Paranormal Skills, or Cheap Childhood Thrills?

     Ever since the rise of the notorious and nefarious Blair Witch Project, paranormal films have taken a different filmmaking approach for the big screen. This technique involves the use of a pseudo-documentary take while presenting the shots on screen. One question that arises from this technique is: are these films scary by themselves, or do they rely solely on their presentation? – yes, that may seem like two questions, but it is not.

     As stated previously, the Blair Witch Project was instrumental in the construction of the technique used in some modern paranormal films. The use of a handheld camera giving a pseudo-documentary feel to the film seems to produce a more “realistic” view of the characters and the situations they are involved with. On the other hand, the use of this film technique appears to come off as a cheap scare tactic on par with what children do. That may seem a little harsh, but it is a fair observation.

     Recent films such as the Paranormal Activity franchise, The Fourth Kind, and the newly released The Devil Inside make use of this technique. These films appear to utilize this technique to frighten audiences (on some occasions); however, it is beginning to come across as more of a crutch to lean on in order to scare people. The fact that they display the films as “real” is what ends up giving it the ability to scare people. Some of the scares these films produce consist of nothing more than an individual walking around with a handheld camera, panning to the left, and having a ghostly image appear and disturb the previously silent scene. This is similar to the way you would scare people as a child. You would wait around the corner, and then pop out and say “Boo!” This just comes across as scary because it is with a handheld and appears “real”. They also rely on leaving a handheld camera behind, and watching a series of spooky events unfold while no one is around. Had someone been watching this film if it was produced the way other films were, they may not feel as frightened as they would while watching a handheld camera. Think of some of the scariest films you have seen, and ask why you thought they were so scary. Those films did not try to pretend they were real by just using a cheap scare tactic. They were able to scare you without it.

     This amateur and predictable technique is becoming very cumbersome to put up with. It has served its purpose in the past, but has now worn out its welcome. It is clear that these scripts, actors, and movies in general cannot compete with other films on a level playing field, so they need to take a different filmmaking approach. This is not by any means saying that trying new techniques is bad, however, it is just saying that these films are not up to par with other films, so they need to find workarounds to get on that level. Keep this in mind when watching these films in the future. Try not to let the pseudo-documentary approach catch you off guard and trick you into believing that what you are watching is real.