Paranormal Activity

Definitely the most terrifying psychological horror of the decade.

Until the other day I was of the opinion that the so-called 'horror' genre is one of those areas where everything has been tried.

From epic end-of-the-world special effects to fake Blair Witch-like shaky camcorder, to monsters, possessions and the most recent school of blood pouring out of eyeballs (i.e. Saw, Hostel, Wolf Creek et al), it looks like it's increasingly difficult for directors and scriptwriters to tread on unexplored territory.

Therefore you'd have thought that a film titled Paranormal Activity is not going to make you jump in your seat any more than a couple of times. Wrong. And this is why.

An independent US film from 2007 that has just found mainstream distribution worldwide (hence its UK arrival last week), Oren Peli's film was presented to the wider public as real footage as discovered by the police.

But unlike movies like REC or The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity doesn't try so hard to appear "real", and yet it feels more genuine. How they managed, I don't know, perhaps with less dialogue, better acting and a steadier camera. But the result is that it will seriously pin you to your seat and make you shit in your pants and make Blair Witch look like Only Fools and Horses by comparison.

Its strongest point lies in the notion that 'less is more'. Just like in pop or rock music the spaces between the notes are more important than the notes itself, this film doesn't show anything obvious, let alone ghosts, monsters or even blood. It leaves it to the viewers to work themselves up with paranoia.

And yet the element of suspence is second to none. Perhaps at levels I've only experienced the first time I watched the Shining- which is in the super league of psychological horrors.

Don't be put off by the initial five minutes, because after that the build-up is just relentless, with a constant dripping of tension and anxiety.

Paranormal Activity is the story of a young woman (Kate) who believes she's been haunted by a presence. Micah, her testosterone-fuelled whizz kid of a boyfriend decides to buy a state-of-the-art camera to document any possible dodgy event. Somehow this leads to a chain of disturbing events which gradually drags the main characters to the edge of a nervous breakdown.

As usual, more we won't reveal. But let's just say that this film brought me back to those teenage days when horror movies would still play on my mind after a day or two. I watched Paranormal Activity two days ago now and, I'm ashamed to say, last night I spent half an hour frozen in bed deliberating whether I could really hold in that slash or not. Enough said.