I am in a darkened cinema at midday. The girl next to me can barely watch the scene unfolding before us. She starts hyperventilating. She covers her face with her fingers, but it's clear she's looking through them. A dark shadow passes across the screen and immediately I hear a different noise from my neighbour. She is quite audibly weeping. Welcome to the horrifying world of Paranormal Activity.
Oren Peli's debut film is so fabulously unsettling because it is so real. It plays much like a sequel to The Blair Witch Project. A likeable young couple, Micah and Katie, are haunted as they sleep by something mysterious but (at first) not necessarily threatening. So they record the things going bump in the night on their video camera in order to make some sense of them.
How on earth they are able to sleep at all in their clearly haunted new home is something of a mystery, but nevertheless they set up the camera on a tripod before they go to bed and leave the door open to see what happens. The film is brilliant in its repetition of the footage of their darkened room. Night after night, something genuinely chilling happened, but finding out what or who is responsible is just as intriguing and appalling for the audience as it is for this troubled couple.
Yet this is no bloodthirsty, big-budget box office bid. The film is already three years old, and was made in a week for $15,000 (Dh55,100) at Peli's house. The camera work is shaky because there were virtually no cameramen: Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat (the film uses the actors' real names) hold the camera as they act their parts.
Paranormal Activity was one of those films destined for the horror festival circuit until a DVD landed at the film company DreamWorks. A fan of the film at the company pestered executives to watch it until Steven Spielberg finally took it home one night.
Legend has it that he was so haunted by the film that he brought it back to work in a rubbish bag because he was so afraid of the contents. Whether that's true or not, Spielberg was certainly impressed. He began a big-budget remake, still with Peli as the director. But a test screening of the original just before filming was due to start revealed something incredible: it terrified audiences because it was so real, low-budget and plausible, rather than in spite of it. So Spielberg suggested a new ending, and that money-can't-buy word of mouth buzz began.
The blogosphere lit up, and after a viral campaign that asked people to request the film in their hometown, Paranormal Activity is the most profitable independent film ever made, already earning more than $100 million at the box office.
Reactions have been mixed. Certainly younger audiences who have grown up on the blood-splattered, in-your-face horror of the Saw series won't find much action to grab hold of here. It is a more thoughtful, psychological film in which a door moving backwards and forwards or a light switching on and off by itself are signals for terrifying feelings of unease. It is why audiences in their late 20s or thirtysomething couples will probably not sleep after watching it - and why they may brood at the subtext of the difficulty in ever knowing another person or getting over the ghosts of their unshared past.
Inevitably (and perhaps a little annoyingly), plans have been made for Paranormal Activity 2. It's difficult to see how this will work unless the studio sets a miserly budget for an up-and-coming director and asks him or her to come up with something that fits. Even then, it will be going over old ground. Paranormal Activity's brilliance is that it certainly nods to other films (in a neat reference to Psycho, Micah checks the shower for the demon) but fashions something completely new from an effortlessly simple idea. As Blair Witch 2 proved, sequels of this sort rarely work.
Much more interesting is what Peli is working on next: Area 51, a documentary-style thriller based around the famous Air Force base in Nevada that again uses a "found-footage" video technique and unknown actors. So he's on similar ground, except this time it cost $5m rather than $15,000.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENetflix%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKris%20Fade%2C%20Ebraheem%20Al%20Samadi%2C%20Zeina%20Khoury%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Joy%20Ride%20
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Getting%20there
%3Cp%3EGiven%20its%20remote%20location%2C%20getting%20to%20Borneo%20can%20feel%20daunting%20even%20for%20the%20most%20seasoned%20traveller.%20But%20you%20can%20fly%20directly%20from%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20to%20Sandakan%20and%20Sepilok%20is%20only%20half%20an%20hour%20away%20by%20taxi.%20Sandakan%20has%20plenty%20of%20accommodation%20options%2C%20while%20Sepilok%20has%20a%20few%20nature%20lodges%20close%20to%20the%20main%20attractions.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A