Which Film Is More Overrated: Paranormal Activity Or The Blair Witch Project?

[Mitch Henessey]

Paranormal activity and The Blair Witch project(1999) were two VERY low budget horror films that were able to become phenomenons. Both of these films became very popular, but to tell you the truth, I really don't see what's so great about both of them. Yeah, I get that they were low budget films, and they greatly exceeded expectations, especially when it came to making money.

I believe The Blair Witch Project was better than Paranormal Activity. At least The Blair Witch Project was more well written, and the suspense in this film did kind of keep you on edge. Also, the ending was very creepy.

I seriously don't understand why Paranormal Activity received so much hype and praise. I went into this movie with such high expectations, but I was very disappointed. Paranormal Activity had a solid premise, but It was poorly delivered. A good majority of this movie was boring, and things didn't really pick up until the very end.

So with all of that said, which film do you think is more overrated? The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity?

My pick is going to be Paranormal Activity. As I said earlier, this movie was boring, and the bedroom scenes were just not interesting at all after a while. I wasn't so harsh on this film when I first saw it in theaters, but after I recently watched it a second time, I realized it wasn't any where as near as good or great as critics and others made it out to be.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Blair Witch Project in my mind was not an overrated movie because it was original. It was the first movie I had ever seen where amateur camerawork was actually a part of the movie (Cloverfield, Diary Of The Dead, and many others would start copying this). For a horror story the plot was different, the setting was different, and the little things like the stone circles were different.

Paranormal Activity, on the other hand, is not original in the slightest. Before that movie started to get advertised you could go to Youtube.com and find some weird-ass poltergeist-like videos. Right off the top of my head vids like Ghosts, Spirits, and Demons had millions of views before PA came out, and so did The Pantry Ghost. Paranormal Activity decided to try and make one of these mainstream vids to Hollywood, and the ONLY thing redeeming about it I thought was the end. It was a snoozefest before that.

So, as overrated goes, because of its unoriginality and boring story I have to go with Paranormal Activity.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Both of these films seriously suck. Heck, I wouldn't even call them overrated; I'd just say that they were flat-out terrible films.

The Blair Witch Project ripped off its horror mockumentary premise from Cannibal Holocaust, and it failed to provide ample fodder for the imagination. Seriously, you expect me to be scared over what looks like teeth and blood in a leather sack? Give me more, please! Oh, and this film made me nauseated as sin.

On the other hand, Paranormal Activity provided one scare (the end scene), but it was EXTREMELY boring up until that point. However, unlike The Blair Witch Project, I will be seeing the Paranormal Activity sequel this upcoming Halloween; I think that, with a bit more money (let's say a budget of $250K instead of $15K), the sequel can live up to the potential that the first one had.

 

[Dave]

I disagree with what TDigle said wholeheartedly.

Personally, I couldn't care less if a movie is ripped off from something else. I am not a film expert like a lot of people around here, so that problem has never really befallen me. The one thing that keeps me coming back to movies, is how much I enjoyed them. The same problem exists with wrestling at the moment. I find that if I get too wrapped up in what other people say about things, or try and over-analyse everything, then my mind is already made up by the time I get to the cinema or beyond. I digress, however. Both of these movies had a lot of buzz surrounding them and rightfully so. I recall seeing the Blair Witch Project as a teenager and being moderately scared. The tension was really well done and the scene with all the symbols hanging in the trees and the last scene will always stick with me.

The same goes for Paranormal Activity. Sure, some of the movie could constitute "boring" but I never felt that way. I felt that the tension and suspense in the film was brilliant and I enjoyed all of it. The scenes that the demon appeared fit into the rest of the movie and I would not have enjoyed the movie if it had been all-action like Poltergeist or something. No, I like the way that it came out and I feel that the movie flowed really nicely.

That being said, I have to go with Paranormal Activity for the sole reason that I was a little young to buy into the hype that the Blair Witch Project created at the time of it's release. I liked both movies though.

 

[INDYjon22]

Paranormal Activity was mind numbingly boring for me whereas Blair Witch was boring but definitely kept my attention better. Neither film really did anything at all for me because I am not a believer in ghosts or anything like that but my lack of not believing certainly came through more while watching Paranormal Activity.

The acting was terrible. The direction of the film was lacking, though I will give the directer his props for creating a successful film on what was his first attempt, if I am remembering correctly. The film just did not interest me and I only saw it when a friend let me borrow it.

I didn't find it creepy or scary for the most part, though the ending was a bit unnerving, but Blair Witch did keep me a little more on the edge of my seat. I am more of a traditional slasher kind of guy so that also probably played a role in my distaste for both films.

Moral of the story is that I think Paranormal Activity is more overrated but both films were bad in my eyes.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I disagree with what TDigle said wholeheartedly.

Personally, I couldn't care less if a movie is ripped off from something else. I am not a film expert like a lot of people around here, so that problem has never really befallen me. The one thing that keeps me coming back to movies, is how much I enjoyed them. The same problem exists with wrestling at the moment. I find that if I get too wrapped up in what other people say about things, or try and over-analyse everything, then my mind is already made up by the time I get to the cinema or beyond. I digress, however. Both of these movies had a lot of buzz surrounding them and rightfully so. I recall seeing the Blair Witch Project as a teenager and being moderately scared. The tension was really well done and the scene with all the symbols hanging in the trees and the last scene will always stick with me.

No, The Blair Witch Project sucked major ass. I think the main reason why no one gives a rat's ass about this film anymore is because of the J-Horror movement of the late 90s/early 00s; these films, for the most part, are much more scary, much more tense, and have much more atmosphere than The Blair Witch Project.

If I want to watch something about evil spirits, I'll go watch One Missed Call or Dark Water, or I'll go play a game from the Fatal Frame series.

The same goes for Paranormal Activity. Sure, some of the movie could constitute "boring" but I never felt that way. I felt that the tension and suspense in the film was brilliant and I enjoyed all of it. The scenes that the demon appeared fit into the rest of the movie and I would not have enjoyed the movie if it had been all-action like Poltergeist or something. No, I like the way that it came out and I feel that the movie flowed really nicely.

What demon are you talking about? I saw one evil face, at the end; the rest of the time, I heard shit sound tricks with a subwoofer and saw a lot of uneventful staring that was meant to be creepy (maybe this would have worked if we actually saw the woman's face instead of her just standing there from an aerial POV).

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Paranormal Activity was without question the worst film ever, to fall into any catagory that claims to be "thrilling" and "scary". Let me just re-run down the reasons why.

1. It was suppose to be based off true events. Or was it a true story, even? Yet the DVD has an alternative ending. Seriously, how can something be based off a true story, yet have two alternative endings?

2. The most chilling part of the entire film, was when the guy got tossed into the camera and the film was finally over. Beyond that, it was a lot of sexless nights and random sleep walking in fast forward. I laughed more than I felt spooked.

3. In a tie-in from my second point, a couple was apparently recorded for what - a month? And within this month, they barely have any type of romantic connection, or emotional intimacy. How am I suppose to believe this could even remotely be true - when the so-called "couple" never even seemed or felt like a couple in any manner.

Because of these feelings, I actually describe this movie to several people as "The Blair Witch, in PG format."

Now, as far as the Blair Witch movie.. while it never chilled me, I at least enjoyed the thought of it. All of it being on video recorder was a great touch, but at the same time likely turned most viewers away due to the out of focus views half the time.

At any rate.. Paranormal Activity gets my vote for most overrated.

 

[Ice Cold]

Here, I can take care of this one for you. I've never seen either movie, from what I gathered they were both shit. Neither one looked even remotely interesting to me. I thought the hype surrounding both was just that, which turns out to be true. That should take care of the rest of the discussion.