The limited midnight release of "Paranormal Activity" at the AMC Mission Valley Theaters tonight through Saturday gives new meaning to the notion of movies on demand. The film is being marketed by Paramount Pictures through college midnight screenings and a website that allows those who are in cities where the movie is not playing to "demand" that it be shown there. You can listen to our discussion of the film from the September Film Club.
So apparently enough San Diegans "demanded" the film and "Paranormal Activity" is at least guaranteed a run this weekend with the potential to play again next weekend and possibly even open wide after that. The hope is that all the Internet buzz will translate into sold out screenings, mimicking the way "The Blair Witch Project" found it's way from obscurity to cultural phenomenon back in 1999.
"Paranormal Activity" looks to a young couple middle class couple that wants to try and document what they think is a ghost or haunting of their home. So they set up a camera and the film, like "Blair Witch," employs the "found footage" premise. Directed, written and produced by a local San Diegan, Oren Peli, the horror thriller stars Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat.
According to a Paramount press release, the film has been "Called 'one of the scariest movies of all time' by Bloody-Disgusting.com, 'Paranormal Activity' played to sold-out crowds in exclusive midnight showings in cities across the country this past weekend, with fans driving great distances to be among the first to see the film in their town. Tickets for the existing 12-markets are quickly selling out."
I checked out the traile (you can watch it for yourself above) and it looked pretty hokey. But then I've been through divorce and I have a teenage son so it takes a lot to scare me. But I love horror and I'm eager to see the film because there's nothing more fun than a good scare at the movies. So here's hoping it lives up to the hype.
