Paranormal Activity

The phenomenon that was 'The Blair Witch Project' is a rarity Hollywood has been dying to replicate since the Little Indie That Could's 1999 release, when it scared up a staggering $140 million -- from a budget of $60,000.

Well, the next 'Blair Witch' may have arrived. (Let's all just pretend the abominable 'Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2' never existed.)

The suddenly super-buzzed-about horror flick 'Paranormal Activity' was made for a mere $11,000 over the course of seven days -- and is now being called "the scariest movie of the decade." The film follows a young couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) who, convinced they're being haunted by spirits, set up a video camera to monitor their bedroom over the course of 20 nights.

After sinking into my seat for the better part of its 99 minute-runtime at a midnight screening earlier this morning, I'm inclined to agree. No other film this millennium has proved so shockingly chilling ('The Descent' comes closest) -- or packed the kind of lingering effects to leave you shaken and utterly terrified of your own home.

Adam Goodman, president of production at Paramount -- who scooped the film up after its 2008 debut at the Slamdance Film Festival -- stopped by last night's screening, the first in New York, to introduce it. Goodman recalled how 35 people had walked out of an early test screening; exit interviews with those folks revealed it wasn't because they weren't enjoying the film. It was because they were too scared.

Goodman also admitted that DreamWorks, formerly a leg of Paramount co-headed by Steven Spielberg, had swooped in and pocketed 'Paranormal Activity' with every intention of leaving it on the shelf and remaking it with a big budget and marquee stars. Then they wised up.

So now here we have an ultra-low budget horror film with incredible buzz positioned to be a sleeper hit. Sounds a little bit like the summer of '99, no?

The similarities to 'Blair Witch' don't stop there. The film plays out entirely through shaky cam, features unknown actors in authentic performances, oftentimes relies on cerebral distress and off-camera jolts to scare, and slowly builds up to a shocking climax.

What the minds behind 'Paranormal' are doing differently is all in the marketing. They're not attempting to convince us this is a true story, a strategy that resulted in big bucks for 'Blair Witch' but a subsequent backlash from angry moviegoers who complained they were duped (but really people, you thought that was real?).

It's almost unheard of for a major studio to acquire such a tiny film. But Paramount is stayed true to the movie's grassroots nature by opening the film first in only 10 (somewhat random) markets, not including major cities like New York and L.A., then calling on audiences to demand it. It's a bold strategy for a major distributor.

Will it repeat the success of 'Blair Witch'? It's too early to tell, but the cards are falling into place -- last night in L.A., for example, 4,500 people lined up to try to get into a special screening. And 'Paranormal Activity' beats out 'Blair Witch' in one vital field: It's scarier. While 'Blair Witch' may have scared people away from the woods for a few years (like 'Jaws' did the water two decades earlier), who's going to stay away from their own bedroom? Consider yourselves warned.

UPDATE (10/6): Currently playing on only 33 screens across the country, the film will open in 10 more markets this weekend -- Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, El Paso, Hampton Roads metro area, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Toronto. Meanwhile, Paramount remains committed to their promise to open the film in every market once they reach 1 million "demands" (they're currently just shy of 400,000).