Too scared to sleep

If you're one of those people who use this time of the year as an excuse to watch scary movies, you're in luck. Go see Paranormal Activity. Right now. I'll wait.

Still need more info? Alright. Think of Blair Witch meets Amityville Horror. A man, who reminds me a lot of Ben Stiller, buys a video camera because his girlfriend has been haunted her whole life and now, since they moved in together, he's haunted as well. It starts off a little slow, but builds nightly.

Where's the brilliant part? It's everywhere. For starters, the scary stuff starts out as just weird stuff. The camera hears a noise in the night. The next morning her keys are moved. Nobody's going to run screaming out of the theater, but it is a little unsettling. And the documentary feel is amazing. There's never any distracting music or really anything to make it feel like a film. There aren't any credits at the end either! Nothing even implies that this might be entirely made up.

What amazes me most is that all of the scary parts are labeled for you. Night #3. 2:42 AM. And something creepy happens. More daytime stuff and then Night #5. 4:33 AM. And something somewhat creepier happens. You know it's coming, but you're still scared. I'm not sure if it's because you're waiting for something huge and Hollywood and instead get something eerie but much more subtle, or if it's just the realistic feel the whole thing has.

Just a couple of minor issues. They make a point of setting the alarm every night, but NOTHING sets them off. The house is coming apart at the seams, but the system doesn't seem to think anything's wrong. And the ending, without giving anything away, doesn't fit. That's all I can say, but once you've seen it, you'll understand. I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. And the biggest plothole of all: When your girlfriend tells you about being haunted all of her life, give that girl her walking papers. Don't try to score video evidence of it.