Katie (Katie Featherston) has been haunted by a presence since she was a child. Her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat) buys an expensive camera to film their house, especially their bedroom at night. Micah treats it as a game; Katie is genuinely frightened.
The film is mostly long, still shots of the couple sleeping, with a timestamp running in the corner. You find yourself scanning every inch of the frame for movement. When something happens, a door moving or a sound in the hall, it feels huge.
The leads are natural and believable, though Micah's arrogance is frustrating. The tension builds slowly over several nights until it becomes almost unbearable.
It is very slow, and some viewers find nothing happens. But in a dark room, with the sound up, Paranormal Activity can be truly terrifying.
