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Most movies revolve around characters making decisions. Sometimes the universe just hits a character with back-to-back punches to move the story along, but for the most part, the plot is driven by the characters. Like in real life, making smart decisions can have great results, and unwise ones can have negative consequences.

The horror genre is a prime example of that fact, as decisions in a horror movie often mean life and death. The genre is known for featuring characters that make horrible choices. There are long-lasting tropes and clichés built around those questionable actions. It's so easy for someone to watch intense situations unfold on a screen and think about all the ways they could do it better. Retrospect often plays a big role in that, too, and people know that if the characters didn't make ridiculous decisions, there wouldn't be much of a movie. But that doesn't make watching it easier,...

While the franchise consists of seven movies, the Paranormal Activity movies in order is different chronologically than it is by release date. The main thread of the found-footage franchise follows the sinister demon "Tobi" as he terrorizes families and households throughout the decades. The complex lore of the Paranormal Activity movies begins with the original 2007 film that introduces Tobi and his primary anchor for most of the series, Katie. As the films continue, the expanding backstory and interweaving network of characters gradually reveal a rich, detailed universe of supernatural horror.

The franchise includes backstories, time travel, recurring characters, and connections to Tobi and Katie. With such an intricate chronology, the question of where to start with the Paranormal Activity movies can seem daunting. Two franchise installments are prequels, and two interact directly with Katie's past. There is also an unofficial non-canon Japanese sequel, Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night, but that...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Terrifier 3

Some of the most chilling moments in horror movies stem not from what is explicitly shown on screen, but from what is deliberately left unseen. Off-screen deaths harness the power of suggestion, compelling audiences to imagine the gruesome details and confront their deepest fears. By avoiding explicit visual depictions, filmmakers tap into the audience's imagination, often evoking a more profound psychological impact that lingers long after the credits roll. These moments rely on atmosphere, sound design, and subtle cues to create a sense of unease, proving that sometimes, what we dont see is far more terrifying than what we do.

The most shocking off-screen deaths in horror films showcase how subtlety and implication can surprise and unsettle viewers. From the abrupt demise of beloved characters to cleverly implied fates that haunt the mind, these examples demonstrate the enduring power of the unseen. They upend expectations...

This post contains spoilers for the "Paranormal Activity" franchise.

When "Paranormal Activity" was first released in 2007, it was a small-scale, indie found-footage endeavor spearheaded by Oren Peli, shot with an initial budget of around $15,000. After the feature made some waves and was acquired by Paramount, the trajectory of this horror offering, which was initially meant as a standalone entry, changed forever. Now armed with a new alternate ending, "Paranormal Activity" had an unbelievably lucrative run at the box office, and this overwhelming success went on to spawn a highly profitable franchise with stories that sported interconnected timelines and a shared found footage convention. Although the first few entries feel fresh and effective, a case of franchise fatigue can be felt over time, especially with the most recent soft reboot, "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin."

It is perfectly okay to watch the "Paranormal Activity" films (check out our ranking of them here) according to release order,...

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, as well as the Halloween season, Blumhouse and AMC Theaters are re-releasing Paranormal Activity as part of AMCs Blumfest. Variety reports AMC and Blumhouse are teaming up for a six-week program focusing on all things horror, which kicks off Sept. 25 with the Paranormal Activity screening. The movie stars Katie Featherstone and Micah Sloat and is directed and written by Oren Peli.

This whole month is a love letter to Halloween and our fans, Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse said. I cant believe we're already celebrating the 15th anniversary of Paranormal Activity because it feels like were just getting started.

Related The Most Realistic Depiction of Witches Is In This 2021 Indie Horror Film

Taking its inspiration from the practices of actual witches, this no-budget horror masterpiece was created and stars a real-life family of four.

AMCs Blumfest is being held in 54 cities in the U.

Light the jack-o-lanterns and put the kids to bed early, because Wednesdays are about to get a lot scarier this fall at AMC Theatres. As part of the theater chains Thrills & Chills series, Blumhouse proudly presents some of their best and most spine-tingling horror movies to celebrate the countdown to Halloween. BlumFest 2024 begins next week on September 25 with 15th anniversary screenings of the found-footage hit Paranormal Activity. In the weeks that follow through October, the schedule (below) also includes the studio's biggest moneymaker, Five Nights at Freddys, and the Groundhog Day-inspired horror jaunt Happy Death Day.

AMC's Thrills & Chills, BlumFest 2024 Horror Movie Lineup: September 25: Paranormal Activity October 2: Lights Out October 9: Insidious: Chapter 2 October 16: Happy Death Day October 23: The Black Phone October 30: Five Nights at Freddys All of your nightmares are coming true. BlumFest is back, and so are your favorites.Get your tickets now at https://t.

Horror and Halloween fans, get ready for a weekend of unparalleled thrills as Midsummer Scream returns to the Long Beach Convention Center from July 26 to July 28. This year’s event is set to be the largest yet, with organisers expecting a record-breaking attendance of 50,000 people. A limited number of tickets, including one-day, weekend, and VIP “Gold Bat” passes, are still available for purchase at MidsummerScream.com.

Midsummer Scream is more than just a convention; it’s a non-stop, weekend-long celebration of all things Halloween and horror. The event serves as the official kickoff to the spooky season, bringing together the biggest names in horror, the most exciting home haunts, and an extensive array of vendors. With over 300 exhibitors showcasing their wicked wares, attendees are guaranteed to find something delightfully devilish.

The highlight of the event is the Hall of Shadows, a massive space featuring multiple walk-through haunted attractions and displays.

Horror movies can occasionally float just above the "average" line when it comes to cinematic quality. They're considered more of an "entertainment" genre than anything else. Only a few horror standalone movies and franchises have managed to establish themselves as a quality product of good writing, direction, and execution. In the horror genre, franchises like Paranormal Activity have established a solid fan base by playing with the worst possible human fears of the unknown and out-of-the-box ideas. Paranormal Activity redefined the found-footage trope after The Blair Witch Project and became a prominent club member even though it wasn't as iconic as The Exorcist or The Conjuring.

However, the franchise did develop a cult following with its surprisingly accurate portrayal of human anxieties related to what might happen around the house when everyone is in a deep eight-hour night's sleep. Almost every person who watched Paranormal Activity must have thought about...

Something about having a scary movie marathon on a late Autumn night feels so right. It’s the perfect Halloween season activity to enjoy with friends and family. Whether it be campy horror, a ghost story, or a classic slasher, the horror genre has a wide variety of franchises that make for incredible movie marathons.

It’s no secret some horror franchises get a bad rap because, let’s face it, horror sequels can be pretty awful. Still, no proper horror movie marathon is complete without a few unintentionally hilarious bad films to laugh at between the genuinely scary ones. Despite the inconsistent scares, these horror franchises are perfect for late-night movie marathons.

Update October 25, 2023, by Anthony Jeanetta. Late October is ideal for gathering friends and family and having a horror movie marathon. This list is updated to include more of the best horror franchises perfect for a scary movie marathon.

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

Horror movies might be snubbed by snobs and ignored by the Oscars, but they've never gone out of fashion for one simple reason: horror makes money. Other genres, from westerns to rom-coms, have risen and fallen at the box office, but horror is the true final girl of cinema. That's a lesson that Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum took to heart after "Paranormal Activity" became the most profitable horror movie of all time, building his studio up around a model of producing low-budget horror movies with massive returns at the box office.

It's a model that has taken Blumhouse from strength to strength over the last decade, and yet Blum still had doubters when he set his sights on an adaptation of...

Every year, horror fans and aficionados attempt to take on the daunting task of watching a horror movie for each day in the month of October. Aptly named 31 Days of Horror, the challenge usually consists of viewers watching a mixture of their favorite classics, recent releases, and popular genre staples that may be new to them. In celebration of the spooky season, we at MovieWeb have curated our own suggestions for the month, providing a plethora of favorites from our contributing writers and editors. Check out our 31 Days of Horror posts every day this October, and embrace all the freaky found footage, vicious vampires, and stalking slashers you could ever hope for. Today, we kick off Day Three of MovieWeb's 31 Days of Horror with a movie that completely redefined the found footage subgenre, Paranormal Activity.

A young man turns on a Sony Hdr-FX1 handheld camera and begins filming. We watch...

Found footage horror evolves in an unexpected way: the Paramount horror movie series Paranormal Activity has a stage play in the works.

THR reports that “Simon Friend, the veteran producer who brought Life of Pi to Broadway, has picked up the license to the Paramount horror movie series with the intent of bringing it to the West End via his Simon Friend Entertainment.”

The stage play adaptation of Paranormal Activity is in early development and set to be penned by Levi Holloway, who previously wrote Grey House.

The 2007 found footage film that started it all, Paranormal Activity, was written and directed by Oren Peli. The microbudget feature, made on very little money, wound up grossing $193.4 million globally and successfully launched a franchise still going strong with Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, most recently released in 2021 on Paramount+. The movies have grossed almost $900 million theatrically, THR reports.

In the initial...

With pop culture phenomenon Stranger Things already spreading its upside down-y tendrils to the stage this year, word arrives of another popular title making the jump to treading the boards. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paranormal Activity is in development as a play.

Oren Pelli's original micro-budget chiller starred Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston as a couple troubled by some demonic goings-on, all captured by security cameras, phones and camcorders.

The movie, made for a tight $15,000 (with extra for finishing touches and marketing when Paramount picked it up), has one of the most profitable ever made, earning $193.4 million and spawning a franchise that has so far earned close to a billion dollars.

Producer Simon Friend, who has movie-to-stage experience with The Da Vinci Code and Life Of Pi, will oversee the new potential play, while Levi Holloway, whose most recent work was horror-tinged Broadway show Grey House, is developing the script.

Netflix is reshuffling its streaming offerings once again, and the latest round of movies set to leave the platform includes a few new horror classics. More specifically, if you're looking for a scary movie to watch in September, you'll have to cross Oren Peli's 2009 horror phenomenon "Paranormal Activity" off your to-watch list before then, as it's due to leave the streamer at the end of this month.

"Paranormal Activity" may not be the most enduringly scary horror touchstone of the past two decades (its slow burn scares were polarizing even upon initial release), but it's certainly among the most replicated. The shoestring-budget flick about a couple who set up security cameras to pinpoint the source of unusual happenings in their home was inescapable upon its release, earning nearly $200 million at the box office and spawning six sequels and spinoffs and counting. Along with J.J. Abrams' "Cloverfield," the film...

Is it beginning to feel a little like 2020 to anyone else? As the major Hollywood studios continue to refuse even entertaining the completely reasonable requests from the striking actors' and writers' guilds, they've already started pushing back films that were previously set to arrive in the next couple of months, with more delays potentially on the way. Meanwhile, Netflix is doing better than ever -- although, in this case, it's thanks to their deeply unpopular but undeniably successful crackdown on password sharing and not because everyone is stuck at home with nothing else to do but finally stream those films and TV series they've been meaning to catch up on.

Speaking of which (how's that for a segue?), if you've been planning to watch any of the films or shows leaving Netflix in August 2023, now's the time to get cracking. There's nothing departing this month too likely to vanish completely into the streaming void.

Fans of thriller and horror movies have a lot of choices in terms of what to watch next, especially when deciding what sub-category. After all, when it comes to horror films, there are slasher flicks, creature features, body horror and so on. Incidentally, thriller watchers find themselves in the same boat -- psychological, mystery, legal, political, film noir, techno and the like. However, a specific subgenre within the two categories is gaining traction: screenlife.

While the term may be new for some, others will note movies that fall within this classification take a unique stance with their narrative style and, in most cases, utilize a visual technique where the events are only shown through computer, tablet or smartphone screens. This is very similar to the format initially used by the found footage approach, which has been around for decades. Both practices have brought a sense of realism and arguably engage...

(Clockwise from Top Left): Chicken Run (Dreamworks), Last Action Hero (Columbia Pictures), Starship Troopers (TriStar Pictures), Léon: The Professional (Buena Vista International)Graphic: AVClub

May is the start of the summer movie season which means Netflix—along with the other streamers—will have to up their game to...

Happy Thursday, everyone! We’re back today with the second set of interviews from our Indie Horror Month Revisited video series, featuring Oren Peli, the mastermind behind the Paranormal Activity franchise. During this first part of our interview with Peli, he discusses leaving behind his day job in hopes of making his first feature, the inspiration behind the idea of Paranormal Activity, finding cast members Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, and the arduous road he traveled to ensure that the film would be enjoyed by fans on the big screen after a series of successful screenings.

Check out the first part of our Ihm: Revisited video interview with Oren Peli below, and be sure to head back here tomorrow for the second half of our in-depth discussion with Peli right here on Daily Dead.

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Go Here to catch up on all of our Indie Horror Month features!

The post...

Underwater helmer Will Eubank has just been set to direct Paranormal Activity 7 with franchise writer Christopher Landon returning to write the screenplay. Last year, it was announced that Blumhouse was reviving the found footage horror franchise with plans to release the next installment in 2022. At the time, producer Jason Blum also announced that Landon was coming on board to help develop the project, though there were no plans for him to write the script at that time.

"I am helping my friends and co-collaborators at Paramount set a new course for the franchise," Landon said at the time. "I Am Not writing the script nor am I directing the new movie. I am eager and excited to hand the reigns over to a fresh filmmaker who will undoubtedly reinvigorate this franchise that the amazing Oren Peli created so many years ago."

Now, word is that Landon has decided to write...

Over a decade ago, Paranormal Activity was unleashed upon audiences and became one of the most profitable films ever made and spawned a new horror franchise. The found-footage film, which was written, directed, produced, and edited by Oren Peli on a micro-budget, followed a young couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. The…...

From the moment my photographer, Josh Mundy, and I pulled into the parking lot at the Wyndham Garden in Sterling Heights, Michigan, I knew that Astronomicon 2 would be considerably more sizable than its predecessor. Attendees not only didn’t have to brave a foot of snow as they did last year, but positive word of mouth and good promotion allowed for the second effort to attract droves of people hoping to meet their favorites celebrities, or to just take part in the festivities.

In addition to the factors just mentioned, I could plainly see how even more exhibitor tables were added to the lobby area that was once again home to the Ghostbusters Detroit setup, a delight to visitors of all ages. But once you ventured to the showroom floor itself, you’d find a generous helping of artists, crafters and vendors who had something to please horror, sci-fi and comic book fans.

Arriving in September 2009, Paranormal Activity was a surprise horror hit that almost got dumped into a wasteland of nothingness. Paramount executives caught wind of the movie and realized they had another Blair Witch phenomena on their hands. The rest, as they say, is horror movie history. Now, with six movies released under the franchise name, original director Oren Peli is feeling a bit nostalgic about it all. And he has uncovered some great audition tapes from that very first outing.

The filmmaker released the full extended version of the Paranormal Audition tapes on Youtube, which run a total of 10 minutes. He also released a shorter version that runs just 5 minutes in length. Both videos beautifully capture what he saw in his two leading actors. He says this about the tapes.

"The entirely improvised Paranormal Activity auditions and callbacks with Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston. Extended version."

While the movie didn't...

It's hard to believe it's been nearly ten years since the original Paranormal Activity made its debut on the festival circuit (it premiered in 2007, but didn't get a full theatrical release until 2009). I remember seeing the movie for the first time and being incredibly unsettled by it. I walked out of the theater into a creepy, foggy Los Angeles night, and kept all of the lights on in my apartment for the rest of the night before I ultimately fell into a restless sleep. I had read about how Steven Spielberg apparently thought his copy of the movie was haunted, and how he brought it back to his studio in a garbage bag because he didn't want it anywhere near his house.

I'm not sure how much of that Spielberg story is true and how much of it was crafted by a marketing team somewhere in order to add to the mystique of the movie,...

There’s no denying the effect Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity had on the horror genre and indie filmmaking as a whole. One of the reasons the movie was so believable was its stars, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. Their chemistry is… Continue Reading →

The post Horror History: Paranormal Activity – See Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat’s Audition Tapes appeared first on Dread Central.

As an exclusive for our Patreon members, we’re happy to share with you guys and gals the complete unedited testimonials of your favorite horror personalities and stars. To view the videos here, make sure to log in to Dread Central… Continue Reading →

The post Patreon Exclusive: Paranormal Activity’s Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat #SaveDreadCentral appeared first on Dread Central.

If you’re not partying it up in your best Miley Cyrus costume or passing out candy to adorable trick-or-treaters, GossipCenter suggests spending a spooky night taking in one (or all) of our 13 favorite Halloween flicks!

We’ve pulled together all the spookiest movies including everything from the horrifying original “Exorcist,” which debuted in 1973, to everyone’s favorite witch trio in 1993’s “Hocus Pocus.”

Check out the full list below and share your favorite film by tweeting us @GossipCenter or commenting on GossipCenter's Facebook page!

1. The Exorcist - (1973) Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair: When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

2. A Nightmare on Elm St. - (1984) John Sacon, Johnny Depp, Ronne Blakely, Robert Englund: In the dreams of his victims, a spectral child murderer stalks the children of the members of...

Delivery: The Beast Within attempts psychological horror on a realistic scale – well, as realistic as fake reality television can be – but in attempting to blur the lines between a Hellish pregnancy and deeply-rooted mental insanity, writer/director Brian Netto creates a found footage horror film without much intrigue or flavor. Mokumentary horror films are no longer a dime a dozen, and while a film like The Possession Of Michael King finds fresh, frantic new ways to introduce horrific scares, Delivery: The Beast Within feels lifeless, repetitive, and frustratingly underwhelming. It’s possible to find ways to inject genre craziness into films favoring a human vibe, but Netto would rather make demonic possession just a suggested afterthought, going the route of an even further watered-down Paranormal Activity copycat – minus a creeping sense of unnerving terror.

The Massy family are the latest subjects of America’s reality TV obsession, inviting viewers into...

There are so many sub-genres in horror. The vampire movie, zombie apocalypses, torture porn. But there's nothing more classic and purely fright-inducing than the things that go bump in the night. To celebrate this week's release of The Invoking, we bring you our Top 13 Favorite Haunted House Movies.

Is anything creepier than when your own house turns against you? You can (theoretically) get away from zombies, vamps, slashers and werewolves. But when your own home sweet home is the enemy… it's tough to recover from that.

We have some great Honorable Mentions to start off with. Fantastic director James Wan really seems to have a knack for the haunted house movie as he has one entry on the list itself and also gets a nod for Insidious, a creative look at the inner, an outer, workings of a haunted house. A Haunting in Connecticut was impressive as, in addition to the actual haunting going on,...

Demons. To quote Micah Sloat from Paranormal Activity... they suck. Still, they make great fodder for movies, and right now we've got the first word on the latest project from Gonzalo López-Gallego (Apollo 18, Open Grave).

From the Press Release

Atlas Independent, the affiliate company of Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment, announced today that they will produce Sanctuary Vs. Sanctuary, which will be directed by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego (Apollo 18, Open Grave) from a script written by Ryne Douglas Pearson (Knowing).

William Green and Aaron Ginsburg will produce for Atlas Independent. Atlas Entertainment’s Richard Suckle, Unbroken Pictures’ Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) and Adrienne Biddle will executive produce. Highland Film Group (Hfg) will handle worldwide sales and will introduce the film to international buyers at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.

Sanctuary Vs. Sanctuary follows three documentarians who travel to South America to investigate a town which mysteriously disappeared from the map.

As if the new holiday perennial Elf on the Shelf wasn't creepy enough by itself, MTV has released a new TV Spot for Paramount's horror spin-off Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, which turns Santa's little helper into something even scarier. Watch as the mischievous munchkin refuses to stay put in this latest look at the upcoming thriller. Will you be able to sleep tonight?

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones comes to theaters January 3rd, 2014 and stars Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston, Andrew Jacobs, Crystal Santos, Richard Cabral, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Brown, Micah Sloat. The film is directed by Christopher Landon.

Paramount Pictures didn't release a "Paranormal Activity" installment this year, but is planning to release two next year. One of them will be "Paranormal Activity 5," while the other is a Latino spin-off, called "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones." Today we have a new international trailer for "The Marked Ones," which shows a completely different group of characters, but takes place in the same world as the previous films. In fact, it explains how everything is tied to Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) from the first movie. "The Marked Ones" is directed by Christopher Landon (Burning Palms) and is set to hit theaters on January 3rd, 2014. "Paranormal Activity 5" will follow on October 24th, 2014. Trailer:...

With Halloween in the air, we thought it would be fun to reach out to the horror genre's biggest and brightest stars - both legends in the industry and up-and-coming superstars - to ask them two quick questions: What's your biggest fear, and what's your favorite scary movie? Read on for the results!

Some of the results will make you laugh. Some will make you shiver... and some, well some are just too funny for words. Sit back and get ready to hear from the likes of Anne Rice, John Carpenter, Robert Englund, the "Ghost Adventures" crew, cast members from "The Walking Dead," George A. Romero, and many - Many - more. Who knows? You may even find some new movies you should check out or at least revisit.

Let the scares begin!

A

Jace Anderson

Writer - The Toolbox Murders (2004), Schism, Night of the Demons (2009), Mother of Tears

1) I...

If you’re not partying it up in your best Miley Cyrus costume or passing out candy to adorable trick-or-treaters, GossipCenter suggests spending a spooky night taking in one (or all) of our 13 favorite Halloween flicks!

We’ve pulled together all the spookiest movies including everything from the horrifying original “Exorcist,” which debuted in 1973, to everyone’s favorite witch trio in 1993’s “Hocus Pocus.”

Check out the full list below and share your favorite film by tweeting us @GossipCenter or commenting on GossipCenter's Facebook page!

1. The Exorcist - (1973) Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair: When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

2. A Nightmare on Elm St. - (1984) John Sacon, Johnny Depp, Ronne Blakely, Robert Englund: In the dreams of his victims, a spectral child murderer stalks the children of the members of...

If the last week of October arrived without a healthy dose of Halloween-oriented programming ... well, it couldn't be the last week of October.

As people of all ages get ready to celebrate, with or without costumes, various television networks will be doing the same. Here's a sampling of some of the offerings intended to be treats more than tricks.

"The Good Witch's Destiny" (Sunday, Oct. 27, Hallmark Channel): Repeating from its premiere the previous week, the sixth of Catherine Bell's fantasy movies makes the birthday of her supposed-sorceress character Cassie quite memorable.

"Paranormal Activity" (Sunday, FX): Which forces are causing a young couple (Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat) great alarm in their home? They use video equipment to find out in this cost-effective 2007 horror hit.

"Hocus Pocus" (Sunday, ABC Family): The first of the last five of the channel's "13 Nights of Halloween" includes this seasonal movie favorite,...

Paramount Pictures didn't release a "Paranormal Activity" installment this year, but is planning to release two next year. One of them will be "Paranormal Activity 5," while the other is a Latino spin-off, called "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones." Today we have the trailer for "The Marked Ones," which shows a completely different group of characters, but takes place in the same world as the previous films. In fact, it explains how everything is tied to Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) from the first movie. "The Marked Ones" is directed by Christopher Landon (Burning Palms) and is set to hit theaters on January 3rd, 2014. "Paranormal Activity 5" will follow on October 24th, 2014. Trailer:...

Taking on a classic is a gutsy move, even for an award-winning filmmaker. And when director Kimberly Peirce signed on to re-imagine Stephen King's horror classic "Carrie," about a teenage girl with telekinetic powers hellbent on revenge, she knew she had some sky-high expectations to meet.

"I'd make a joke and say, 'I didn't give a f*ck,' but of course I felt pressure!" she told us recently while doing press for "Carrie." "But I think pressure is good."

All that pressure had Peirce thinking long and hard about what it would mean to sign on to a project of this scale, with its history and existing fan base. Having made just one film, 2008's "Stop-Loss," since her 1999 directorial debut, "Boys Don't Cry," it's clear, as a filmmaker, she doesn't make decisions lightly.

"I walked into this feeling a huge responsibility, much like I did with 'Boys Don't Cry...

Ben Peyser and Scott Rutherford Talk Ghost Team One, in theaters this Friday

This Halloween will be the first time in five years that a Paranormal Activity movie hasn't been in theaters. If you're missing the demon, Paramount still has you covered with the found footage thriller Ghost Team One, which isn't just packed full of crazy horror, but also serves up some of the funniest jokes seen on screen this year. It perfectly captures the tension and terror of a Paranormal Activity movie. But it also does something that franchise fails to do. It gives us characters we actually care about and a story that isn't completely reliant on the next jump scare.

We're going to say it: Ghost Team One is better than all four of the previous Paranormal Activity movies combined! And we'd much rather see Ghost Team Two at this point than Ghostbusters 3.

It's a...

With the demonically successful microbudget horror screening on ITV on Friday, here's a quick look back at the story of Katie and Micah and their unwanted house guest

Spoiler Alert: This blog is published ahead of the screening on ITV tonight (Friday) at 10.35pm. Do not read if you have not seen the film and don't want to know anything about it.

"You cannot run from this. It will follow you" – Dr Fredrichs

This Halloween, for the first time since 2009, there will be no new Paranormal Activity film. No implausibly comprehensive camera rigs in hallways. No sped-up sequences of people wobbling next to a bed for hours at a time. No interminable static shots of kitchens that do nothing whatsoever until a saucepan falls off a counter-top five minutes from the end. How will we cope?

Hopefully we'll all go back to the first film again. Its impact has been...

People in horror movies do the darndest things, don't they? We've all had a "Don't go in there, you idiot!" moment or twelve while watching fright flicks. Horror sure does bring out the stupids.

This counter-intuitive behavior makes it seem like these folks are handing over their lives on a silver platter, so in honor of this weekend's "Evil Dead" let's celebrate the good, the bad and the dumber-than-a-bag-of-hammers of the genre. Appropriately enough, our first entry comes from that franchise.

15. Ash, 'Army of Darkness' (1992)

Body Donor: Bruce Campbell

Iq Fail: Even in the semi-serious first "Evil Dead" Campbell's Ash was a few french fries short of a Happy Meal, but by this third entry he had devolved into hubris incarnate. His buffoonery lands him in the Middle Ages, where he's forced to do battle with skeletons raised after he misspoke three lousy words he was supposed...

Opening today is the highly anticipated latest installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise, Paranormal Activity 4. Picking up five years after the disappearance of Katie and Hunter, the film focuses on a suburban family that witness strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in. Starring in the film is Katie Featherston, who plays Katie in the franchise.

I recently had a chance to discuss Paranormal Activity 4 with Katie Featherston. The talented actress discussed what we can expect in the newest installment, whether there will be more Paranormal Activity movies, working with the directors, how she first became involved in the original film, and what she is going to wear for Halloween.

Here is what she had to say:

Latino Review: Can you discuss at what point in the story this film takes place in? Where does your character fit in and what family are we being introduced to?...

There was a time when October was the time for the perennial entry in the Saw series, but now a new entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise is as common as the autumn leaves changing color. Already on to their fourth installment, Paranormal Activity 4 will open this week, offering a new look at that tricky demon haunting people while they sleep. The franchise started out with San Diego couple Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) discovering that a malicious spirit had invaded their condo, which then went on to torment Katie's sister Kristi (Sprague Grayden) and her family in Paranormal Activity 2. The franchise went back in time to 1988 for Paranormal Activity 3, which saw a young Katie and Kristi's first experience with the Demon, and was the most successful entry in the series, earning $205 million worldwide. It's doubtful that Paranormal Activity 4 will be the final installment in the franchise,...

The "Paranormal Activity" movies are credited with taking the terror out of art-directed dungeons and dilapidated bathrooms and putting it right smack dab in the middle of our bedrooms. The "Saw" series raised a white flag of surrender after "Paranormal Activity" took most of the Halloween box office dollars in 2009, bringing an end to Jigsaw's legacy and returning us to the land of lo-fi horror.

Since then, the "Paranormal" series has become something of its own "Saw"-sized franchise, with the fourth installment set to hit theaters this Friday. Somewhat unfortunately (though probably inevitably), the more this decades-spanning haunted house tale expands and explains its increasingly silly mythology, the less scary and interesting it becomes — though we have to give props to the producers for maintaining the low-budget, "found footage" aesthetic that the first film incorporated so brilliantly.

Here's a refresher on all the bumps in the night (and, sometimes,...

Remy: Hey man, I found this old unmarked VHS under my grandad’s TV last week and was wondering if you wanted to watch it? Who knows what it could be!

Nato: Sure Remy, what’s the worst that can happen!

*20 minutes later*

Nato: Did we just watch a sex tape of your grandparents doing it?

Remy: Jesus Christ, that may be the most terrifying found footage I have ever seen, I am so sorry…

Nato: What the hell made you pick that random video of all things to show me!?

Remy: Well, it seems to be “working” for horror movies, and you wanted to talk about the found footage horror movement this week, so I thought this could make a cheesy introduction displaying the proverbial gamble that is found footage horror?

Nato: Well, now that you put it like that…wait…why didn’t we ever turn it off?...

It's all been leading to this... Until the next one, of course.

In the first Paranormal Activity, girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston) bonded with a spirit from her childhood and takes out some rage on her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat). In Paranormal Activity 2, Katie wasn't much kinder to her sister (Sprague Grayden) and her family, and in Paranormal Activity 3 we stepped back in time to 1988 to see how Katie first met the malevolent spirit that represents the activity of the title.

So what do Paranormal 3 directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have in mind for Paranormal Activity 4? Two trailers released last month didn't offer many clues other than to suggest that Katie and her nephew Hunter are back, and, lacking any family members to haunt, are tormenting a young girl who lives across the street. A new sneak peek has been released on Yahoo! and creepy atmosphere seems...

It seems like Christmas Halloween comes earlier and earlier every year. We're still neck-deep in the summer blockbuster season, but Paramount Pictures wants you to start thinking about the fall fright season, releasing two new trailers for Paranormal Activity 4, the latest installment in the wildly popular found-footage franchise that might just be the last installment if the tagline "All the activity has led to this..." is any indication.

Paranormal Activity 3 directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman return to helm the fourth chapter, which has fast-forwarded in time to 2011, five years after the events in Paranormal Activity 2 (PA3 was a prequel that took place in 1988). The "activity" that led Katie (Katie Featherston) to kill her boyfriend (Micah Sloat), her sister (Sprague Grayden), and her brother-in-law (Brian Boland), and kidnap her sister's infant son, Hunter, has now appeared to have taken possession (whether literally or figuratively, we can't say) of the young boy,...

In Part One of our video interview series with Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli, we chatted about the challenges of making a micro-budget indie horror movie and how he knew from the moment original co-stars Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat met that he had something quite special.

We also heard more from Peli about the much-publicized potential remake that DreamWorks and Paramount quickly nixed once they realized what kind of magic Peli and his Pa stars had conjured up while shooting the flick back in 2006.

For Part Two of our exclusive video interview with Peli for Dread Central’s Indie Horror Month, he discusses the intricacies of the unique “Demand It” marketing campaign that Paramount launched for Paranormal Activity during 2009 as well as why he decided to take a step back from directing the highly successful Pa sequels.

Peli also describes just how drastically his life has changed since making Paranormal Activity,...

In 2006 former video game programmer Oren Peli embarked on an ambitious career change: Inspired by the 1999 found footage flick The Blair Witch Project, Peli cast up-and-coming actors Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat for his own found footage fear fest - Paranormal Activity.

A $15,000 micro-budget horror film with a first-time director at the helm and two unknown actors front and center, Peli's Paranormal Activity faced insurmountable odds when it came time to start spreading the word on the film. After being dismissed by a handful of festivals and studio executives alike, Pa was finally nabbed up by a few notable film festivals including Screamfest, Slamdance and the Telluride Film Festival over the course of almost two years.

Eventually Paranormal Activity and Peli caught the attention of the executives at DreamWorks - in particular a certain Mr. Spielberg - and the studio nabbed the flick right up. Thereafter the film made its...

There is a lot Paranormal Activity grand maestro Oren Peli won’t talk about. He won’t talk about his long delayed Area 51. He won’t talk about any hypothetical projects or anyone he wants to work with in the future. He won’t give any specifics on his new TV series, The River. And he professes that he has no idea what Paranormal Activity 4 will look like. With this in mind, it is no great shock to announce that a recent afternoon tea with Peli, as well as Christopher Nicholas Smith, Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown (all of Paranormal Activity 3) and Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston (stars of the original film) revealed no great secrets about the franchise’s future. Rather, much like the films themselves, it was an afternoon of looking back and filling in the holes and unanswered questions about what came before.

Last week Paramount held a "Tea With Toby" at The Roosevelt Hotel in celebrate today's DVD/Blu-ray release of Paranormal Activity 3. What was "Tea With Toby"? It was a press event where I (among other journalists) was summoned to the hotel for a late afternoon Tea. Complete with sandwiches, smoked salmon, little pastries - what I had always imagined Tea being like in England. We were there to discuss the film (and the franchise) with Oren Peli, Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Christopher Smith, Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown. While it was a breezy and enjoyable 90 minutes, the gracious and polite Peli lived up to his notoriously tight-lipped reputation in regard to any new info on the series. And the cast followed suit.

The third film in the hugely successful "found footage" series arriving on DVD and Blu-ray today, ShockTillYouDrop recently attended a special Paranormal Activity event at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

Dubbed "Tea with Toby" after the supernatural entity that is finally given a name in the third film, the gathering brought together the series' creator, Oren Peli and cast members from all three films, including the first film's stars, Katie Featherston (Katie) and Micah (Micah Sloat) and the third film's Christopher Nicholas Smith (Dennis), Chloe Csengery (Young Katie) and Jessica Tyler Brown (Young Kristi Rey).

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