Is it possible to hold a film like Amanda Gusack’s In Memorium in a truly objective, critical light after seeing Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity? I would have to say probably not, considering that’s the first question I asked myself when sitting down to write this.
But here’s the thing: In Memorium, a haunting film that spans only a little over an hour, shot on a minuscule budget and released in 2005 to only a few film festivals and audiences, contains many of the elements that Paranormal Activity hinges upon. In fact, the main arc of the narrative is exactly the same: couple moves into house, sets up cameras to record paranormal activities, proceed to be haunted and scared to death. It begs the question of whether Peli was seated at one of those festivals, watching the show go on.
That said, In Memorium certainly has a leg up on Paranormal Activity in several areas. First and foremost, the narrative here is much more sophisticated. Dennis Wade has been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, and has moved into a house with his girlfriend (Johanna Watts) in order to document his final days while avoiding chemotherapy and letting the disease take its course. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to say that his stay isn’t entirely peaceful.
What’s interesting is how much more on the nose In Memorium is than the most recent haunting film — this is a ghost with an agenda, and the plot unravels in order to determine a solution to the haunting (rather than just sit around and be scared to death of it, as in Peli’s film). This is certainly helped by the performance of Erik McDowell as Wade, who’s simply a much more relatable and interesting protagonist than Micah is in Activity. The pain Wade goes through is palpable and sad, and the haunting tone of the film echoes his grieving preparation for death.
In Memorium is a little too explicit in exposition, and often struggles to find sufficient ways of burying it in the action. This is obviously hard in a 70-minute film shot from the perspective of what are essentially security cameras, but it certainly makes the front end of the film drag a little bit. However, once the film passes the thirty minute mark, this becomes less of an issue. When the scares start, they’re truly effectively scary, and I’m not one who’s prone to jumping at films like this.
It’s pretty incredible how densely packed this film is — really, it hits on every beat of Paranormal Activity and then some in half the time — while also relying on the same slight of hand and camera trickery used to freak audiences out in that film. Had the chips fallen just right for Gusack’s little movie in 2005 the way they had for Activity this year, she might have had a hit on her hands. Hopefully, in light of the success of that film, she can get some sort of home media distribution deal.
In summary, In Memorium is an effectively creepy horror film with great jump scares, standing toe-to-toe with Paranormal Activity and knocking that film flat on its face in a variety of ways.
