ParanormalActivity

As an unashamed supporter of indie golden-child Paranormal Activity (review), I snagged a copy of the DVD as soon as I could. Lacking even a basic menu screen (the only options you're given are theatrical or original ending) and devoid of anything resembling a special feature, I turned it off halfway through when the picture, which was being viewed on a massive hi-def TV, was so dark I could barely make heads or tails of what was going on. I have yet to watch it again.

This is okay, however, as those fine folks over at Dread Central have brought to my attention a forthcoming UK DVD and Blu-Ray release of the film featuring all those delightful special features we've been aching to see. Not only do we get an exclusive UK-only audio commentary from director Oren Peli, but we also get an exclusive audio commentary for the alternate ending that appeared on my coaster of a DVD.

Although this commentary is sure to be incredibly eye-opening, the final feature seems to me to be the most interesting. When the film was playing in the UK, Icon Home Entertainment sponsored a "Film Your Own Paranormal Activity" Short Film competition, challenging fans to make their own haunting films using the same techniques Peli did to create his massive hit. Although all of the short films can be found on YouTube, the UK edition of the DVD will feature the ten finalists' videos, as well as a video introduction by Oren Peli explaining why the winning video was chosen.

I don't even own a Blu-Ray player, or even a TV, and I'm excited as all Hell about this. Hey, the movie is great, and I will support it until the sun goes out.

The past two weeks created a fever-pitch buzz over who was at fault in the Conan O'Brien/Jay Leno Tonight Show hosting duties feud and how it would all turn out. Well, now that it's over (for the most part, Team Coco still doesn't have a job officially lined up), the collective conscience that is Hollywood must have realized that their was a new void in entertainment rivalries and decided to conjure a new one up. The unfortunate winners/victims? Saw VII (Lionsgate) and Paranormal Activity 2 (Paramount).

Just a few days ago Paramount announced that it would not only be going after the Halloween marketplace with an October 22nd release date, but that it would be hiring Saw VI director Kevin Greutert to direct the (unnecessary) sequel. Lionsgate didn't take too kindly to news that the studio who beat them at the box office last Halloween was posing themselves to do it again this year - and with their latest director, no less - so they decided to exercise an option in Greutert's contract that basically said "It's up to us whether you make your next movie at Lionsgate or not". In case the existence of this post wasn't clue enough, Lionsgate decided to reel him back home.

So the one-time director of Paranormal Activity 2 has just replaced the one-time director of Saw VII (part V's David Hackl) due to the whims of the studio. All of this arrives with principal photography just two weeks away on Saw VII, which really makes Lionsgate look like bad guys in this feud. I'm glad the guy who made the worst Saw film is now off the project (Lionsgate contractually must find him another gig, however), but shuffling/stealing directors a matter of days before production begins on the first 3D Saw film certainly makes it look like there is zero quality control being exercised over there.

Paramount has hired Saw VI director Kevin Greutert and prime time veteran writer Michael R. Perry to create the sequel to last year's indie sensation, Paranormal Activity. Director Oren Peli made the film on a $15,000 budget but it went on to cash in over $150 million worldwide, boasting a clever web marketing campaign. Peli and Jason Blum will continue on with the series as producers and Steven Schneider (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance redux) will serve as executive producer. Ironically, Paranormal Activity 2 will be up against Lionsgate's Saw VII for this year's pre-Halloween weekend. After Saw VI grossed a mere $31 million in 2009, many are left wondering if the franchise is dying and if a Paranormal Activity series may be ready to take its place.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peli is behind the new team stating, "These guys get it, and the fans won't be disappointed." The storyline about a a young couple who battle a malevolent entity after capturing evidence on tape will be kept intact. No word yet if the cast of four will return for the sequel and no clues as to whether or not Greutert will use the same approach as Peli--using unknown actors and setting the story in a singular location. That was part of the beauty of the first film and I'm leery that this aspect will remain.

If all this news sounds familiar, then you're probably thinking of the Blair Witch phenomenon, which fell flat after Artisan Entertainment pushed for a sequel on the coattails of a successful first go-round. Paramount is hoping to do the same after Paranormal Activity by spending $1 million a year to make a dozen or more low budget films, each costing less than $100,000. Peli's hotly anticipated Area 51, now in post-production, won't be part of this schematic as he'll be working with a $5 million budget this time.

I'm not sure if Paranormal Activity's mythology lends itself to another film. Personally, it didn't hold up for me upon repeated viewings and I've been exhausted by the constant coverage of the film, months after its release. I can't help but think this sequel is going to crush the subtlety of the first film and bleed it dry entirely. I have a deep respect for what Peli has done and want to cheer him on but I'm really torn. Where do you stand on things?

Best of the New Releases: Jennifer's Body, Carriers
I had it in for Jennifer's Body before it even came out. Megan Fox put an obvious target on its back, but what really had me steering clear of the flick was the film's initial Red Band trailer. The filmmakers (director Karyn Kusama, writer Diablo Cody, and producer Jason Reitman) attached a note to the release of said trailer stating that the studio didn't want to put out a red band but they knew it was what the horror fans wanted and blahblahblah. Short story shorter, the red band trailer had no nards and looked awkward to boot.

But you know what? I actually kind of dig Jennifer's Body. Not enough to make any kind of formidable stand against the legion of horror fans who think it's dreck, but I do think it is good enough to warrant a curious watch. It's probably the best marriage of role and performance Megan Fox will ever have, Amanda Seyfried is awesome as always, and its got a core female dynamic that's kind of rare in horror. Then again, it's kind of tame in the actual horror department (I doubt the extra four minutes of the unrated version add any teeth), which may make it a chore to suffer through for anyone who can't stand Cody's writing. Still weighs out to be worth a Netflix in my book, though.

I found this year's collection of horror films to be relatively lackluster. In the first incarnation of this list, which was posted on my own personal site, I was only able to come up with nine films I genuinely believe should be on a Best Of... list for the year. My list is similar to Peter's, in a way, as it contains many of the same films, yet one of the films he included (Antichrist) ended up on my Worst Of... list, and I'm still in awe over how he could include the Friday the 13th redux as number one despite his explanation.

This list took some time to compile, and for the sake of conformity, I have added a tenth film. At the end I've included my Worst Of... list just so you can get an idea as to why I'm relentlessly teased for my vastly superior taste in horror films. So without further adieu, my Top 10 Horror Movies of 2009, rewritten and tweaked for Horror Squad.

10. House of the Devil My ex post facto entry to this list, House of the Devil was not an enjoyable film for me. I found it incredibly slow and lacking a sufficient payoff, all while only giving AJ Bowen approximately ten minutes of screen time. So why am I including it on this list? Because Ti West didn't make an homage to an 80's Satanic Panic film, he MADE an 80's Satanic Panic film. House of the Devil captures the look and feel of the time period perfectly, from the way it was filmed to the soundtrack. It is based on that alone that he deserves a spot on this list, even if it's number ten.

Even though I got my start writing about horror by creating a blog called Horror's Not Dead, I don't jive with the idea that good horror is becoming an endangered species. Sure, who is actually making and delivering good horror is always in a state of flux, but considering the sheer crop of films to choose from is constantly on the rise, there will always be gems to found. Now before getting to the list proper, let's explain my own personal criteria for what qualifies as a 2009 film.

Basically, what matters is if the film was given its widest release during the course of the year. For example, despite being first shown publicly years ago, I consider Trick 'r Treat an eligible title, as 2009 finally found it going wide (albeit straight-to-video). Daybreakers, on the other hand, played a few festivals in 2009 but will not have its wide release until 2010. Conversely, most people in America won't see [REC] 2 until 2010 or beyond, but it went wide in its native Spain in 2009, thus it is eligible. Make sense? On to the show!

10. Paranormal Activity
I went back and forth on excluding Paranormal Activity from my Top 10 list because, really, it didn't do much for me in the scare department. I found it pulse pounding to watch for the first time, but it has scarcely popped into my brain since then. However, I do remain in awe of what Oren Peli accomplished with a mere $15,000. I have a lot of respect for the process that goes into engineering any thrill ride, so to speak, so even if it didn't severely impact me, it still commands a placement.

9. Thirst (my review)
Chan-wook Park's Thirst is, hands down, not only the best vampire film of the year, but I'd put it in league with another similarly atypical fang-set film, Let the Right One In. It's not particularly scary, but it is a deft, engrossing blend of lust and violence that gets back to the eroticism of the vampire that no film (or TV show) has properly explored in years. If you're feeling burned out on vampires these days, and that would be perfectly understandable, at least put this in your Must Watch queue simply because it's another brilliant film from the mind of the man who gave the world Oldboy.

Running alongside the Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah this January 21-28 is the 16th annual Slamdance Festival. Out of over 5,000 submissions, 18 films were chosen for the festival run. After the jump check out a selection of the 18 films that may be of interest to horror fans. There's a little something for everyone, including a Cthulhulicious title, a hipster hating serial killer, a backwoods, twisted fairy tale and a Burroughs documentary featuring my boyfriend David Cronenberg. In 2008 the fest screened Oren Peli's indie haunt flick Paranormal Activity which went on to top $100 million at the box office. So there's always hope for little indie turned big money dreams TRAITOR. Just kidding. Now, hit the jump.

IDW Publishing is continuing the online tradition of Paramount Pictures' supernatural blockbuster Paranormal Activity by releasing their first digital-exclusive comic based on the movie. The hunt for the haunt continues with Paranormal Activity: The Search for Katie, A Case Study by Dr. Johann Averys DMN. How's that for a mouthful. Available exclusively at the iTunes App Store, iPhone and iPod touch users will have access to the comic which picks up after the film's cliff-hanger ending and follows a demonologist (Dr. Averys) as he tries to find Katie.

Bloody-Disgusting had the low down about the comic written by Scott Lobdell (X-MEN, Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box) that centers on Dr. Averys and his 'feisty' S.D.P.D. Detective Singh as they investigate the demonic origins of the horrific haunting. Art is being done by Mark Badger (The Gargoyle) and the whole thing is available for only 99 cents.

Paramount is still tossing around ideas for a possible sequel, but for now this will have to suffice. I'm hoping they don't a second film because it's going to be near impossible to garner the same kind of indie attention that made the first film so highly anticipated, resulting in a big blah.

I love Paranormal Activity. It's one of my favorite horror films (for a variety of reasons), yet its absolutely insane success has proven to be a double-edged sword for horror fans. On the one hand, it gives a level of legitimacy not often seen within the horror genre outside of the throngs of fans who live for it. Conversely, it gives The Asylum an opportunity to make another movie.

In the wake of the film Walking Distance changing its name to Experimental Activity, which much like the very existence of The Asylum is nothing more than a shameless attempt to capitalize on the success of others, it would seem the company behind stellar films such as The Day the Earth Stopped and Transmorphers (which may or may not be better than the film it's emulating) has decided to make their own adaptation of Oren Peli's smash hit, known simply as Paranormal Entity.

Those wonderful folks over at Quiet Earth even got a look at the poster and revealed a brief synopsis for the "mockbustermentary" (my word, not theirs):

"Actual found videotape footage of the 2008 "murders" of the Finley family."

Short and sweet. The film will pollute video stores on December 29th of this year.

Oren Peli is having the greatest Friday the 13th of his life. We all love the shifting Holiday, but none of us can be as happy to greet today as the director of Paranormal Activity, whose film will be hurtling over the $100 million threshold at some point today, which, like his film, is simultaneously believable and unbelievable. I can clearly see why it has dominated at the box office, but I don't think anyone involved with the film (either before or after it was bought) prophesied how monumentally successful it would become.

But I'm not here to tell you once again that you should go see Paranormal Activity, you've already heard that a thousand times over. I would, however, like to use this time to give Oren Peli a standing ovation by putting things a little further into perspective. Within another week, PA will have grossed more money than the cumulative totals of Halloween II, The Uninvited, The Stepfather, and Saw VI. Their combined budgets? Approximately $60 million. If that doesn't show a little innovation goes a long way, I don't know what does.

Even more amazing? Once Paranormal Activity opens internationally, it could potentially earn more money than it cost to produce every single other theatrical horror movie released in the US combined, which by my estimate is around the $170-180 million mark. If that happens, and I am positive it will, I hope that Paramount gives everyone involved with making this film a bonus worth more than any amount of money I'll ever see. Sure, being the most profitable movie all time is a nice feather in your cap, but costing only $15,000 and making more money than the combined budgets of every single other American horror movie of the year? I don't even know what to say to that. It just makes me want to throw my hands up in the air in defeat.

My hat is off to you, Mr. Peli.