Nausea Strikes Again During Paranormal Activity

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Paramount, Horror, Thrillers, Filmmaking

NOTE: This is not an indicator of how I felt about the movie. This is simply me telling you how the movie made me feel.

I’m not a big scaredy-cat. I’m really not. I apparently just have a weak stomach.

I should have known the night was going to go wrong from the minute I sat down for Paranormal Activity. While we were still sitting through the previews, I noticed a horrible smell. It was that strong odor a non-smoker picks up on when seated anywhere near a chain smoker. The teen in front of reeked of cigarettes and it was starting to irritate my lungs. Although I debated moving before the film began, I chose to stick it out. After all, we found great seats and I didn’t want to ruin our position.

As it turns out, that smell was the least of my problems.

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‘Cloverfield’ Warning: Take Your Motion Sickness Pills

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Action, Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Filmmaking

Tonight, I was really looking forward for my chance to see Cloverfield.  Not only was I intrigued by the trailers, I was relieved to watch a movie that was only 1.5 hours long.  A short run time basically guaranteed the action would start quickly.  Unfortunately, the J.J. Abrams production ended up feeling like the longest 85 minutes of my life.  (And that wasn’t because it was necessarily a bad film.)  It was also the most nauseating experience I had had in quite some time.  (And that wasn’t because it was a particularly gory film.  In fact, it was fairly tame.)  Cloverfield just happened to be the shakiest piece of film I can recall having to endure.  Period.

Had this been any other movie, I might have walked out on it.  The problem was that I wanted to sit through the whole thing.  (I needed to see that bad-ass monster for myself.)  If that meant averting my gaze through a third of the film, I figured that would still be better than completely leaving halfway through it.  I refused to wimp out.

But if any of you out there have a problem with motion sickness, heed my advice:  Take Your Dramamine!  Envision the shaky home video your friend took at your wedding. Then imagine them running with the camera.  Then extend that same piece of film (with no pauses) to movie-length.  I like to think that I can stomach a lot, but this was The Blair Witch Project x 10.  (Though when compared to the sickening feeling I felt on a casino boat once, this was about half as bad.)

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