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Paranormal Activity

  • 2007
  • 15
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
252K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,178
1,976
Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (2007)
While settling into her new home, Katie (Featherston) is disturbed in her sleep by a mysterious presence. Her husband, Micah (Sloat), tries to ease her fear by installing video cameras in an attempt to capture the strange behavior on tape. Bad idea.
Play trailer1:03
3 Videos
58 Photos
HorrorMystery

After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.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
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    252K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,178
    1,976
    • Director
      • Oren Peli
    • Writer
      • Oren Peli
    • Stars
      • Katie Featherston
      • Micah Sloat
      • Mark Fredrichs
    • 1.3KUser reviews
    • 316Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 12 nominations

    Videos3

    Paranormal Activity: Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:03
    Watch Paranormal Activity: Trailer #2
    Paranormal Activity
    Trailer 1:48
    Watch Paranormal Activity
    Jason Blum: A Brief History of Blumhouse
    Clip 3:46
    Watch Jason Blum: A Brief History of Blumhouse

    Photos58

    Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Katie Featherston in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Ashley Palmer in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Katie Featherston in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Katie Featherston in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Ashley Palmer in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Paranormal Activity (2007)
    Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in Paranormal Activity (2007)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Katie Featherston
    Katie Featherston
    • Katie
    Micah Sloat
    Micah Sloat
    • Micah
    Mark Fredrichs
    • Psychic
    Amber Armstrong
    • Amber
    Ashley Palmer
    Ashley Palmer
    • Diane
    Crystal Cartwright
    • Exorcism Nanny
    • (uncredited)
    Spencer Marks
    • Dr. Johann Averies
    • (uncredited)
    Randy McDowell
    Randy McDowell
    • Lt. Randy Hudson
    • (uncredited)
    James Piper
    James Piper
    • Richard
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Oren Peli
    • Writer
      • Oren Peli
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Blumhouse Horror Films, Ranked by IMDb Rating

    Blumhouse Horror Films, Ranked by IMDb Rating

    Blumhouse Productions has been a major force in the horror genre since 2007's Paranormal Activity became a worldwide sensation. See how IMDb users rank all of Blumhouse's horror movies since 2007.
    See the rankings
    Production art
    List

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    4.6
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    The Ring
    7.1
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    6.8
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    Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
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    Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
    5.0
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    Final Destination
    6.7
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    Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
    5.3
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    Insidious: Chapter 2
    6.5
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The actors weren't given scripts but were given guidelines on how to behave or what to discuss in their scenes.
    • Goofs
      (at around 18 mins) 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.
    • Quotes

      Katie: You promised me - don't look at me like that! - you promised me you weren't going to mess with that stuff.

      Micah: No. I promised you I wasn't going to buy a Ouija board. I didn't buy a Ouija board. I borrowed a Ouija board.

    • Crazy credits
      Fans who submitted their name on the official website during the film's theatrical run were treated with having their name listed in the film's ending credits on the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film as thanks from Paramount for making the film such a success.
    • Alternate versions
      The version that was released in theaters is the cut supervised by Steven Spielberg. The Director's Cut, comprised of the unedited film with three possible endings, has several differences:
      • 1. There is a scene in the Theatrical Cut not present in the Director's Cut that takes place early on, where Katie and Micah wake up and find her keys thrown from the kitchen counter to the floor.
      • 2. The low frequency tone that occurs when the demon is present is not quite as loud in the Director's cut. There is only one instance of the demon whispering in the Theatrical Cut; there are at least three in the Director's Cut, all of which are heard in the bedroom at night.
      • 3. A lot of the demon noises - the loud growl followed by the bang, the footsteps, even the shadows that appear on the bedroom doors - were completely re-dubbed and retouched. All of these scenes are much, much louder/noticeable in theaters for jump scares. There seem to be at least two added "shadow" effects - another on the bedroom door, and a silhouette in the hallway - in the Director's Cut, whereas the Theatrical Cut only has one shadow used.
      • 4. The night when the demon plays the door games with Katie and Micah (opening and slamming it shut, knocking furiously) has been re-dubbed, as well. The knocking is much faster and louder in the Theatrical Cut.
      • 5. There's some added dialogue between Katie and Micah where they discuss how the stress is negatively affecting their lives. She says she's failing her university course and won't pass unless she "does something drastic" on her midterm. He says he lost a large sum of money playing the stock market earlier, and that he'll be taking a break for awhile.
      • 6. The demon's daytime attack is completely absent. The only time we get a good look at the picture that is smashed and clawed is when the two run up and down the hallway during the night to get away from the demon.
      • 7. There's an extra video attached to the "Goodbye Dianne" explanation at the computer. There is at least two minutes of added footage of the woman's ordeal, which has been heavily used in the TV commercials. Micah shows Katie footage of Dianne's demonic possession and subsequent exorcism as she is tied to a bed. Her appearance transforms from healthy to disheveled and dark, with large cuts on her face and body. Eventually, the footage shows that the exorcism was unsuccessful, and the possessed Dianne becomes so destructive that she chews her own arm off to the elbow.
      • 8. The double-layered voice Katie projects in bed when she says, "Everything will be fine from now on" (and later screaming downstairs) uses a different effect to achieve this. Unlike the Theatrical Cut, the two voices are very distinct.
      • 9. The ending is completely changed. Katie awakes shortly after midnight on the final night, gets out of bed and stares at Micah for roughly three hours. Unlike the Theatrical Cut, she does not move to his side of the bed to continue watching him, and the sheets do not fly off of his body. Instead, she goes straight downstairs. After Micah is awakened by the scream, he runs downstairs and we hear the ensuing scuffle. Like before, Katie slowly climbs the stairs, except the footstep effect is slightly altered and when she enters the room, she is holding a knife and covered in blood. Micah's body is not thrown at the camera; he remains downstairs. Katie sits down on the floor against the bed and proceeds to rock back and forth, knife in hand, for several days. We hear her ignore phone calls and the door bell. Eventually, one of her friends comes in to check on her and finds Micah's body, which momentarily interrupts Katie's rocking. The friend lets out a scream and runs out of the house. Twenty minutes later, we hear the police knock and enter, warning anyone in the house to "make themselves known" because they have their weapons drawn. As they search the first floor, it appears as if the demon has left Katie's body: we see the light to the attic turn on, then off, as if the demon went back into hiding. The police come upstairs, find Katie and warn her to drop the weapon. She's dazed, running toward them yelling, "Where's Micah!? Where's Micah?!". The door to the attic slams shut, startling the police so much that one accidentally shoots Katie dead. The final sixty seconds of the film shows the confused policemen, asking "Where did that [noise] come from?" and ultimately declaring the house "clear". The film fades to black, and a text appears that dedicates the film to Katie and Micah.
    • Connections
      Edited into Paranormal Activity: The Chronology (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Paralyzed
      Performed by Rock Kills Kid

    User reviews1.3K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Did the hype kill this movie?
    Did the hype kill the movie? I watch a lot of horror movies and normally I would really have liked this one. In the endless stream of b-movies and even expensive crap, this movie really stands out. Paranormal Acivity is a scary and straightforward movie and it isn't boring. But of course there is the hype. After I heard this was the scariest movie ever, expectations evidently went up. Eventually resulting in a slight disappointment. This movie would have been much scarier, creepier if I hadn't had any expectations, if I hadn't read any reviews. I guess Public Enemy was right about the Hype.

    The movie is scary indeed. After watching Paranormal Activity I noticed that the nightly sounds of my 200 years old house were louder and creepier than ever. But I did not let my good night's sleep for it.

    The acting was good but sometimes slightly overdone, which made it difficult for me to connect with the characters. I understand that Micah, the bf, had to be annoying, the character was written that way. But their is something wrong if you start imagining in the middle of the movie gruesome ways he could die. The movie should have been scarier if I had had more empathy for the characters.

    Anayway I enjoyed watching this film, but the hype made me expect more.
    helpful•124
    98
    • gauthierdumonde
    • Oct 28, 2009

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    FAQ13

    • So they lived in the house how long and never noticed the trap door in the closet ???
    • Wouldn't most people, like, ASK FOR HELP FROM SOMEBODY ANYBODY ???
    • Is this a true story?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 25, 2009 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Paranormal Activity 1
    • Filming locations
      • Bavarian Drive, Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Solana Films
      • Dreamworks Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $107,918,810
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $77,873
      • Sep 27, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $193,355,800
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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