The real phantom here is the idea that the film is the scariest in recent memory

With the groundswell of support that’s spreading Paranormal Activity across the U.S. beyond its paltry initial distribution, the film is clearly going to be the sleeper success of the year. And considering its mockumentary style and subject matter, not to mention to a painfully low budget of $15,000, comparisons to 1999′s Blair Witch are spot-on. Yet whereas Witch was a pretty disturbing affair and took audiences to a different level of cinematic experience, Paranormal Activity does not. The real phantom here is the idea that Paranormal Activity is the scariest film in recent memory, and good enough to deserve one million votes to expand nationwide. It’s not. Activity‘s meager roots make it a solid accomplishment, to be sure, but the film, aside from two choice scenes, is largely pretty boring and lacks the convincing nature that made the Blair Witch so ground-breaking.

The central problem is the two-person cast, Katie and Micah, who play characters of the same name. It’s actually more of a one-person cast, since Micah does the majority of the filming while Katie feigns innocence and unease. The two virgin actors give it their all in attempting to create an air of realism, but you never really believe it; that is, as much as you can in a movie like this. At times, the rough, hand-held shots feel more like screen tests for Katie than genuine footage and reactions. Katie cannot carry the film, and unfortunately she’s the center of practically every scene. Micah doesn’t help the problem, and when he declares, “No one fucks with my girlfriend and gets away with it,” it’s hard not to roll your eyes.

The writing may be worse than the acting. As important as it is for the cast to surface real fear and emotions, the right words and dialogue must pull their own weight. Micah cracking jokes about using the camera for less-than-Christian activities gets old real quick. And Katie getting fed up with her boyfriend’s antics and lamenting how her fear is flat and contrived. If this were not a film that tried so hard to be believable, the jokes and comedy would be a lot more welcome. Micah has a number of solid lines that will definitely have you chuckling. But most people aren’t that funny in the real world, especially when it’s clear that something’s lurking in your house. The dialogue is simply too polished for the events the film is trying to portray.

Over the 99-minute run-time, too, the framework and pacing gets annoying and old. Katie and Micah, believing something haunts their two-floor home, set up a camera rig in their bedroom in the hopes of capturing whatever is causing the bumps in the night. The film is paced by markers, such as “Night #3,” extending all the way to “Night #21.” Part 1 of the pattern involves Katie and Micah retiring to bed, and a clock in the corner of the frame advancing to a late hour when the couple is surely asleep — the perfect time for the ghost to come out to throw keys on the floor or move a door. Part 2 is the morning after and the couple examining the evidence and talking about how creeped out they. As Micah says, “there’s a lot of cool stuff going on.” As the film progresses, the evidence becomes more compelling and the nightly sequences a bit more interesting. It takes a while to get there, however.

The culmination of Paranormal Activity will definitely leave you unsettled, and as with Blair Witch, leaves the most disturbing for last. With all of the modest variables that have brought the film to the theater, it’s hard not to recognize it as at least an accomplishment. But like the creaking in your house or the Boogey Man in your closet, the idea that Paranormal Activity is a landmark scare is just your imagination.