If you want to sleep soundly tonight, don’t see “Paranormal Activity.”

This is not your typical scary movie. Instead it masters the element of suspense through a simple story.

The film’s plot is simple: A young couple tries to solve paranormal activity by videotaping themselves in their home.

There are four characters seen on film: the couple Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat; a psychic they go to for help, Mark Fredrichs; and their friend, Amber Armstrong.

“Paranormal Activity” was shot in 2007 over one week. It was produced for an estimated $15,000. The director, Oren Peli, opted for a very simple video approach, using one video camera and standstill tripods. The main “director of photography” would be the character Micah, trying to catch a demon on film.

The film came to wide-release after some serious buzz. After mild success in film festivals, the film ended up in the hands of Steven Spielberg. It was tested in a few markets with success. The movie grossed almost $50,000 for a week per theater. The campaign went viral with an online trailer showing spooked audience reactions to the film. Also “Paranormal Activity” has been a trending topic on Twitter for the last two weeks. Since opening, the film has made over $61 million.

The first hour of the film is quite tame, but it builds the suspense. The viewing I went to had people looking away from the screen and shielding their eyes in anticipation of a scary moment.

This movie may not be for your average horror movie fan. It doesn’t have the “in-your-face” stuff of say a movie like “Saw.” But the genius is the subtlety of the scariness. Instead of seeing a gory villain, the climaxes of the film deal with abnormal happenings in the dark. Whenever you see the time-lapse camera slow down, you know something unexpected will happen.

By the end of the movie, the bedroom scenes are quite haunting. The mockumentary feel of the film makes it seem very real. If you want to see “Paranormal Activity,” see it in the theater. I doubt this type of movie would have the same experience on DVD. The audience gasps alone are worth it. Also, don’t expect to get a good night’s rest after seeing this, especially if you have a noisy furnace at night.