Few contemporary films have given Hollywood a much-needed adrenaline rush as paranormal activity. Filmed in just seven days on a meager budget of $15,000. Oren PeliThe 2009 haunted house sensation was an unexpected and massive hit, resurrecting the found footage genre and spawning a franchise. Brilliant and frightening in equal measure, the naked film about a young couple terrorized by evil forces had viewers hearing something shake in the night for days after watching it, proving once again that when it comes to horror, less is more. .
However, before Peli’s film became an instant success, it was the subject of some narrative adjustment, courtesy of Steven Spielberg. According to the Los Angeles Times, it was alleged that after Spielberg received the film to watch on DVD, the screening of the film was followed by a horrific incident in his own home. But despite the effect paranormal activity If he was on it, Spielberg had an idea that would make the low-budget panic holiday even more intimidating.
‘Paranormal Activity’ scared Steven Spielberg to death
Scaring Steven Spielberg to death is perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments a filmmaker can aspire to. After all, this is the man behind the iconic horror films that have terrified moviegoers for decades. Jaws made generations of swimmers think twice before going into the water, and poltergeistwhich Spielberg co-produced and co-wrote, continues to haunt our dreams with evil clowns, cannibal trees and otherworldly monsters of all kinds.
Before it made box office history, paranormal activity toured film festivals. Incredibly fortunate that the DVD screeners ended up in the hands of several potential buyers and distributors, including Blumhouse’s own company. Jason Blume and Steven Spielberg. According to the LA Times, legend has it that the latter took the DVD home and watched it alone. And when he tried to enter his bedroom after watching the movie, he found that the door was locked from the inside, despite the fact that no one else was in the house.
Thoroughly frightened, and believing that the DVD itself was haunted, Spielberg is said to have returned it to the DreamWorks office in a trash bag. But as impressed and shocked as he was, he had some thoughts about paranormal activityending and how to most effectively influence the audience with terrifying wires. Although director Oren Peli later expressed mixed feelings about the decision, he ultimately went along with Spielberg’s suggestion and, after receiving an additional $4,000, filmed an alternate ending that made it into the final cut.
How did Paranormal Activity end in the first place?
Before Spielberg pitched his idea, paranormal activity ended with perhaps less success. As the camera zooms in on a sleeping young couple, Cathy (Katie Featherston) wakes up and looks at Miku (Mika Slot) on her side of the bed. After leaving the room, she screams about bloody murder and wakes up Miku, who hurries out of the room to his wife. The brief and distant sounds of struggle are followed by deafening silence.
Moments later, Cathy returns to the bedroom, covered in blood and holding a knife. Sitting on the floor next to the bed, she sways back and forth as the camera’s timecode shows the clock ticking by. Off-screen, we hear a phone call, someone leaves a voice message, and finally someone enters the house to find Mika’s lifeless body. According to the camera’s timecode, the cops arrive half an hour later and find Katie in the bedroom. When she approaches them with a knife in her hand, they shoot her dead. Fade to black.
Shocking final version of ‘Paranormal Activity’ leaves more to the imagination
As disturbing as the original ending is, it just doesn’t have the same effect as Spielberg’s alternate ending. Peli’s ending is undeniably creepy, inviting viewers to imagine what goes on behind the scenes as Katie’s friend Amber (Amber Armstrong), leaves a worried message on the answering machine, and eventually discovers Mika’s lifeless body. But the whole ordeal drags on too long, sacrificing shocking thrills in favor of a slow-paced ending that can’t quite handle the sense of horror that Spielberg’s proposed ending delivers.
Spielberg’s alternate ending, in which Micah is tossed back into the bedroom, knocking the camera to the ground and showing a bloody Kathy standing in the doorway, evokes real jump scares. Also, Katie getting on all fours and sniffing her husband’s body like a predatory animal proves to be more sinister and effective in publicizing the notion that she was possessed by a demon torturing the couple. And Kathy’s final rebound, looking straight at the camera, smiling and lunging at us as her face turns demonic, ends the film with a sharp transition to black that leaves viewers adrenaline-fueled and on edge.
The alternate ending not only works better on a purely visceral level, but ends the film with a sense of ambiguity, leaving the door wide open for the sequel that will inevitably follow. While we know very well that Micah was murdered and Cathy was the victim of demonic possession, we’re left wondering what will become of the latter and what horror she may bring on other unsuspecting victims. While we’ll never know how well Oren Peli’s original climax would have appealed to a global audience, viewing the two endings in sequence reveals an obvious difference in tone and narrative satisfaction.
Director Oren Peli prefers original Paranormal Activity ending to Spielberg’s script
Let’s face it, when a Steven Spielberg-level director tells you to jump, the correct answer is “how high?” So when he praises your film but makes the reservation that the ending needs to be changed, it’s understandable that a rookie director will heed that advice. Although Spielberg’s proposal for a different ending succeeded in delivering the film’s ultimate thrill, no doubt serving as an effective ending to the thrills and chills that preceded it, director Oren Peli continues to harbor doubts about changing his debut film.
Reflecting on the decision to reshoot the ending, Oren Peli said: Entertainment Weekly,
“They wanted to find something more, something that everyone would like. So we tried a few different ideas… an idea that’s in the final version… I thought it was effective, but I wasn’t a big fan of it, initially. But it played so well against the audience that I know… it will be a new ending. It’s not the best feeling, and I tried to fight for my ending, but in the end, the movie with the new ending worked out overall. I have learned to accept and love the new ending. I still prefer my ending, but I’m totally happy with the new ending.”
It’s safe to say that Peli made the right choice by heeding Spielberg’s advice, although the director’s original ending certainly has its merits. But when Steven Spielberg proposes to you, how can you refuse?
Source: Collider
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