Let’s sit and listen.
Wouldn’t be a party without vomit inducing shaky cam, right?
We follow a paranormal investigator (hence the title) who is looking into a case of possession after some idiots playing around with a Ouija board get haunted. Aside from the initial footage, the film is in a docu-horror style, which has become a bit of a trend lately. I kind of enjoy these movies as they can do a lot with a little.
Our investigator takes the title quite seriously, and we get little about him or his motivations. He comes off as professional, which is nice, but lacks the inherent charisma needed for these sorts of shows. Now, if this wasn’t found footage and we were following an investigator who doesn’t film everything it would be better as the personality wouldn’t be as important. Andrei isn’t unlikable, but he isn’t dynamic either.
Overall, this is a trope heavy horror film. We have the cursed Ouija board, 3:00 A.M. activity, and cameras all over the house. There isn’t a lot here to break this film away from the mold of Paranormal Activity or the hundreds of other spinoffs. The similarities this film shares with other recent horror films will ultimately be a blessing and a curse. Fans of this new subgenre will probably enjoy it well enough, but due to its genre trappings it is doomed to mediocrity.
The film paces itself well enough to keep you interested. I could see some say it is boring, but I think this only happens in the second half. As the possession worsens it also gets a bit weirder. As Dylan (the possessed young man) starts acting like a Nazi it is hard not to laugh at some of the situations.
The film wears its inspirations on its shoulders, and this does make for a somewhat fun viewing of “hey I recognize that.” It is hard for me to call it an absolute failure as I watched the whole thing without having to take a break and resist the urge to turn it off (something that happens frequently with bad horror movies) so I guess this one is okay?
Paranormal Investigation is just kind of there. It is a horror movie that has influences from just about every other horror movie in it, and nothing too original. (Though Nazi ghosts might be a new one, but novel isn’t always good…) I suppose there are worse things to watch. Give this one a go if you’re starving for a docu-horror, but don’t expect anything special. Predictable and familiar are the two terms that describe this film.
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