An actually scary movie coming out just in time for Halloween. What a concept! The story behind Oren Peli’s 2007 zero-budget chiller, only now making its way into theaters, is almost as interesting as the movie itself. The whole thing started as a short extended to feature length and shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and then brought to the attention of Steven Spielberg, who was freak out by it. So now it hits the big screen, and audiences looking for a scare will wanna check it out. It’s presented as found footage of a mysterious case involving a young couple in San Diego with a bit of a supernatural problem. Katie (Katie Featherston) is plagued by frightening visions of a demon trying to, er, drag her to hell, while her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat), who is documenting the events with his new camera, is at first skeptical. But then doors start opening and shutting by themselves, heavy footsteps are heard in the middle of the night, and growling sounds start talking back to the characters. Given the very low budget, no special effects were available, which meant the filmmakers had to rely on their creativity to creep us out. And oh boy, do they succeed. The audience I saw it with (at a midnight show, the ideal time) screamed right when they were supposed to scream. It’s been predictably compared to The Blair Witch Project, but Paranormal Activity deserves its own place in the realm of do-it-yourself horror.