SF Chapter 137: Paranormal Activity II
Dani stepped to the front and said, "Thank you all for coming."
Seeing that everyone was already seated, with popcorn, snacks, and drinks nearby, he announced, "Now, we're going to start the movie, Paranormal Activity."
He then sat down between Claire and Mischa.
The lights went out, and the movie started playing. At the beginning, there were a few cheers when Claire and Phil appeared on screen for the first time.
But soon, everyone fell silent. Even in the early scenes showing Micah and Katie lying in bed - characters played by Phil and Claire - a certain tension began to build in the air.
The nighttime footage, tinted blue, with only faint static-like noises and nothing happening at first, created exactly the intended effect.
But Haley complained, "Ugh, gross," when she saw her parents kissing in bed, even though it was normal and not sexual.
Little by little, the movie grew more tense, until the first major movement happened.
A few gasps were heard, and even a not-so-quiet, "Ay, Dios mío, it's the demon!"
Another voice soon spoke in a judgmental tone. "Demons and spirits don't exist!"
Followed by a chorus of, "Shut up, Sheldon!"
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By the end of the movie, Mischa was glued to Dani, and a few other people in the room were doing the same with the person next to them.
The ending closed things perfectly, with the scariest part of the film.
Katie hears a noise and goes downstairs to see what it is. Moments later, a piercing scream is heard, waking Micah.
He runs to see what happened. But the video keeps showing only the bedroom, while Micah's screams can be heard as he is attacked.
The movie ends with Katie returning to the bedroom with blood on her clothes.
The camera suddenly falls, and she slowly approaches it, until she lets out a possessed scream toward it.
"Mommy!" A high-pitched yell was heard, this time from the screening room. There were also a few more subdued gasps and cries.
Only two people were grinning. Dani gave his sister a high-five. "We did it, Sis!"
She returned it, which was rare coming from Claire.
"We sure did. I think the movie went great!" she smiled, pleased with the final edit and all the commotion she had heard during and after the film.
Phil, on the other hand, was murmuring beside her. "Did we really make this movie?" he said in disbelief, with a slight tremor.
Then the lights came back on, and Dani looked to the side. "Are you okay, Mischa? Lexi?"
Mischa was still glued to him, while Lexi was clinging to Mischa.
"Oh, yeah," Lexi said, quickly pulling away.
Mischa did the same. "I got a little startled," she lied.
Off to the side, Haley widened her eyes. "Oh my God, what the hell was that?"
Dani stood up, and before saying anything, he glanced around.
There was popcorn scattered all over the room.
Sheldon was even wet, probably because someone had accidentally (or maybe not accidentally) spilled a drink on him.
The strange thing was that he wasn't complaining about it.
"Okay, guys, I hope you liked it," Dani remarked, getting everyone's attention.
"I-" he started to speak, but a side lamp suddenly exploded, making most people scream.
Cam, being the most dramatic, shouted, "Demon!"
Dani chuckled. "Sorry, just a little prank." He explained that he thought it would be hilarious.
"No more of this, Daniel," Jay said grumpily.
"It's a horror movie, Dad," he retorted.
[Claire and Gloria commentary]
"Claire, you said the movie was age-appropriate for the boys," Gloria accused angrily at the blonde.
Claire defended herself. "Gloria, it was just a few scares. Nothing much. Nothing they wouldn't see on Halloween."
Claire had been much more permissive with this movie, since she and Phil had acted in it - and, admittedly, out of a bit of hypocrisy, since it was a genre she liked.
"And how do you explain this?" Gloria gestured toward Manny, who was still clinging to her.
"That he loves you?" Claire tried.
Gloria made a conflicted face. "Nice try. I like it, but I'm still angry with you!"
[Commentary ends]
[Dani, Charlie and Alan commentary]
Alan made the same accusation as Gloria. "Daniel, you said it was okay for Jake to watch this movie," he said, making a face at his brother.
Dani glanced to the side and saw Jake and Manny comically breathing into a bag of popcorn. "Bro, Jake is fine," he dismissed.
"At least he wasn't the one who yelled in a high-pitched voice for 'mommy,'" Dani mocked Alan.
Charlie chuckled. "And it's kind of ironic," he pointed out, "to fear a demon and then call for an even worse one."
[Jay and Dani commentary]
"I think it's okay for them to watch a horror movie now and then," Jay stated, going against Alan and Gloria parenting.
"Being scared is part of growing up. They'll get over it. It builds character," he shared his thoughts.
"And I did the same thing to Daniel," Jay gestured toward his son. "I took him to see a horror movie when he was little. Nothing bad happened!"
Daniel, who was standing nearby, nodded. "I agree with you, Dad! All good!"
"And thankfully you're not blaming us for it. Because, by the look of Manny, he'll be sleeping with you and Gloria for a few weeks."
Jay widened his eyes, looked at his son, then straight ahead. He thought about it, then grumbled, "Damn it!"
[Commentary ends]
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Lexi kept looking at Dani's face. "Why are you still grinning, Dani?"
He gestured for her to come closer and spoke quietly so Claire and Mischa could hear too. "I installed some night-vision cameras in the room this morning."
"We'll be able to see all the reactions during the movie."
"You are a genius," Claire uttered, giving him rare praise before going to talk to her father.
Dani muttered to the two of them, "Don't worry, I'll take them down today. I won't let anything that happens here get filmed."
Lexi secretly pinched him.
Afterward, the girls praised the movie to Claire and the others. But with all the reactions everyone had, it wasn't even necessary to know that the movie had been good.
[Phil Dunphy Commentary]
After they got back home, in the middle of the night, Phil was sitting in the kitchen.
"I think this is the first time I don't want to sleep with my wife," he remarked.
Suddenly, a window swung open, startling him.
"Claire," he started to call, but remembering the scenes from the movie, he stopped.
[Commentary ends]
[Luke Dunphy commentary]
"Dad slept in my room for two days straight," Luke revealed about what had happened in the days following the movie.
"He said it was to make me feel calmer. But I wasn't even scared of their movie at all!"
[Commentary ends]
[Dani, Mischa and Lexi commentary]
The trio were lying naked in the screening room again.
"So Manny is sleeping with my dad and Gloria. Jake is doing the same with Alan..."
"...and Phil is sleeping with Luke," Dani said, explaining what had been happening.
Then he completely changed the tone. "And surprisingly, Raj was the one sleeping with Sal. But for other reasons. Not because of the movie."
Lexi rolled her eyes, but then asked, "Are you planning to release the movie? I think it turned out really good," she said honestly.
"Yeah, I talked to Dad. He asked me to wait until after Easy A," he revealed, "and we could use your funny reaction as marketing."
He mimicked Mischa's scared face.
"Let's kill this idiot," Mischa said, annoyed, and the two of them pounced on him.
[Commentary ends]
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