Paranormal Activity

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on Star 96.7 WSSR-FM (Joliet, IL) reviewing the new Paramount Pictures Blu-Ray Collection of “Paranormal Activity: The Ultimate Chills Collection,” containing all seven films in the series plus a documentary.

CHICAGO – Out of respect for the filmmakers and actors, I don’t walk out on films. I hold true to that even when I know in the first 10 minutes the film’s not for me. Perhaps the second act could surprise me. Maybe the whole film is a flop but it redeems itself with shock and awe in the last 5 minutes.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new horror film “Ouija” from Jason Blum (producer of the “Paranormal Activity,” “Insidious” and “The Purge” films) and the producer of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”!

CHICAGO – For a good portion of its running time, Scott Stewart’s sci-fi spookfest “Dark Skies” flirts with the possibility of becoming an effective thriller. There are a handful of sequences fraught with palpable tension, yet it becomes apparent around the halfway mark that the filmmakers don’t have an original idea in their heads. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better in countless other pictures.

CHICAGO – With his production company, Blumhouse, Jason Blum might be the most important voice in modern horror. As studio horror films became glutted with remakes and sequels in the ’00s, Blum changed the model with low-budget, high-profit films like “Paranormal Activity” and “Insidious.”

6/2/13 6:26 p.m. update: Due to popular demand, we’ve increased 25 pairs to 40 pairs!
CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated speculative horror “The Purge” with Ethan Hawke from the “Paranormal Activity” and “Sinister” producer!

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Combo Pack with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 10 free Blu-ray and DVD combo packs up for grabs for the home entertainment release of the new Marlon Wayans spoof “A Haunted House”!

CHICAGO – A routinely diverting extra on Apatow home video releases is the “Line O’Rama” montage supplying alternate riffs for scenes included in the final cut. They’re entertaining because they display the various wild directions the scenes could’ve taken courtesy of inspired improvisation. Judd Apatow clearly understands comedy, and Marlon Wayans clearly does not.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the “Paranormal Activity” spoof “A Haunted House”!

CHICAGO – Remember that scene in “Ghostbusters” where Sigourney Weaver slides toward a hellish demon while pinned to a chair? Or the utterly chilling moment in “Ju-On” where the contorted body of a vengeful spirit crawls toward its latest victim? Or how about that little indie movie about a young couple plagued by an inexplicable onslaught of paranormal activity?