The State College area is in for a fright when the Premiere Theatre College 9 opens Paranormal Activity, a new horror film that will debut in a free advanced screening tonight at 9.
The film, shot in a Blair Witch-style documentary format, focuses on a young couple who encounter disturbing paranormal forces after moving into a new house.
Tickets for tonight's advanced screening, the only one in Pennsylvania, are available through an e-mail to paranormalactivitypsu@43kix.com. College 9 General Manager Anthony Smith said the theater usually doesn't sell out these types of screenings, and interested viewers can likely attend even if they do not have reserved seats.
Publicist Kate Miller, Class of 2007, said the film will be premiering in college towns across the country, and college-aged audiences may be more interested in the unexplainable nature of the film.
Oren Peli, the film's director, said his film stands out from others in the horror genre because of its realistic nature.
"The main thing that people respond to is ... just the overall realism of it," Peli said. "This is all about what happens at home in your own bed, you know, at home when you're asleep and most vulnerable ... after they watch the movie, they go home and hear little creaks in their house and they become conscious of them and have trouble sleeping."
Ryan Buell, Class of 2006 and founder and director of the Paranormal Research Society, saw the film when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was pleasantly surprised.
"I was really floored by the effects and how raw it is," Buell said. "It has that home-movie feel to it, but the intensity and the fear factor are still very much there."
The Paranormal Research Society has become the subject of A&E show Paranormal State, and Buell is not surprised by the recent interest in paranormal-themed entertainment. The paranormal has always been a topic of fascination for people, probably because of a need to make sense of life, he said.
He was also impressed by how realistic the film felt.
"There's a lot of things in the movie that we've had people claim have happened to them," he said. "The film is an artistic exploration. I can't stand films like the latest Final Destination -- it was solely there to sell movie tickets. This movie was made from the heart. They really cared about making it realistic."
Katie Spilman, an events manager for the Paranormal Research Society, said that although she's "jumpy," she plans on seeing the film.
"I get a thrill out of seeing scary movies," Spilman (senior-public relations) said. "I think I'll enjoy it, and it will be good for the paranormal field. I'm sure I'm going to definitely be scared."
Peli started the film after moving to a new house and hearing strange noises during the night. While he didn't believe he had a ghost, the sounds sparked the idea.
"Just the fact that there were strange things happening and I couldn't explain them logically kind of got me thinking, 'What if I had a video camera and let it run and then if something happened here in the house, maybe I can capture it,' " he said.
While he did not wind up taping his own home, the idea led him to create a narrative about what might have happened.
Peli attributed the film's quality to its focus on story rather than gimmick.
"I've always been a fan of horror movies, but the kind of horror movies that play on your psychology rather than the gore," he said. "You can make a movie that will be scary and creepy even without having to rely on over-the-top special effects."
Peli also said that seeing the film in a theater setting adds to the film's enjoyment and suspense.
"This is the kind of thing that it's more than just a movie -- it's kind of like an experience or an event," he said.
