Baby Babble: Some Quick Pregame Thoughts on Paranormal Activity 3

Will the latest film in the still youthful Paranormal Activity franchise be able to replicate what its predecessors have done in the past? With less than 10 days left before Paranormal Activity 3 receives its major theatrical release across the country, I wonder if there will be enough audience interest to once again generate Activity at the box office, while also delivering something of worth. Personally, I really enjoyed both the first and second Paranormal films; however, I am weary about this prequel to a prequel where we already know the children will be safe.

Based off what I have seen in the trailers and TV spots and what I know of the story, I believe the chances that lightning will strike 3 times is pretty low. I love the idea, aesthetically, of an '80s period piece told through the home video technology of the time. On the other hand, outside of the date and time code, I don't see any real indication that a retro look has been fitted to this film. Moreover (and this is me being nitpicky), who the fuck could afford more than one video camera in the '80s, let alone multiple?!

As for the fear factor, there are some superbly creepy moments strewn throughout the trailers thus far, but unfortunately, there are also some moments that look way too big and overly manufactured for a Paranormal Activity film. In that sense, this is a sequel, so I suppose the ante must be upped, the scares bigger and all that stereotypical sequel jazz that comes with a sequel. 

The mathematical chances that Paranormal Activity 3 will be able to deliver some good scares and another story that isn't completely derivative is fairly low. In all fairness though, I was quite weary of the PA2, and I ended up enjoying that film quite a bit due to the smart direction the story took and a few likeable characters (specifically the character of Ali). Regardless of my skepticism for PA3, having Christopher B. Landon return as the writer and the team behind last years fantastic documentary, Catfish, are certainly promising pieces of this equation.

In the end, all of these pregame thoughts mean very little when it comes to the final product (I just like to read myself write), which will not be revealed to me until I make my way to the theater and see the film for myself.

The 2010 Horror Box Office

2010 played out as a year where studios cashed in on the box office draw of the horror genre based off the previous year's numbers. There were quite a few horror films that made their way into theaters in 2009, and overall the numbers were not too bad as far as performance goes, which reflects greatly on 2010 where there were even more cinematic horror releases for moviegoers to choose from.

As was the case with 2009, the horror seemed to come in droves. With an overload of bloody releases coming in the months of August, September and October, the horror genre was once again competing with itself. Still, there were a few genre films that made an impact, however, the non-sequel/non-remake movie presence could have been better on the higher grossing end of the spectrum, but remakes weren't exactly the biggest splash this past year, either. Alright, lets take a loot at the (domestic) numbers and positions for the films that made an impact at the box office in 2010. 

Unsurprisingly, at the number 4 spot, Twilight Saga: Eclipse simply pulled in straight cash, homey, with over 350 million bucks. As much as people will cry about it not being "their" type of horror, it's still a vampire story, which makes it something that shouldn't be ignored in this situation. The previous Twilight film also came in at number four in 2009 but made under 300 million at the box office, so it looks like the Saga will continue to grow, despite the discontent for it by so many.

Balancing out the Twilight scales a little bit was Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, which pulled in at a solid number 16 for 2010. Regardless of some genre fans debating its validity as a horror film, Shutter Island was able to scare up a nice chunk of change with 128 million dollars. This is something that reflects upon the fact that there is still an audience eager for something original and made with some sort of respect to their intelligence.     

In what I would have never expected, the number 34 film, Paranormal Activity 2, did very well at the box office with a gross of over 84 million dollars. I also never expected it to be any good, either, but the general consensus with horror fans was that it was a solid sequel to a film that didn't really need a part two attached. Either way - no matter what the fans thought - even if the budget was much higher than that of the first film, it still made all that dough with a measly cost of 3 million bucks. So I think it's safe to say we can keep a look out for PA3 next October. You heard it hear first! Or probably somewhere else, but I'll just pretend like I broke the story.

Sleepwalking in at number 46, A Nightmare On Elm Street received harsh criticism from most horror fans and critics alike. I know it's that negative talk that has kept me from taking a chance and seeing the film yet (but it is inevitable), and I think that word of mouth spread to box office as the film only dreamt up a measly 63 million dollars. In comparison to its 35 million dollar production budget, it's a modest hit, sure, but I think the return of Freddy was expected to be a lot bigger than it was.  

After a long and difficult road to the big screen, The Wolfman won over more horror fans than I think most people would have ever expected. However, sitting not so pretty at number 48, with an intake of 61 million dollars, the film didn't do so hot. Especially in comparison to an estimated budget of 150 MILLION BUCKS! Train wreck, indeed. Taking the 50th spot in 2010 was the never say die franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife, which I think might still have a long afterlife with a 60 million dollar domestic run. Now, that doesn't sound great since it had a 60 million dollar budget, but with a worldwide gross of over 233 million bucks, it's a sure bet that Alice isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The mostly welcome non-vs. Predators did modestly pulling in 62 million to nab the number 62 spot for the year, which isn't too bad when compared to the 40 million dollar budget the movie movie was made for. And with the addition of a new dimension and the possibility of it being the final film in the franchise, Saw 3D came back from 2009's poor showing, bringing in almost 46 million dollars (more than double the 20 million dollar production cost) to take the 66 spot.

Hitting the final stretch at 72, The Last Exorcism showed a strong presence with a 41 million dollar intake. The film was budgeted at less than 2 million, so there's really nothing but upswing there for both the cash generated as well as for lower-budgeted horror. Box office intake-to-budget factored in for both the 74 and 75 spots, Legion and The Crazies. The former pulled in 40 million over its 26 million dollar budget, with the latter hitting just under 40 million with a budget of 20.

There were plenty of other theatrical horror films that came out in 2010, but they, unfortunately, did jack shit when it came to nabbing any sort of audience. When I did this look back in 2009, the (higher end) horror box office had seven original films, three sequels and only two remakes. In 2010, we had three original films, five sequels (Predators being a sequel, in my correct opinion *wink-wink*) and three remakes. I can't say if it looks much better than it did last year as the remakes all didn't do the greatest, but there were a handful of original films that couldn't even make the cut in 2010. Sequels, on the other hand, may have showed just why they will always be a part of our lives, which is okay with me. Kind of. It'll be interesting to see what 2011 brings us (more sequels), and hopefully what it does bring is a few quality horror films for us to look back on in a year from now.

The 2009 Horror Box Office

There was an incredibly strong presence of horror in theaters this year, in fact, there was almost too many at one point. Late in July, Orphan and The Collector came out, followed by The Perfect Getaway in the beginning of August, then, on the same exact day, The Final Destination and Halloween 2 (or H2 if you're hip to be square) went head-to-head in a battle to end all battles (okay, maybe not end all)! By time we got to September, with even more films like Sorority Row, Pandorum, Whiteout, and Jennifer's Body, the horror market was flooded and nobody gave a shit anymore. I try and see as many horror films as I can theatrically, as long as their horror films that are appealing and promising, but there's no way you can be successful in a genre with such an overkill. We can't afford it! At least I can't and if you can, then good on ya...and give me some loot sucka!

Still, even with that said, horror also had a decent presence at the box office this year too and while we're not talking top of the box office numbers, we are looking at how much money some of these films brought in. A movie can pull in $40 million and look like a near flop, but if the budget is only $15 to $20 million, well, you can call that a minor success. This is that case with most of the horror genre as is the case with many of the releases I am going over here today. These are the movies that made some bank, whether it be a whole lot, or just enough to keep some dignity and presence. *Note all these figures are time sensitive and as updated as I freaking feel like, okay?! Oh, and they're domestic. Oh-oh, and fahkin Avatar makes all this just that much more difficult*

I'd be iniquitous if I didn't start at one of the highest grossing films of the year...and since I have never seen any of these films, I won't waste anytime taking unfair shots at them, but they are a part of the horror genre (maybe not yours or mine), whether some would like to admit it or not. The 4th highest grossing horror film of '09 was The Twilight Saga: New Moon with $$280,924,000 and still going. No real surprise and with figures like that, no need to even bother comparing them to the budget - these films make bank and bubblegum that you can buy at FYE.

Now while New Moon was the highest grossing horror release of the year, the most successful film of the year, period, was Paranormal Activity, which came in at number 27 with a whopping $107,735,000. Compare that number to a budget of $15 thousand and you have the second coming of Blair Witch. This would be the best thing for horror in many ways and the worst thing too. These numbers really show what can be done with some drive and passion, but the imitations are sure to come, with plenty of Hollywood bullery (is that a word?) putting in their two unnecessary cents. However, Paranormal Activity being more than a few years old is from the Blair Witch influence if you ask me, as well as Cloverfield, [REC], and all the other handy cam films of late, so I think Blair Witch's shadow is long looming and maybe imitation isn't such a bad thing after all.

In what was a bit of a surprise, Zombieland landed at the number 38 spot with $75,590,286. Compared to a $23.6 million dollar budget, the film was very successful, in a time when most people are so tired of Zombie films - especially ones going the comedic route. I liked the film and am very happy that it did well - in fact, it did well enough that a sequel is already in the works. Zombieland barely nudged out the 39th most highest grossing film of the year, which was Coraline and its gross of $75,286,229. Not really a horror movie you say? Well, it isn't, but it comes pretty darned close and Coraline was one of the darkest children's animation films I have seen in quite some time. Unfortunately, the numbers for the film aren't so good when compared to its $60 million dollar budget, but it did okay at least.

The Final Destination flew in and landed at number 46 with $66,477,700 and with a budget of $40 million; this is a franchise that has really showed up with every release. What's more impressive, is this came out directly against Zombie's H2 and completely slaughtered it at the box office, which if you've seen H2, it shouldn't be a surprise. At 49, every ones favorite remake, Friday the 13th slashed it's way in with $65,002,019 against a $19 million dollar budget. More than enough to reignite the franchise, which received very mixed reviews from horror fans. I personally liked it...enough.

All right, I'm gonna speed this up - things are getting repetitive and you probably aren't even reading anymore...and if you aren't, then I'm taking you off my booty call list. Maybe. Alrighty, The Haunting in Connecticut with $55,389,516 came in at 55 overall, but no clue what the budget was since it's not available anywhere. Strange?! A nice surprise was My Bloody Valentine 3-D doing $51,545,952 to its budget of $15 million and taking the 59 spot. Even with a hottie swap, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans took the 63rd place with an okay $45,802,315 compared to $35 mil budget. While The Unborn only did decent numbers wise with $42,670,410, in comparison to its $16 million budget, it actually did pretty darned good and took the 66th spot.

And finally, capping things off at the lower end of success, the 67 and 69 (Dude!) spots were filled by fan favorites Drag Me to Hell with $42,100,625 against a $30 million budget and Orphan with $41,596,251. No budget available for Orphan either, but I cannot imagine it costing more than $30 million. Considering that Drag Me to Hell was out of theaters faster than you can say, "This isn't Spider Man" it actually did quite well. Imagine if it had just a few more weeks... Orphan, on the other hand, was near death its entire run, but had a bit of staying power with positive word of mouth and steady numbers, which were just enough to keep it afloat.

So, there you have it, the year in horror from a theatrical standpoint. By the numbers there are seven original films, three sequels, and only two remakes in this batch, so that shows some progress towards seeing some original genre releases in theaters. I personally saw six of these films and liked all six, so I am batting a 1000 in that department and that is a testament that all hope will never be lost, no matter how powerful the fad. Hopefully 2010 will bring even better horror films for us to go and spend way too much money on and right off the bat we are getting Case 39 on January 1st, followed by Daybreakers on the 8th and Legion on the 22nd (though I doubt that will go wide, unlike your mom). Not a bad way to start the New Year at all. Of course, I would love to hear your take on the 2009 year in horror and whether or not you were satisfied by what was to be seen in theaters. That is if you read this far - if you did, then thank you for being a freind!

David VS Goliath

How fitting is it that a horror film with a budget estimated somewhere between $11-15 thousand dollars would be the movie to knock off the almighty Saw? Paranormal Activity came in first place this weekend with a solid $22 million in what is essentially its fifth week. Saw VI "saw" very little in terms of business for an opening weekend with $14.8 million (and played in over 1,000 theaters more than P.A.), only barely beating out Where the Wild Things Are which took in $14.4. I am not a fan of the Saw films and I admittedly have not given the entire series much of a chance outside of the first film and about half of the the third movie, but it's just not my thing. So, I am thrilled that an independent film, made for peanuts, was the one to take Halloween back from the franchise that is as far as you can get from the Halloween spirit in my eyes.

Even more impressive is the difficult road that Paranormal Activity has navigated to get to where it is today. I remember seeing trailers for it way back in late 2007 when Paranormal Activity was grouped in with a slew of other handheld horror films like Cloverfield, Diarrhea of the Dead, [REC], and the still yet to be released, The Poughkeepsie Tapes. I was excited for all of these films, and two out of the three that were released really delivered for me...but still, Paranormal Activity, the one I wanted to see the most, was nowhere to be found.

This homemade horror film was almost an unfortunate remake victim partially due to Steven Spielberg loving it after he had gotten his hands on a copy through DreamWorks (Spielberg also thought the film was haunted...dork.). After a strong showing at a screening the original film was set to be released in 2008, but issues with DreamWorks and Paramount yet again halted the release of the film. And finally, about a month ago, the movie was released in a very limited amount of theaters with the whole Demand It! marketing strategy that eventually got the film released in more and more theaters. The more theaters it got in, the better Paranormal Activity performed at the box office, the better it performed, the more theaters it got into. Until now, where the film is released wide and beating fucking Saw VI on its opening weekend, on its own turf nonetheless.

I may come off as bashing Saw, and I kind of am, but I'm just so tired of so many formidable movies getting left on the back burner, while another Saw film comes out and is successful. Successful because of the lack of head to head competition the Saw films have had by other horror movies the past five Halloweens. I'm completely over the annoying, and ridiculously terrible commercials stating "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw!" That's not the Halloween I celebrate, Mr. Man! It's almost poetic that Paranormal Activity would travel the long and difficult path it has to make it to where it is now, being the number one film in the country just before Halloween. Until a few days ago, the nearest theater that was playing Paranormal Activity was an hour and a half away - now with its strong box office showing, it is playing at a theater much closer, still 45 minutes from home, but I'll take it.

We only have ourselves to blame

The stars have once again aligned - to hopefully create a horror film worth checking out in theaters. On August 7th, A Perfect Getaway will be released in theaters across the country, and I must say, I’m pretty excited for it. It’s the second movie in a month’s time that is horror, not a remake or something along those lines, and doesn't look like it will completely blow. I dig the trailer as it looks quite promising, and I was kinda surprised when my old lady said that she too wanted to see the movie, saying it looked intense and possibly scary. I love the cast, namely Steve Zahn, Marley Shelton, Timothy Olyphant, and of course, Mila Jovovich. I would call that a very solid genre cast considering some of the films those actors have previously done, and I have a feeling we will get some very strong performances from a few of them. Lastly, David Twohy has shown some serious horror chops as seen in 2002’s Sci Fi monster film, Pitch Black, and he hasn’t directed anything since that films sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick way back in 2004. So it could possibly be back to Pitch Black form for him, in a film that seems to have some similar themes, just in a different setting.

I mostly bring this movie up to see if others are excited for the film, this would be another great opportunity to show some support for an original horror film, instead of not going to see the movie, yet again proving Hollywood right when they assume that all audiences members are 14, or just stupid. For the record, I haven’t had a day off from work in a while, but I swear I will see Orphan this weekend, as I will be off for the weekend’s duration. Just wanted to make that clear before I tirade any further. Much to everyone’s surprise, Orphan has gotten some really good reviews, like way more than anyone would have ever thought, and I already wanted to see the movie because I just thought it looked like fun, but now it is being well received on top of that.

I’m really hoping the continuously positive buzz will get a few more assess in to seats to see Orphan, and hopefully those same assess sit in those seats for A Perfect Getaway…assuming it's a good film. For a good number of years now, horror fans have cried about not getting films geared towards them, too many remakes, and not enough originality to be found in the theaters is often heard by the horror masses these days. Now would be the prime opportunity to support a few films that are, original, Rated R, are not afraid to be intense or hardcore, and aren’t being thrown into limbo to eventually end up on fucking DVD. This seems to be the case with Orphan from what I have heard, and looks to be how A Perfect Getaway will be like…hopefully.

Orphan is no box office success in any way, but it hasn’t done all that terrible either. As of today, the film has grossed around $27 million after its second weekend, one decent push from you and I could make a little dent in the dismal summer movie market. If both Orphan and A Perfect Getaway were to do at least decent in theaters, it could certainly sway the horror pendulum towards our taste preferences a little bit. And that, is always a good thing. We have blown it in the past with films like The Devils Rejects, The Ruins, Grindhouse, and Drag Me to Hell. I unfortunately missed Drag Me to Hell, so I am not void of this horror guilt, but that shit was out of theaters in a flash. I cannot even fathom not seeing a Sam Raimi horror movie in the theaters, and it was another film that the horror crowd was raving about, which didn't make me feel any better.

What it all comes down to is horror fans complain so much, but are we in the seats when these films come out? I know a lot of you are, I am as much as possible, but how many people are complaining about the state of horror cinema, and then not supporting the right films? I bitch sometimes, but I do show support as much as possible, and anyone that is out there and not seeing these films has no reason to complain. If both Orphan, AND A Perfect Getaway fail at the box office, then forget about the state of horror in cinema being bad now, it will be worse ten fold after two R rated, original horror films crash and burn at the box office. Again. I will put forth my best effort to see both films, meaning I will see both, and I will try to encourage others to give ‘em a whirl too. It’s time we took our theaters back!

VIVA LA ORPHAN!!