The 31 Days of Horror, Day Eighteen- PA triple feature!

Love them or hate them, the Paranormal Activity series delivers what few films these days seem to be able to; genuine scares.

The premise is brilliant, and it sells itself; ghosts run around the house while you're sleeping, and they're going to get you. Who hasn't been laying in bed in the dead of night, and heard an unexplainable noise? You freeze and hold your breath, listening for another noise to confirm your fears, or you jump up and search the house, turning every light on as you go, praying it was the cat or something.

Either way, it's unsettling, and that's why these movies work.

Paranormal Boob-tivity.

Paranormal Activity is one we loved way back when it first hit the scene, in 2007 if I'm remembering right. It played a few screenings and then sat on a shelf somewhere before it got an actual release two years later in 2009. It's a good old fashioned creep-fest, and we love it. Mostly

Watching it again, I had forgotten what a whiny, cock-sure doucher that Micah was. It was annoying having to sit through 80+ minutes of him acting all aloof and in control, when he was really just making things worse with his fratboy-like  actions. Did he expect to fist fight this demon into submission? I don't know.

Aside from that though, PA delivers some genuine terror and a ton of tension.

There are three endings to the first PA movie out there, and having seen them all, I have to say I like the one that isn't available to own. You can download it, I'm sure, but that'd be naughty, wouldn't it?
The third ending we're talking about is the one where the cops show up. It's our fave.

Worst babysitter ever.

Paranormal Activity 2 is a hell of a sequel. I don't get genuinely freaked out by movies much anymore, but when I was watching this one, I had to pause it and take a minute. Seriously. Maybe I was just overly susceptible that night or something, but it made me cry for my momma! Figuratively, not literally.

PA2 tells the story of Katie and her sister Kristi, and their ordeal with the demon from the first movie. It takes place before the first one does, chronologically, and so it kinda sets up the previous movie, while offering up all kinds of new scares.

This is our favorite of the trilogy, mainly because it creeped us out the most. The ending of PA2 basically sets up the events of the just released (TODAY!) PA4, which is the direct sequel. PA3 was more of a prequel. Ugh.

Aren't they frigging adorable?

PA3 was a fun one, and although the ending came out of nowhere and still has me asking myself if I liked the direction that it took, it was an admirable entry into this creepy series.

PA3 goes back in time and shows Katie and Kristi as little girls, and how the whole demon thing started. Aesthetically, it's pretty much the exact same thing as parts 1 & 2 were, but like those two, it's still effective.

There were a couple of moments in the movie that had us jumping out of our seats, my personal favorite being the gag with the sheet and the stuff in the kitchen. Pants were definitely shat.

A solid flick, but that ending though... I though it was interesting, but it felt almost forced, both on us and into the film itself. Like I said, I'm still really mixed on my feelings about the last few scenes, but it doesn't make the movie any less enjoyable for me.

If nothing else, the Paranormal Activity series has given us a couple of Hotties to admire. In the movies they're sisters, but in real life I like to pretend they're only step-sisters, that way if a tickle fight breaks out and leads to something more, it's not skeevy.

It always starts with a tickle fight, folks. Always.