If your tastes run to the horror genre just the title, “Paranormal Activity,” will bring to mind the Paramount Pictures “Paranormal Activity” franchise, a series built around couples, young and attractive, whose lives are turned upside down by, you guessed it, paranormal activity. The franchise petered out after seven iterations, but Paramount has blessed Levi Holloway with permission to interpret the format as he sees fit.
Lou and James (Cher Alvarez and Patrick Heusinger) are an adorable young couple. Alvarez and Heusinger bring real chemistry to their roles. About to celebrate their first anniversary, the inevitable marital cracks are starting to form. They have just moved to London from Chicago where Lou had been tortured by fears and strange experiences. When James was offered a transfer to London they took it and the house that came with the job. Fly Davis’ house design is an effective set and a full character in the play. The fourth wall has been removed and we see the entire house except for the spare room whose door is mostly closed. We have the sense we can see everything; no devises like rotating sets are necessary to move action along.
Lou has her demons and James has his intrusive mother living in Boca Raton with an overactive What’s App account and no sense of boundaries. She wants a grandchild before she dies and Lou is adamant they are not ready to have kids. Lou and James both have a back story; who doesn’t?
The thing about reviewing a horror drama you cannot really discuss the story without creating multiple spoilers so I will leave the setup there. I am not a fan of the horror genre and would have been happy to see where playwright Holloway would have gone with it without flashing lights and loudly banging radiators. He has an excellent ear for dialogue and relationships, but that is not the design of the “Paranormal Activity” franchise. The opening night audience, notoriously made up of enthusiastic friends and families, responded gleefully to the hyperactive antics from the world of the occult. Some of the illusions unfortunately are not quite visible from the mezzanine.
With the exception of Hitchcock I have never been a fan of horror and pay no attention to horoscopes and the like. The morning after seeing “Paranormal Activity” I went out to my garage to find a large shelf had collapsed onto my car and the doors of the cabinet above the hood of my husband’s car had been flung open. The gods were punishing me for my lack of belief. If horror is your thing, and you can get closer seats, by all means see “Paranormal Activity.” It is well produced and well written. If you prefer drama without literal bells and whistles, maybe this is not your best choice.
Karen Weinstein
