While I’d normally rather pluck out and eat my own eyeballs with a spoon than pay to sit in a theater packed with obnoxious wise-asses, it’s the kind of crowd that makes watching this film so enjoyable. It didn’t unsettle me as much as I’d hoped—at least not until later deciding whether or not to brave the dark hallway between my bed and the bathroom at 2 AM—but the crowd made up for it with their own shrieks of disbelief and distress. Some people were actually sobbing for it to end, and will probably suffer a full nightly bladder for months to come.

I’m surprised how well this fake-umentary of supernatural events works considering this is the tenth anniversary of The Blair Witch Project. Perhaps it’s been long enough that younger ticket buyers don’t remember the backlash generated from a marketing campaign designed to convince people the footage was real. Paranormal Activity’s blurring of reality is more subtle, literally leaving the source of the film open-ended by omitting opening and ending credits. Reinforcing the invented reality is a setting so unremarkable as to be completely familiar. There’s little to pick out of the background that we don’t overlook in our own homes. Some of the more noticeable objects are an oversized teddy bear and large screen TV, comforts that encourage us to let our guard down.

We roam the soon-to-be-haunted house via footage from a consumer-level camera recording potential spooky events. Most of the hand-held shots will likely induce kinetosis, and I imagine people around me had their eyes covered as much out of fear as to avoid involuntary vomiting. In utter contrast are the stationary shots. Positioned on a tripod in the bedroom, the momentary calm point of view serves to build almost unbearable dread. The camera’s timer displays the seconds as we watch a young couple sleeping near an open doorway into darkness. We’re as vulnerable as them, forced to stare out into the dimly lit hallway wondering what will burst in to break the tense silence. When the footage fast forwards and suddenly resumes playing after an hour’s count it can only be to show us something that absolutely shouldn’t be there. The worst part is waiting for the inevitable, realizing any evil entities that enter will meet our gaze before finding the on-screen victims.

The two lead actors tie it all together naturally. Micah and Katie are played by unknowns of the same names who have a very believable chemistry. They mostly goof around with each other for the first act, establishing their laid back personalities and playful relationship. We learn that Katie has sensed some sort of spectral presence in her life throughout the years, and while Micah is concerned and supportive he is also keen to capture evidence of any “cool” otherworldly events. The couple butts heads when Katie feels that she’s not being taken seriously and demands to put away the invasive camera. Micah is a day trader who is used to quickly dealing with issues without much investment. As things get uncontrollably weirder in both his house and relationship he releases his frustration by angrily taunting the ghosts to step up and show themselves. Cue scolding groans from the audience.

The dynamics of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project are similar. A jovial, off-the-cuff character introduction. A set-up that quickly spirals from a casual good time into doubt and distress. A panicky climax where the carefully established realism shatters from a confusing confrontation of abnormal forces. Despite an out-of-place CGI effect I’d say Paranormal’s ending is the biggest improvement over Blair Witch’s formula. This and recent releases like Rec and District 9 prove that the “reality TV” shtick still has mileage, so it’s too bad the hand-held treatment is so hard to endure in a long feature. Maybe someone will make the ultimate shaky cam movie in 3D to finally kill both gimmicks.

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