Am I the Last One to See Paranormal Activity?

I've heard a lot about this movie, but my ears were closed.  I have lost faith in the film industry, truth be told, particularly concerning horror films.  Could be I'm getting older, or could be the crap that comes out today just isn't as good as the crap of yester-year, and the gems are few and far between.  Not sure, but I'm a sucker for old B movies a la Roger Corman, Ted V. Mikels, Mario Bava, HG Lewis, and so many others, and it seems that when I watch something "low budget" these days, it really stinks!  With movies like Creepshow 3 I have to wonder if low-budget filmmakers are even trying anymore.

But that's a tangent and a topic for another post.

I finally watched Paranormal Activity the other night--spoilers to follow, for those who have not seen this film yet.  I thought it was a good movie, though I think they really botched up a few parts, considering the fact that they were going for the this-is-real-and-not-a-movie bit like in Cannibal Holocaust and the atrocious Blair Witch Project.  The Ouija board catching fire was ridiculous, and so was the photo in the attic.  Totally killed the "reality" vibe of the movie.  There were also a few bits of dialogue that sounded so completely unrealistic that I had to wonder why they didn't use a different take.  When conversation sounds like a bad TV commercial it's hard to suspend one's disbelief.  The ending was awful as well--the theatrical ending.  I also watched the alternate ending and I think if they took the beginning of the theatrical ending and the second part of the alternate ending, that would have been frightening and shocking and left the audience wide-eyed and breathless.  The woman crawling on the floor like an animal was just plain out stupid.

But...other than those minor gripes, I thought the film was pretty good.  I give it a solid 4/5 stars.

I don't think I'll watch the sequel.  There was no other reason than a cash-in to make a sequel.  In fact, I would like filmmakers to stop making sequels when a film is successful for the sole purpose of "cashing in".  Sequels are to continue telling the story, not to re-hash it for profit.  But I'm not holding my breath.