie. I was genuinely nervous at some points, as it doesn't fall into the stereotypical trap of all the events happening at night. Some of the most shocking parts happen during the day, one in particular had the entire audience jumping out of their seats! The story is excellent too, and cleverly acts as a prequel and sequel at the same time, tying into the first movie very well. That's all I can say really without getting into spoilers.
I only hope this style of film isn't exploited and that the level of quality is maintained. The makers of the first Paranormal Activity are in post-production on a similar themed movie called 'Area 51'. JJ Abrams is currently shooting 'Super 8' and in the next few months we will be treated to a sci-fi/horror movie about 'found' footage from the rumoured cover-up/conspiracy theory of the secret Apollo 18 mission.
What I really wanted to touch on with Paranormal Activity 2, was how people react to it. I put a status update on my facebook saying how much I enjoyed it. This was done on purpose and as an experiment because I knew it would provoke a reaction from people, and it did. As I suspected, it completely divided people's opinions. Some comments were along the lines of "Are you serious? It was rubbish, I laughed through some of it. Not scary at all. blah, blah, blah". I got a steady stream of comments, either agreeing with me or opposing me. Then I added a comment of my own, partly because I get a bit angry by some of these negative comments, and also becasue I wanted to see how people would respond to it, it went along the lines of something like this:
People are afraid of different things. Fear affects people in different ways. In the case of horror movies, some people are terrified of 'slasher' movies like Scream and My Bloody Valentine. Some people are scared of gore-flicks such as The Hills Have Eyes or Dawn of the Dead, some get their kicks from movies like Hostel and Saw (personally speaking, I think these movies are vile forms of entertainment, summed up perfectly by actor Bruce Campbell who calls it 'torture porn'). Some people find movies like The Exorcist, Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity scary. To say they are not scary is a bit narrow-minded in my opinion, as this kind of horror is psychological. It gets in your head and messes with it. What you cannot see, or what cannot be explained or tangible is quite frightening to some people. In my opinion it is all to do with your beliefs. If you believe in Alien Abduction, the the movie The Fourth Kind may give you sleepless nights for weeks. To others it may seem absurd and a waste of 2 hours, but to mock people who find it scary, shows me a lack of compassion and respect. These people may be petrified of spiders, whereas other people are terrified of going outside - the same rules apply. This behaviour does annoy me, and worries me a little about how aggressive and ignorant the human race can be when people's points of view and beliefs are concerned. Go onto a site such as www.aintitcool.com (one of my faves for movie news) and just read through some of the feedback comments on one or two of the articles (try a review piece of some casting news), then you will see what I mean. People can turn very nasty, and looking through some of the comments, the majority are always negative. A bit worrying isn't it?
Anyway, next blog will be totally Parnaormal-related. I just needed to vent I suppose!
Thursday 11 November 2010
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Kicking things off...
Well, a bit of background info on myself, my involvement in the Paranormal and what I will be blogging about in the future.
Ever since I was a kid I was always interested in ghosts and the Paranormal. What kicked this off was the movie Ghostbusters (hell, I was a child of the eighties). Shortly after seeing the movie, I got to the local library after school the next day, and took what reference books I could find on the subject from the junior section. Over the next few weeks I moved over to the adult reference section, under the guidance of my Dad looking at the books themselves before allowing me to borrow books with content he approved of. Because of this restriction, I then started to order in books to loan from other libraries in the county and within the course of the next year or two I think I must have read every junior book on ghosts, UFO's and the Paranormal in North East England!
My first ghost investigation was at my primary school, I was told of the ghost by an old friend, possibly creating a fantasy or genuinely shared my enthusiasm on the subject. Anyway, we investigated the supposed 'ghost' haunting the school on breaks and lunchtimes for a while before I became bored with the illusion. From what I can remember my enthusiasm for the subject dropped off until the BBC played their infamous 'Ghostwatch' programme on Halloween, 1992. I remember being scared witless from the initial home video footage (not realising until later it was a big scam and seeing the credit for the actor playing the ghost), so I went back to the library and was able to get a few more of the adult section books out. The one that fascinated me and rocked me to the core was 'This House is Haunted' by Guy Lyon Playfair. This gave me the bug for wanting to investigate the paranormal myself. Unfortunately, a 12yr old kid isn't likely to be let loose around a haunted pub, mansion or museum by himself! So school took over.
Fast forward to around 2001/2 where I was studying at University. It was here where things 'kicked-off' big style as I became involved with two separate cases, one at a store where I worked part-time (I will keep the location confidential out of respect for my former employers and friends) and the other was at a 24hr snooker/pool hall, my housemate got a job doing the night shift and found out he wasn't working alone! More on both of those cases in a future blog ...believe me they are good ones!!!
At the same time as these cases, the notorious (and happily now deceased) 'Most Haunted' TV started on cable TV. As a newbie to paranormal investigation, I was hooked for the first series, but slowly my enthusiasm dropped as I found the show to be laughable, embarrassing, insulting to serious paranormal enthusiasts and irresponsible. That last criticism I want to make perfectly clear as I clearly recall some of the stuff the team attempted over the years, including but not limited to: Ouija boards, seances, table-tipping, challenging and aggresively calling out to the unknown, demon summoning, witchcraft, chants, sensory deprivation experiments (being put in straight jackets, tied to chairs, locked in coffins, cells, mortuary slabs etc) ....I could go on and on. These so-called experts (really TV crew and presenters along with ever-changing guest psychics) showed the uneducated viewing public how to do all these things, all the while becoming 'possessed' and relying on the old 'knock once for yes, twice for no' routine that they loved to fall back on, after a noticeable lack of other evidence, especially for the live shows to keep the audience entertained. This irresponsible behaviour has virtually raped the world of Paranormal Investigation. Places of reputed hauntings, now charge per head for the armchair enthusiast to join in on the scream-fest, running around hysterical at the slightest sound (believe me, I tried one of these fright nights once). The companies who run these excursions have monopolised the field, forcing out geniune investigation groups or making them pay for something they were sought out for as a service before. Thankfully, Most Haunted is no more and hopefully the public will soon forget about Yvette and her Scooby gang, and go back to Alton Towers for their thrill-seeking.
Anyway, rant over. More positive posts to come. I welcome any and all valid feedback and points of view. In the meantime I recommend you read the blog of the Black Country Paranormal Society, my friends, a great bunch of people and total professionals in the Paranormal field. To quote a section from my favourite movie: Who ya gonna call?
Ever since I was a kid I was always interested in ghosts and the Paranormal. What kicked this off was the movie Ghostbusters (hell, I was a child of the eighties). Shortly after seeing the movie, I got to the local library after school the next day, and took what reference books I could find on the subject from the junior section. Over the next few weeks I moved over to the adult reference section, under the guidance of my Dad looking at the books themselves before allowing me to borrow books with content he approved of. Because of this restriction, I then started to order in books to loan from other libraries in the county and within the course of the next year or two I think I must have read every junior book on ghosts, UFO's and the Paranormal in North East England!
My first ghost investigation was at my primary school, I was told of the ghost by an old friend, possibly creating a fantasy or genuinely shared my enthusiasm on the subject. Anyway, we investigated the supposed 'ghost' haunting the school on breaks and lunchtimes for a while before I became bored with the illusion. From what I can remember my enthusiasm for the subject dropped off until the BBC played their infamous 'Ghostwatch' programme on Halloween, 1992. I remember being scared witless from the initial home video footage (not realising until later it was a big scam and seeing the credit for the actor playing the ghost), so I went back to the library and was able to get a few more of the adult section books out. The one that fascinated me and rocked me to the core was 'This House is Haunted' by Guy Lyon Playfair. This gave me the bug for wanting to investigate the paranormal myself. Unfortunately, a 12yr old kid isn't likely to be let loose around a haunted pub, mansion or museum by himself! So school took over.
Fast forward to around 2001/2 where I was studying at University. It was here where things 'kicked-off' big style as I became involved with two separate cases, one at a store where I worked part-time (I will keep the location confidential out of respect for my former employers and friends) and the other was at a 24hr snooker/pool hall, my housemate got a job doing the night shift and found out he wasn't working alone! More on both of those cases in a future blog ...believe me they are good ones!!!
At the same time as these cases, the notorious (and happily now deceased) 'Most Haunted' TV started on cable TV. As a newbie to paranormal investigation, I was hooked for the first series, but slowly my enthusiasm dropped as I found the show to be laughable, embarrassing, insulting to serious paranormal enthusiasts and irresponsible. That last criticism I want to make perfectly clear as I clearly recall some of the stuff the team attempted over the years, including but not limited to: Ouija boards, seances, table-tipping, challenging and aggresively calling out to the unknown, demon summoning, witchcraft, chants, sensory deprivation experiments (being put in straight jackets, tied to chairs, locked in coffins, cells, mortuary slabs etc) ....I could go on and on. These so-called experts (really TV crew and presenters along with ever-changing guest psychics) showed the uneducated viewing public how to do all these things, all the while becoming 'possessed' and relying on the old 'knock once for yes, twice for no' routine that they loved to fall back on, after a noticeable lack of other evidence, especially for the live shows to keep the audience entertained. This irresponsible behaviour has virtually raped the world of Paranormal Investigation. Places of reputed hauntings, now charge per head for the armchair enthusiast to join in on the scream-fest, running around hysterical at the slightest sound (believe me, I tried one of these fright nights once). The companies who run these excursions have monopolised the field, forcing out geniune investigation groups or making them pay for something they were sought out for as a service before. Thankfully, Most Haunted is no more and hopefully the public will soon forget about Yvette and her Scooby gang, and go back to Alton Towers for their thrill-seeking.
Anyway, rant over. More positive posts to come. I welcome any and all valid feedback and points of view. In the meantime I recommend you read the blog of the Black Country Paranormal Society, my friends, a great bunch of people and total professionals in the Paranormal field. To quote a section from my favourite movie: Who ya gonna call?
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