Paranormal Activity: Did Hype Kill the Video Star?
Op-Ed by Marc Patterson
Two weeks ago Paranormal Activity reached its goal of attaining 1 million “Demands” from people across the US who wanted to see this film theatrically. As a result, This weekend Paranormal Activity opened to theaters across the country and perhaps what is most shocking is the backlash the film is receiving in some horror circles.
An undeniable and quite incredible amount of hype surrounded the film from its earliest showings where audiences seemed to be quite literally freaked out of their minds. Our own writer, Kayley Viteo, covering the premiere of the film from Fantastic Fest in Austin TX wrote that the film “left me unnerved, jumpy, and generally tense”, calling it “a seriously scary film”. Many others in attendance at that showing went on to mirror similar sentiments within their own respective reviews and criticisms.
So the question becomes, what happened between the point of initial audience reception and this wide release? Is this backlash simply a case of minor differing opinions over what has managed to become this years biggest horror hit film, or did hype really kill this video star?
There is of course the question as to whether Paramount would have held the film back if they didn’t get the 1 million “demands” by Halloween. I’m no dummy, and neither are most of you. Dropping the film into wide release two weeks before Halloween and saying it’s because fans “demanded” it gave Paranormal Activity an unprecedented marketing blitz not seen before, and certainly gave some folks a warm-fuzzy feeling that they helped make it happen.
But the early reviews guaranteed Paranormal Activity to be a slam-dunk with theatergoers, especially around the holiday season where fans, and casual cinemagoers, are looking for a good scare. To offer up audiences something original, (as opposed to another mediocre SAW film) and a Hollywood “Cinderella story” to boot, could only help matters. So was the whole “Demand It” campaign even necessary? And further, did the “Demand-It” campaign do more harm than good? For a film that has been repeatedly called “the next Blair Witch” it certainly has yet to top the sheer genius level of marketing that went behind releasing that now classic horror film. While helping to make an underdog horror film an overnight success is a damn good feeling, there’s something inherently stomach churning about watching Mario Lopez’s dimpled perma-grin talk about it like he just popped his first boner. And that folks, may be hitting the proverbial nail on the head. When a film has achieved this level of hype, it doesn’t matter how good it really is, it just can’t deliver to the level of expectation.
I’m sure Paramount isn’t concerned with such trivial affairs. For a film that was made on less than $15,000 Paranormal Activity was a sure-fire win before opening day. Box office revenue is all gravy, and director Oren Peli is already hard to work on his next film Area 51. So not to be flippant to the fans, but from a studio’s perspective, who really cares about a handful of dismissive fans? Maybe Paramount did the film the ultimate disservice by allowing such a slow build of hype that the bubble literally burst before the first framed rolled. But maybe it just doesn’t matter. And perhaps, none of this prattling matters, because no film is made for everyone, and you’re always going to get some strong opinions for and against the film, no matter whether there’s hype or not. Ultimately, the bottom line is horror has something to talk about again aside from grinding on the latest buffoonish remake, or pissing on yet another needless sequel. And for that I can sit back and enjoy the conversation.
