Oren Peli hopes so. His new movie is about to hit the screen, and it is being touted as one of the scariest movies of all time. In the screenings, people left the theater literally shaking. Will you go see it? I'm not a scary movie fan, so I may just sit this one out. In fact, I think the last scary movie I went to was The Ring, and my daughter had to drag me to that. Didn't sleep very well afterwards I might add. No, I think if I want to see ghosts on the screen, I'll stick to one of the ghosty reality shows scattered across TV Land.
Speaking of TV Land, judging by the pure number of these paranormal shows, people can't seem to get enough of them. Almost every channel has a ghost or paranormal themed show, like Medium, Paranormal State, and Ghost Hunters. Ghost Whisperer begins it's 5th season this year. Why the sudden interest? Surely it's not ALL about Jessica Love Hewitt....is it?
Maybe (unlike the trailer you watched above, which is pure fiction by the way) - the television shows have a hint of truth in them? And perhaps that is why people are interested? They want to discover for themselves if this phenomenon is real. For instance the show Medium is actually based on the real life medium, Alisson DuBois. For the skeptics, the real Allison has been extensively tested by a number of different investigation teams in scientific conditions and in controlled laboratory examinations, all of which proved her psychic abilities - and with extraordinary results.
While popular mediums such as John Edward and James Van Praagh claim they communicate with spirits that have already crossed over ( or "gone into the light") , Mary Ann Winkowski says she can only talk with ghosts stuck on this plane. Her ability helps these wayward spirits find their way to the other side. Mary Ann's ability became the inspiration for CBS's The Ghost Whisperer.
Whether we believe, or not - apparently sometimes we just like to get the crap scared out of us, which is why the new movie Paranormal Activity will do just fine. Here's some interesting trivia, the film was shot in Peli's own bedroom, in 7 days, on an $11,000 budget, with a crew of 3 and a minicam. So far is has opened in a few selected cities.
And the scariest movies of all time?
In no particular order:
Psycho
Rosemary's Baby
Halloween
Nightmare on Elm Street
Jaws
Silence of the Lambs
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Exorcist
The Shining
John Carpenter's The Thing
Alien
Poltergeist
Poltergeist.
Now here's a classic. This movie seriously freaked me out. It was only rated PG so I never thought it would be THAT scary. Was I wrong. In the beginning it was really cool with the balancing chairs and all the ghosty parlor tricks, but when it came down to the end, that darned tree.....and the swimming pool scene? Nope! Just can't do it. I cannot, and have not watched it again. Ever. Call me a wimp, that's ok.
Ok, here's a side note.
While I'm writing this - I am learning there was, shall we say, "a history" in making these movies, Poltergeist I, II and III. Some actually say the show was cursed. Real paranormal activity? Making a movie about Poltergeists? Who'd have thunkit.
Here's some Poltergeist trivia - I'll let you decide what you believe.
Dominique Dunn who played Dana Freeling, the oldest teenage daughter, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, just nineteen days before her 23rd birthday.
Oliver Robins played Dana's younger brother, Robbie Freeling. While filming the scene where the clown doll comes alive and tries to pull him under his bed, Oliver actually did go through a near-death experience. When the puppet arms wrapped themselves around his neck, he was unable to breathe and began choking. Steven Spielberg thought he was acting (he even yelled "Keep going! You're doing great!"). It was not until Spielberg saw his face turn blue that he realized the young actor was in trouble. Spielberg ran over and pulled the puppet off, saving Oliver's life.
Heather O'Rourke played the youngest daughter Carol Ann Freeling. "They're Here." During the filming of Poltergeist III, she suffered flu-like symptoms. The symptoms were a result of congenital intestinal blockage, which ultimately claimed her life. She died while on hiatus from filming PIII, her final movie, which is dedicated to her memory. She was replaced with a blonde stand-in.
Zelda Rubinstein played the tiny little psychic - Tangina. During the filming of Poltergeist III, she was doing a photo shoot when she paused and lurched. Director Gary Sherman was present and asked her what was wrong, she responded with a comment like "I don't know, was just a jolt. I'm fine." Several minutes later Sherman was pulled aside and told they would have to let Rubenstein go from the film -- her mother had just died. After developing the film from the photo shoot, it was discovered that every photo had come out fine, except one, which had an inexplicable cloud of light clouding into the photo from Rubenstein's left, covering half of her with a semi-transparent haze.
Real Corpses There was a scene when Actress JoBeth Williams slid into the swimming pool, searching for Carol Ann. Apparently the whole development was built on an existing graveyard, so we see corpses bobbing up from the bottom of the pool. Those were real skeletons. It was cheaper to buy real skeletons that to have them made. True story. Look it up.
Paranormal? Ghosts? Corpses? Curses? I think I'll just switch back to Scooby Doo. I can handle him.
