Paranormal Activity (2007)

After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

Director:

Oren Peli

Writer:

Oren Peli

Stars:

Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Katie Featherston	...	Katie
Micah Sloat	...	Micah
Mark Fredrichs	...	Psychic
Amber Armstrong	...	Amber
Ashley Palmer	...	Diane

Storyline

After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban 'starter' tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to.

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Plot Keywords:

night | house | entity | suburb | self mutilation | 

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Taglines:

Now you can experience the phenomenon that is Paranormal Activity in the comfort and safety of your own home!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Actividad paranormal

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,593,762 (UK) (27 November 2009)

Gross:

$107,917,283 (USA) (15 January 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blumhouse Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 97 min (extended) 83 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paramount Studios utilized paranormal researcher, Christopher Chacon, who is recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on paranormal phenomena, to promote and publicize the film. Chacon also works in the entertainment industry as a writer, director and producer.

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Goofs

Towards the beginning of the movie, when Micah and Katie are talking with the psychologist, there is a hard cut from the doctor to Katie as the doctor is talking, but the dialogue does not skip. Since the movie is supposed to be entirely self-filmed footage, this would imply that either there were two cameras filming at once, or that they did a second "take" with the doctor, both of which are unlikely.

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Quotes

The Psychic: You cannot run from this- it will follow you. It may lay dormant for years. Something may trigger it to become more active and it may over time reach out to communicate with you.

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Crazy Credits

The theatrical release of the film had no closing credits. After the final scene, a title card offered the 'fate' of Katie and Micah, then there was a brief showing of copyright and other protections, and the screen went black for a few seconds before the standard 'blue screen' showing the movie's rating appeared.

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Connections

Referenced in Bum Reviews: Paranormal Activity (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Numb"
Written by Chester Bennington
Performed by Linkin Park

User Reviews

Paranormal Activity A Creepy Horror Thriller

Paranormal Activity is a creepy horror thriller with just the right amount of suspense from writer/director Oren Peli whose admirable in making this movie that doesn't rely on cheap scares and CGI effects to entertain the audience. I actually preferred this one over the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield because for the most part there weren't too many shaky camera movements. Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat are effective as the two leads giving believable performances as their characters. The suspense build up was good which doesn't quite pay off but isn't exactly a failure either. The sounds they came up with for the demon or ghost terrorizing the two leads were very effective and well paced throughout the film. It definitely helped add to the creep factor and the special effects are equally impressive for a 15,000 dollar budget. I think the demon or evil entity is seen only twice briefly as a sinister shadow proving that sometimes the things we can't really see can be far more effective than the ones we can. I enjoyed the fact that instead of relying on CGI and cheap thrills writer/director Oren Peli chose to use more practical effects like the sounds of footsteps, growls, a door closing shut, lights going on and off, and loud bangs to scare the audience. I wasn't very scared watching this but it definitely creeps you out. I suggest you go in not knowing too much about the movie otherwise any spoilers might ruin the experience for you. Overall Paranormal Activity was better than I thought it would be and it's worth watching. The ending is a little predictable but the good outweighs the bad. This film might not be up there with The Shining but its certainly no Shutter or The Grudge to name a few that weren't the greatest at least to me. So if you're in the mood for a suspenseful horror thriller than Paranormal Activity is the movie for you.