PARANORMAL ACTIVITY'S ENDING

(NOTE: SPOILERS WILL ONLY APPEAR AFTER THE JUMP)

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is, without a doubt, my favorite horror film of the year. The film took THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (one of my top 10 favorite films) and amped it up to 11. It has such a specific tone that even seeing screenshots of the film brings back the feeling of dread and terror you had during the first viewing. The performances are so natural and realistic, you wish Micah and Katie would break character every once in a while just to remind you this is all a movie. I can't say enough great things about the film.

But I can say, something didn't seem right about the ending. I have since learned multiple endings were shot and some are even available online. I have always believed when a filmmaker shoots multiple endings, something isn't right. Even though PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is one of the freshest, scariest and best films of the year, it's no different. After seeing the film twice and thinking about it long and hard, I've not only learned why the ending didn't work for me, but have learned a powerful lesson about filmmaking. Check it out after the jump.

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS EXTREME SPOILERS FOR PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, AND CLOVERFIELD. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ANY OF THESE FILMS, DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE AND GO SEE THEM. THEY ARE EXCELLENT MOVIES AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THEM YET.

SERIOUSLY...I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY THE ENDING IN THE FIRST SENTENCE, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN PARANORMAL ACTIVITY QUIT READING RIGHT NOW!

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY ends with Katie bending over Micah's dead body, sniffing it demonically and then looking at the camera. After cocking her head sideways like some mad jackal demon thing, her face contorts into the face of her possessor and she lunges forward, attacking the camera and sending the film into darkness. THE END.

This idea is courtesy of the greatest filmmaker of all time Steven Spielberg. No joke. He was running Paramount at the time and saw the film. He thought the original idea was a little slow (which it is) and came up with the one you see in theaters. To his credit, the whole "Micah's body being thrown at the camera" thing is absolutely awesome. It would be way more awesome if I didn't see it 20 times in the trailer before I saw the movie...but that's a different article. Let's get back to what happens after that.

First off, I didn't really like the whole "crawling on all fours and cocking the head at the camera." As crazy as it sounds, it didn't fit the character of the demon. Through out the film, we are slowly introduced to this creature through it's hauntings and possessions. It's a powerful, all seeing being that doesn't mess around. The cocking the head thing only made it seem like some little minion. But I can live with it...

Secondly, the contorted demon face just didn't cut it. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY works so well because it doesn't have ANY effects. By simply slamming doors, making dusty footprints appear, and dragging Katie out of bed, this movie is one of the best looking horror film since THE THING. By bringing in some bad After Effects digital face, they reverted the film 10 years.

But worst of all...the lunging at the camera is what killed it for me. For days, I couldn't understand why this ending bothered me so much. I saw it a second time and thought about it some more until I finally figured out why. When I realized the reason, I learned a powerful lesson about filmmaking and it's something Steven Spielberg apparently doesn't even know.

As a filmmaker, when you cut to black, what you are doing is leaving the rest of the film up to the audience. This is a very big deal. Generally, when an audience has to come up with their own outcome, not only will it be different from person to person, but each person will develop their own ideal ending. The filmmaker doesn't have to come up with an ending, yet everyone leaves the theater happy. In horror films, it's an even BIGGER deal. If the film ends on a scary note and cuts to black, generally the audience thinks of something more horrific and terrifying than anything filmmaker could have given them.

Think about THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. We see Mike standing in the corner...terrifying...then the camera is knocked over, Heather goes silent and the film cuts to black. TERRIFYING! What happened to Heather? Did the witch get her? Did a ghost of the witch get her? Did a cult of people get her? What made Mikey stand in the corner? Was he possessed? Was he unconscious? I don't know! It's terrifying and it works.

Think about CLOVERFIELD. Rob and Beth identify themselves on the tape as bombers can be heard flying over. BOOM! One hits the bridge they're hiding under and the camera falls to the ground. Rob can be heard yelling to Beth, "Look at me! Look at me! I LOVE YOU!" She cries back, "I love you too!" BOOM!!! The camera cuts to black, just before footage of their last date finishes up the tape. EPIC! Can you think of a more epic ending to a monster movie/love story? No you can't. But you are THINKING about what happened...all you SAW were some bricks and dust blocking the shot.

Now let's look at PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Katie cocks her head to the side, turns into a scary demon and then lunges at the camera. Cut to black. What happened? Did she bite the camera really hard and cause it to break? Did she wrestle with it? The only imagies that come to mind are a demon-possessed Katie wrestling the camera like a cat playing with a ball of string. Not too scary.

I know most people don't think about this part of the scene but concentrate on the end titles that read "Katie is still at large." But imagine this. What if Katie cocked her head and smiled, then stood up and slowly walked out the door and down the stairs. Sure it's not as shocking and jumpy. But it is definitely a lot eerier and forces the audience to come up with their own ending.

And as I've learned, if a filmmaker is cutting to black, that's what they must do.