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Two scary, shocking and completely surprising films leapt out of the void and into mainstream pop culture in 2009.
Both films -- the sci-fi thriller District 9 and the supernatural thriller Paranormal Activity -- debuted on DVD and Blu-ray during the holidays after generating debate and phenomenal profits in their theatrical releases.
Both are hugely entertaining. They now dare audiences to re-visit their unique visions and celebrate the fresh filmmaking talent. Even though they are different in storyline, scale and tone, the films share characteristics.
That includes the ruse of presenting "found video". In District 9 -- the story of an alien arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the subsequent segregation of the despised aliens into concentration camps -- those sequences are part of a mock-documentary covering 28 years.
In Paranormal Activity -- the tragedy of the haunting of a young couple by a demon -- found footage dominates in the manner of The Blair Witch Project. The timeline is three weeks.
Each film is a directorial debut. District 9 is the original vision of Canadian-based, South African-born Neill Blomkamp, who co-wrote it with Canadian screenwriter Terri Tatchell, basing it on Blomkamp's 2006 short, Alive in Joburg.
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Paranormal Activity is the original vision of the U.S.-based, Israeli-born filmmaker Oren Peli. Blomkamp just turned 30. Peli is 38.
Both films were made on absurdly low budgets. District 9, co-produced by The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, cost $30 million. Even with its non-Hollywood production team -- the work of Canadians, South Africans and New Zealanders -- that is incredibly low for a special effects-driven film. Especially one that looks as good (and more convincing) as McG's overwrought Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
District 9 earned $204.6 million in worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
Paranormal Activity, meanwhile, supposedly cost $15,000. I accept that might have been Peli's original budget for shooting the two-actor piece on digital video in his own house in San Diego. But it is difficult to believe that Paramount Pictures did not spend a lot more to improve image and sound for its release.
But Paranormal Activity is still one of the most profitable films in history. It earned $107.8 million in North America (with no foreign releases yet).
Here are the DVD and Blu-ray options:
DISTRICT 9
Blomkamp's presentation of District 9 is excellent on DVD and Blu-ray, as befits a film involving Peter Jackson. He understands the value of loading up on extras and insights. There are three options. One is the one-disc basic DVD with Blomkamp's commentary, deleted scenes and a three-part doc, The Alien Agenda.
Another option is the two-disc edition that greatly expands the bonus materials.
Among its treasures is getting to know South African discovery Sharlto Copley. He plays Witkus, the drone bureaucrat who becomes the key protagonist when he tries to evict aliens from their shantytown and becomes infected with the by-product of alien biochemistry.
The third option is the Blu-ray. It offers everything on DVD plus a superior picture, a digital copy, a game video demo of God of War III, plus an interactive map of Johannesburg showing story locations.
The only disappointment is how Blomkamp underplays the obvious socio-political metaphors of his film, which was obviously inspired by the brutality of the apartheid era in South Africa. Given the raging debate surrounding District 9 -- because some find it loathsome for its violence and don't understand its off-kilter politics -- it would have been useful for Blomkamp to address it.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
Peli's Paranormal Activity has to speak for itself. Both the DVD (which is a single-disc edition), and the Blu-ray (a two-disc version with digital copy), lack significant extras.
No Peli, no docs. And just one of the now-infamous alternative endings. Fortunately, the film itself is effective.