Bumping Blair Witch Project vs Paranormal Activity back to back really showed me how far we've come

Last night I watched the original Blair Witch and then Paranormal Activity 1 right after. The difference in pacing and scares is crazy. Blair Witch builds tension through pure dread and nothing happening, while Paranormal Activity uses those small audio cues and camera glitches to mess with you. Has anyone else tried comparing older found footage to the 2000s stuff? I feel like the style shifted somewhere around 2005.

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.drew5d ago

Ngl this is one of those comparisons that really hits home for me. Blair Witch felt like a slow suffocation while Paranormal Activity was more like a series of quick jabs to the gut. That shift you mentioned around 2005 makes total sense because after Saw and The Ring blew up, horror studios started leaning harder into jump scares and audio tricks. Watching them back to back must have felt like studying two completely different languages of fear. I genuinely feel like Blair Witch wins on atmosphere but Paranormal Activity wins on replay value.

hayes.tara3d ago

The "slow suffocation" thing is spot on, but honestly I'm the weirdo who fell asleep during Blair Witch and woke up with drool on my couch. "Replay value" though, that's where I gotta admit I'm the problem, I've seen Paranormal Activity like five times and still check my closet at 2am like a coward. Meanwhile I can't even rewatch that tent scene in Blair Witch without convincing myself my phone is about to ring from a dead friend. Maybe I'm just too jumpy for the "language of fear" that takes its time, I need the quick jabs to remind me I'm alive and not, you know, completely pathetic.