Synopsis: Spoofing tons of flicks like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Bridesmaids and The Dark Knight, 30 Nights…tells the story of a young family, who can’t seem to stop filming themselves, moving into a house that turns out to be haunted. There, they meet up with a host of creepy characters — including a horny vampire-hunting president who wants to emancipate their dragon-tattooed daughter. With help from the hysterically high-energy “Ghost Brothers” the family sets out to solve the mystery of the haunted house.
Release Date: January 15, 2013 (DVD/Blu-ray/Digital Download) MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Comedy, Horror
Film Review
Production
Like any successful movie trend, it was only a matter of time before the found footage genre spawned a comedy spoof. In the tradition of the Scary Movie franchise, 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo mashes up just about every movie trope, horror or not, from the last year into a concise little bundle of laughs.
30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starts off like a spoof of The Devil Inside, with a 911 call reporting a murder and Dana Rosti (Kathryn Fiore from “MADtv”) making a documentary about her father who murdered five people while an exorcism was being performed on him. Years later, Dana and her husband, Aaron Galen (Breaking Wind‘s Flip Schultz), move into her childhood home with their daughter Liz (Attack of the 50ft Cheerleader‘s Olivia Alexander) and infant son, and the movie becomes a parody of the Paranormal Activity series when they install security cameras to capture any strange happenings. From there, the film puts the pedal to the floor with the movie references, taking the audience on a virtual tour of the past few years of Hollywood. The Galens battle possession, haunting and everything else under the sun, and it’s all documented by the cameras in the house.
There’s not much to 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There’s no story arc, no character arc, not even much of a structure. However, what is lacking in vision and creativity is made up for in sheer volume. Written and directed by Craig Moss (the man behind The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It – notice a pattern?), the entire film serves as an excuse to cram as many characters and situations from other movies as possible into it, and it makes no apologies for its lack of originality; unresolved plot lines and forgotten characters are plentiful throughout the story, and the story doesn’t care. Mash-up spoofs like this one serve only one purpose, and that’s to make the viewer laugh at their absurdity. And 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is completely absurd. This movie will not appeal to a good numbers of viewers. Those looking for a deep, meaningful, thought provoking film should look elsewhere. Those looking for a good laugh, step right up. This film would best be enjoyed in a room full of friends with drinks flowing and popcorn flying…it’s a party movie, and the more, the merrier.
Comedy Factor
If there’s one thing that needs to be said about 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it’s that it’s funny. It’s not just base-level, lowest common denominator funny, either. Sure, there are plenty of stupid gags at which it’s hard to not laugh, but there’s also a surprising amount of subliminal humor. Like the Scary Movie films, or even Airplane!, this movie amuses through surprise, catching the audience off-guard; the characters and situations take unexpected albeit silly turns whenever they can, and the viewer ends up chuckling out loud for much of the film. And it’s not just action and horror films that are being skewered; nothing is off-limits here. This picture pokes fun at “Storage Wars” and Subway commercials just as fast as it cracks on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Hunger Games, and it satirizes Adele and Bane equally. There are so many subtle pop culture references that the effect is not unlike an episode of “The Simpsons;” the more educated the viewer is about current entertainment trends, the funnier they will find the gags. Sure, it’s brainless, but that’s what makes 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so much fun. It’s simple, mindless fun.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Craig Moss
- Producer(s):
- Screenwriter(s): Craig Moss
- Story:
- Cast: Kathryn Fiore (Dana Galen)Flip Schultz (Aaron Galen)Olivia Alexander (Liz Galen) Arturo del Puerto (Felipe)Danny WoodbumFrench Stewart (Herb)
- Editor(s): Clark Burnett
- Cinematographer: Rudy Harbon
- Production Designer(s): Russell M. Jaeger
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score: Todd Haberman
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: USA