Paranormal Activity

Okay! Maybe it’s because I was so afraid of being truly traumatized, but this wasn’t quite as scary as I expected! Still had a few jump scares for sure and plenty of slow suspense building, but nothing gory at all or torturous, no violence. There are some small, subtle scary moments that are hard to see from far away (we were front mezz, not even that far) and it’s a dollhouse-style (or simultaneous) set design, which makes it hard to know where to look to catch these few quick creepy moments. Several times I heard the audience around me reacting to something, and I’m scanning everywhere on the stage to figure out what they were seeing. As in many horror movies, there’s plenty of suspense building where very little happens, waiting for either the payoff or the fake-out. It’s quite a straightforward horror plot, ends with a reveal but no big plot twists or even a climax. The first act is better than the second, and features the best single clever moment of stage craft/illusion in the piece, which made the latter act a little underwhelming. For fans of the spooky genre and the film franchise, it’s fun and you might as well check it out with low expectations, for everyone else, you’re not missing too much if you skip this one!