It goes without saying that the special effects are one of the highlights of Inception. This will probably be The Matrix of our time, but in a much subtler way. As Dom says, “It’s only when you wake up that you realize there was something strange.” This strangeness is embraced and pulled throughout the film. However, the mazes, infinite staircases, and alternate realities these special effects create are not limited to just providing an aesthetic wonder, but they serve to symbolically reinforce many of the main issues of the film. The paradox of an infinite staircase will be itching your brain for a few hours after you finish watching.

The performances are pitch perfect. I initially thought that the characters were a bit one- dimensional and not incredibly developed. Don’t be alarmed though. Nolan hasn’t lost the touch that created his Batman and his Joker. I believe there are deliberate reasons for this lack of background, which will surely feed into the theorists that will begin sprouting all over the internet after this weekend. Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard provide the emotional and narrative center of the film. Being the Oscar winning and nominated actors they are, these roles are played beautifully. It’s as if they don’t even realize they’re the ones we’re all focused on.

I’ll end this now before I start confusing myself even more. It’s a privilege, though, to see an auteur like Christopher Nolan working today, using the summer blockbuster as his medium. You’ll leave the theater feeling as if you just “witnessed” something.

The biggest surprise to me was the amount of humor in the movie. The best scary movies have elements of humor in them to prevent them from being too grim to enjoy. The humor in Paranormal Activity not only served as a contrast to the intensity of the more frightening scenes, but also helped the audience to empathize with Katie and Micah, who were a likeable dare I say pretty normal couple.

My only complaints are minor ones.  Even though I liked the ending and found it especially disturbing, the fact that the effects went beyond the reality of the entire movie to that point took the movie out of character a little and made it less believable. I certainly hope the DVD release contains the other endings as bonuses.

I’ve seen a lot of scary movies, and Paranormal Activity is right up there with the best of them, if not on top, certainly within spittin’ distance.

I think it’s due for release in the UK on the 27th of November.