Paranormal Activity *******

First, imagine the setting: sat in a darkened room, alone, at 11pm. the thought occurred to me,"I feel like watching Paranormal Activity". This was a bad move.

Initially everything was fine, the silly noises, the door drifting slowly, the psychic, the cheap horror film premise was very present, the film continues, the tension builds and the smile of 'this is fun' slowly turns into an intense stare of fright, taking a deep breath every time the night sequences begin. You see, this film is an experience, you see hardly anything, hear only distant noises, yet the fear of what comes next lingers.

Ok, plot. a couple who live together start to hear strange things in the night, specifically the girl who has had experiences with these noises before, she even claims she has seen a figure at the end of her bed (in her mysteriously burnt down house) when she was a child. The guy decides to buy a camera to document the goings on and catch the goings on, he is initially humouring his girlfriend as it is apparent he doesn't actually believe her, this of course changes as the noises and door slamming begin the occur.

Despite the film's slow, gimmicky start, Paranormal Activity is the strongest, in terms of believability at least of all shaky cam style films I have so far seem, the fact that there are only two main characters (and 2 hardly seen supporting cast) allows you to engage much more easily than the gang of 5 or so in 'Cloverfield' or 'Blair Witch'. As you get to know these people, and their flaws, you fear for their life, the things that go bump in the night get louder until the devastating climax happens, which is, may add quite perfect.

Watch this film, don't watch it at midday surrounded by friends, watch it at night, alone, like any other good horror film deserves to be watched

The Village or: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Shyamalan

Watching The Village today, with its twists and turns and crazy ending, made me think of how much of an amazing movie director M. Night Shyamalan really is. All of his films fit the criteria for any film watching experience, to entertain.

From the moment you are thrown into the strangely dark world of 'bad' colours and secrets, your mind is racing, many people watching will be aware that the film has a twist, some may already know it, some may assume due to the director and his certain methods, but you never guess it and when it comes its the most obvious thing you kick yourself, laugh about it and tell all your friends to watch it. The same applies to nearly all of his films (most notably The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable).

The conclusions of these films are always full and proper, never showing more than is needed and ending the film on conclusive note, not drag it out for extra 20 minutes. of course the films are slated for being cheesy and ridiculous, but the filmic snobs don't get the thrill of seeing a movie with twists and turns and an explosive ending, did anyone actually enjoy the Godfather? or did you have to watch it 5 times to realise how good it is? M. Night Shyamalan does not make these films, he makes films that are made to a standard, made to measure, made to entertain. I would rather watch Signs or The Village in a heartbeat over 12 Angry Men, yes, please watch and analyse 12 Angry Men, its a masterpiece, set in one room, shows the power of stubbornness and how wrong a large group of intelligent men can be (or something like that). but enjoy Shyamalan films, for they are the purest pieces of exciting fun filled entertainment thats currently being thrown at us from the CGI crazed, 3d Hollywood that nobody loves.