# Paranormal Activity is the worst movie I have ever seen! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352 "2011-03-03T15:05:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/21 "2011-03-03T19:42:21Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I thought it was well done. Not as good as **Blair Witch** , but certainly much better than the average horror film. Oof. Considering how much I utterly despised Blair Witch, I think I’ll pass. Joe ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/22 "2011-03-03T19:47:53Z")
Well, it wasn’t \*\*that \*\*bad, but Lord it wasn’t good. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/23 "2011-03-03T19:59:54Z")
It may not be “good”, but wait until it’s 3:00 and you hear some sort of small noise AM and the full effect will hit you… ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/24 "2011-03-03T20:01:55Z")
I’m a horror movie lover who thought it was pretty decent for what it did. Which was namely letting you wonder how terrified you’d be if this were happening to you. From that angle, it was pretty freaky. From a truly scary point of view though, it didn’t even make me jump once. Regardless, I did like it. Haven’t seen 2 yet. Is it more of the same? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/25 "2011-03-03T20:44:32Z")
It definitely wasn’t remotely scary to me, but it’s far from the worst movie I’ve ever seen. The friend I saw it with said that she found it a lot scarier, and wondered if the difference is that she believes in (sentient) ghosts and I don’t. She’s big into things like Ghost Hunters, which I find silly. Actually, I’m supposed to go with her on a ghost hunt this year - I’ll be blogging about it from the skeptic’s viewpoint 🙂 I guess my point is that it’s probably a lot more scary if you think that the events in the movie are capable of happening. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/26 "2011-03-03T22:15:07Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Well, I wasn’t too impressed by “PA”, but _worst movie you’ve ever seen_? > > You apparently have never seen [Satan’s Cheerleaders](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076665/). To name just one example. Apparently, you haven’t seen [Santa Claus Conquers the Martians](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058548/). I complain, yet I watch it every December… ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/27 "2011-03-03T22:21:30Z")
> [@TravisFromOR](#): > > Apparently, you haven’t seen [Santa Claus Conquers the Martians](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058548/). I complain, yet I watch it every December… You’re telling me you watch that without Joel and the Bots? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/28 "2011-03-03T22:21:40Z")
It was the only horror movie that legitimately freaked me out. My wife and I bought into the whole conceit and allowed ourselves to be drawn in, and it got me. I still think about it when I’m lying in bed, unable to sleep, and I hear a weird noise in the house. I thought **Blair Witch** was stupid and not at all scary, and think most other scary movies are more funny than anything. I can’t identify with them- a bunch of teens skinny-dipping in a lake in the mountains? Yawn. A normal young couple living in a normal home and experiencing weird noises in the night that escalate? Yeah, I can identify. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/29 "2011-03-03T22:36:45Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Oof. Considering how much I utterly despised Blair Witch, I think I’ll pass. Ditto for me. I thought _Blair Witch_ was terrible. It was alternately boring and infuriating (due to the lack of a script and the stupidity and shriekiness of the actors/characters.) And it wasn’t scary at all. _Paranormal Activity_ looked to be the same–a lot of nothing masquerading as a movie–so I’ve passed on it. I will say that I don’t necessarily hate the webcam/found-footage style. I think **REC** \* was pretty scary and entertaining (haven’t seen the sequel or the remake, though) and I thought \*Cloverfield \*was okay. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/30 "2011-03-03T22:42:44Z")
I think the effectiveness derives almost entirely from how much it manages to suspend your disbelief. The conceit of the video camera is supposed to trick your brain into “true story” mode. This worked a bit better with Blair Witch because there were some movie goers who really didn’t realize it wasn’t found footage, and the actors did do quite as many stupid things. This one had to put a few too many umbrellas on stupid behavior, and the only real advantages were the time-lapse scenes, and the lesser amount of shaky-cam. From what I’ve heard, audiences who were less prepared also got more thrills, as compared to audiences who were already exposed to the hype. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/31 "2011-03-04T02:05:49Z")
Then there’s also the Japanese sequel to the American original [_Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1728179/), in which the Japanese female lead character is connected to the events of the American film. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/32 "2011-03-04T02:36:57Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > Critics were mostly impressed by the quality of the movie for how small of a budget it had (only $15,000). > . Those Beta Max tapes off of Ebay must cost more than you’d think… ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/33 "2011-03-04T04:54:58Z")
_Paranormal Activity_ is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/34 "2011-03-04T05:15:22Z")
I _still_ want my fucking money back! ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/35 "2011-03-04T09:44:42Z")
I enjoyed it, but then I love horror movies and don’t have too hard a time suspeding disbelief. I even liked the sequel. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/36 "2011-03-04T12:43:33Z")
> [@TravisFromOR](#): > > Apparently, you haven’t seen [Santa Claus Conquers the Martians](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058548/). I complain, yet I watch it every December… I threaten to play that every year for the family, ever since I found a copy in the $1.00 DVD bin. The shrink wrap is not even off the package, it is like some malevolent totem lurking in our holiday decorations box. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/37 "2011-03-04T14:16:51Z")
The thing I liked the best about it was I went in expecting a ghost movie and ended up with a demon movie, which was perhaps not the intention but I thought it was a cool twist. My biggest problem with the movie though is no matter how much I love my wife, which is as much as I possibly can, the movie would have ended about 2 minutes after she confessed to me that some malevolent force had been following her around since she was a kid and it was mad at me. Oh, really? Thanks for mentioning that, you know, like before we got married. I would have been out of that house so fast that I would have left a me shaped hole in the wall ala Bugs Bunny on my way out with a nice ‘yelled over the shoulder’ message to my wife that if she ever came near me again I would shoot her in the face with a bazooka and to have fun being eaten like chicken wings by the thing in the attic. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/38 "2011-03-04T15:08:59Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I _still_ want my fucking money back! I’d settle for the 90 minutes of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/39 "2011-03-04T15:44:14Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Oof. Considering how much I utterly despised Blair Witch, I think I’ll pass. > > Joe If it helps make up your mind: I despised BWP with an intensity usually reserved for people that insist on using self-checkout lanes despite not knowing how to work the damn machines and yet, I was pleasantly surprised with Paranormal Activity. I see way too many supposedly scary movies looking for one that will actually scare me during and after and nothing ever does. ☹ PA didn’t scare me after, but I have admit that I was a little creeped out while watching it. That’s a check mark in the ‘win’ column as far as I’m concerned and enough that I’m willing to give the sequel a chance. I’m still waiting for something to equal The Shining, which remains the only movie to ever scare the hell out of me during and after. I still can’t watch it alone. Love that movie! ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352/40 "2011-03-04T17:49:02Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I _still_ want my fucking money back! For Blair Witch? I’m with ya, even though I saw it on a friend’s dime. I thought it was great build up, great build up, and then… The ending came. I literally stood up from my seat and yelled, “Is that fucking IT?!” Luckily, me and my friend were the only two people in the theater (early afternoon matinee). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paranormal-activity-is-the-worst-movie-i-have-ever-seen/573352.md?page=3)