Paranormal Activity (2007)

Director:

Oren Peli

Writer:

Oren Peli (written by)

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

What Happens When You Sleep?

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Night | House | Entity | Suburb | Self Mutilation

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Katie Featherston	...	Katie
Micah Sloat	...	Micah
Mark Fredrichs	...	Psychic
Amber Armstrong	...	Amber
Ashley Palmer	...	Diane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Crystal Cartwright	...	Exorcism Nanny (uncredited)
Randy McDowell	...	Lt. Randy Hudson (uncredited)
James Piper	...	Richard (uncredited)

Directed by
Oren Peli

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Oren Peli		written by

Produced by
Jason Blum	....	producer
Oren Peli	....	producer
Steven Schneider	....	executive producer
Jeanette Brill	....	line producer: additional photography (uncredited)
Rick Osako	....	line producer: additional photography (uncredited)
Amir Zbeda	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Oren Peli		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Oren Peli

Casting by
Oren Peli		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Crystal Cartwright	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Danielle Daly	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)
Mark Graziano	....	post-production executive (uncredited)
Richard Stirling	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)

Sound Department
Greg LaPlante	....	digital mastering
David Barbee	....	sound designer (uncredited)
Mark Binder	....	sound designer (uncredited)
Mark Binder	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Edmond J. Coblentz Jr.	....	sound designer (uncredited)
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York (uncredited)
Jim Fitzpatrick	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Nick Shaffer	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Nick Shaffer	....	supervising dialogue editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Craig Jensen	....	utility stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Dale Robinette	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Ricki Maslar	....	additional casting (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Phillip Dawe	....	post-production coordinator
Jay Warren	....	digital intermediate producer
Tricia Chiarenza	....	color timer (uncredited)
Faust Pierfederici	....	colorist (uncredited)
Lee Wimer	....	color timer (uncredited)

Other crew
Angie Conners	....	international marketing
Stephen Kessen	....	promoter

Thanks
Dave Bullis	....	thanks
Michael DeFellipo	....	thanks (as Michael George)
Kyle Giorgi	....	special thanks
Curtis Gropp	....	special thanks
Avery Guerra	....	special thanks
Sal W. Hanna	....	special thanks
Stephen Kessen	....	thanks
Dominic Mendez	....	special thanks (DVD and Blu-ray version)
Rick Peters	....	thanks
Elizabeth Rodriguez	....	special thanks
Mike Ruchkin	....	thanks
Patrice Sepulveda	....	special thanks
Eric Striffler	....	thanks
Vincent van Ommen	....	thanks (DVD & Blu-ray version)
Adrian Voo	....	special thanks
Jenny Wyrsch	....	special thanks
Kurt Wyrsch	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Blumhouse Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• DreamWorks SKG (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2009) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Presidio (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Thim Film (2009-2010) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Viva International Pictures (2009) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2010) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Audio Visual Entertainment (2010) (Greece) (DVD)
• Bazuca Films (2009) (Chile) (all media)
• CatchPlay (2009) (Taiwan) (all media)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (VHS) (limited edition)
• FS Film (2010) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Film1 (2010) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Intercontinental Video (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (VHS) (limited edition)
• Paramount Home Video (2009) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Prisvídeo - Edições Videográficas (2009) (Portugal) (all media)
• Wild Bunch Distribution (2009) (France) (all media)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45634) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:M (2009) | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Japan:G | Mexico:B | Italy:T | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U (with warning) | Malaysia:PG-13

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

Blumhouse Productions

Trivia:

Filming was completed in 10 days.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Katie is saying she doesn't want to leave the house, it is assumed that Micah has set the camera on the bed, as it stops moving and stays at a constant angle. This explains why the camera stayed while Micah walked away.

Quotes:

[after noises occur after midnight, the two get up, and Micah finds that the panel covering the opening to the attic has shifted]
Micah:There's something up there. I've gotta look.
Katie:Micah! Micah, please be careful.
[There are the sounds of his footsteps, but he doesn't reply]
Katie:Are you okay? Micah, answer me! Micah! Micah!
[He comes back down the ladder and holds out a photograph which has burned edges]
Micah:I found this up there.
Katie:No. No no no no. Let me see it?
Micah:What are you talking about?
Katie:This is our old house! What in the hell is doing in the attic?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Completely Normal Activity" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Numb

A Theatre Experience I'll Never Forget.

A couple decide to document their nights while they sleep, after they hear strange noises that they believe to be a haunting.

I respect this film, for the fact that it was shot for less than 20,000, had absolutely no marketing campaign and has become a huge success based on word of mouth and the audience demanding to see it. If only other studios would follow suit and listen to people demanding to see movies they want to see, maybe there wouldn't be so much crap out there.

Paranormal Activity is shot like Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project, REC, Cannibal Holocaust, etc. If any of those films gave you motion sickness, you might want to skip this one. Half the film is shot while they sleep, so the film is on a tri-pod, the other half is them walking around with it. So if you've never been a fan of those films, skip this one. Second, the film is not as scary as people make it out to be. Instead, it is one creepy and suspenseful film, that seeing in a theatre, only heightened my enjoyment of it.

The audience I went with, all had a collective "Oh My God". I could hear it every time something creepy happened. You could literally feel everyone in the theatre holding their breath every time they went to sleep. Again, if you are the type of person who wants to watch a film and not hear a peep out of anyone else, skip this film.

Now the film itself, shot in one week, small (very small) budget and every penny of it went towards the special effects. The special effects are what sell the film, if you don't buy them, the film will not creep you out. They looked real and impressive enough to push the film into a successful goal, which is to scare people. If you are already afraid of the dark, this film will not help you. Every creek, thump, noise you hear in your house will now have you thinking twice.

Less is more, The Blair Witch Project uses this, as does Paranormal Activity. The two leads, are haunted by a demon, one we never see, only hear. Whenever you go into a horror film, as a kid you would close your eyes in fear. Big mistake, because it's the ears you need to be covering. The sound is what makes you jump, hear nothing, fear nothing. The sound design behind this film is what is scary people, accompanied by the visuals (memorable scenes with the powder and bed sheets).

As the film progresses, the haunting gets worse. I don't want to give anything away, and I urge you to not watch the trailer. I watched the trailer and was waiting for those things to happen, it took away from the general fear. Not knowing what to expect will make this film that much better, that much creepier and that much more entertaining. I didn't expect it to be as funny as it was either, the lead male had some comic relief dialogue, the ease the tension.

The couple are believable, the hand held camera angle works here and the fear will set in. I applaud Paranormal Activity, for not only becoming an unheard of success, but for being one of the creepiest films I've ever seen.

Bravo.