Paranormal Activity 3

On Wednesday we were lucky enough to attend a preview screening of Paranormal Activity 3. I had originally been skeptical of this movie franchise, being under the false impression that it was Blair Witch without the woods. We resisted seeing the first one for quite a while until one night there was nothing else to watch. I was pleasantly surprised. Here was a good old fashioned scary movie. One that didn't rely on blood and gore but instead used mood, sound and old fashioned bump in the night stuff. Number 2 was the same and luckily number 3 has stuck to the same formula.

If you don't know the premise behind the franchise you should still enjoy this movie. Despite the fact that it is number three and yet all the events take place before the first and second one, the stories are linked but not so intrinsically that you won't understand what is going on.

I should point out that I am not really someone who is scared by horror films. My friends and I watched my first horror movie, Child's Play, for my 11th or 12th birthday and while they all huddled and clung together I laughed my arse off. I recall being slightly freaked out in the sequel to the original Stepford Wives when the kids go looking for their dead mother's body and the coffin is empty (I was about 10 at the time) and the re release of the Exorcist did make me a little uneasy but in general I am pretty unfazed by horror.

Having said that Paranormal Activity 3 managed to get an audible squeak out of me! It has several good scares, a few false ones (which were predictable but still fun) thrown in for good measure and one spectacular one that I must say is one of my favourite scares in recent years and the one that produced the squeak. Its hard for me to say much more other than it involves the kitchen without ruining it, but hopefully you will know which one I'm talking about when you see it!

The premise of the movie, that everything is shot by the characters with hand held video cameras does mean that you have to be willing to ignore reality a little bit, several times I found myself wondering if you'd really film that particular conversation, but quickly reminded myself that is was just a movie and imagination is required to some extent.

For those of you that have seen the first two you'll be pleased to know that there is some explanation as to the events that take place when the girls are grown up however there are also a whole lot more questions. The husband shaped person and I were happy to have a long held theory of ours confirmed and all in all we enjoyed the movie immensely.

For those of you that feel the need to say things like "it's so fake" or force your friends to stay until the end of the credits so you can say triumphantly, when the disclaimer about any similarity to actual persons blah blah blah come on - "Look it says its all fiction! I knew it" save yourself the effort and realise that no one actually believes its real footage from real people and real events. Its just a fun movie that'll make you jump.

I would definitely recommend you see this (and the first two if you haven't already) unless you are my sister who made me cover her ears while she covered her eyes during the Blair Witch (don't ask)