Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Michael Bayouth

Katie and Micah are enjoying a happy and carefree existence. Their future looks promising until bizarre events begin to occur at night. In order to get to the bottom of things, Katie and Micah purchas...( read more  read more... )e a video camera to find out what happens at night while they sleep.

Flixster Users

63% liked it

146,068 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

133 critics

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Oren Peli

Release Date: September 25, 2009

Invite friends to see Get Showtimes

Stats: 16,427 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (16,427)


  • November 16, 2009
    This will be the last movie of its kind that I will see. I don't think I need to hear someone screaming to have the person turn off the fucking camera. Plus the last 5 seconds pretty much take away what I did happen to like.
  • November 15, 2009
    Review coming soon.
  • November 8, 2009
    Progressively freakier stuff happened each night. I dreaded each nighttime bedroom episode. Scarier for us, but why did they leave their bedroom door wide open to that dark hallway and staircase? I had trouble going to sleep in the dark for the next few nights after seeing this ...( read more)movie. The characters were somewhat annoying and got what they deserved after messing with a Ouija board and taunting the paranormal; typical stupid movie haunted house owners didn't leave after such scary things happened. I found it hard to believe the demon would follow them if they left the house; it took years to find Katie after her childhood experiences. The daytime scenes were boring; I craved more night action. The ending was as effective as the Blair Witch had. A fun ride, but I won't be buying the DVD.
  • November 5, 2009
    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 o...( read more)f 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.
  • November 3, 2009
    The story behind "Paranormal Activity" is an astonishing one - the film, shot in one week by Israeli-born filmmaker Oren Peli, first came to horror festivals in 2007. Now, with Paramount utilizing an ingenious release strategy built solely on word-of-mouth, the micro-budgeted phe...( read more)nomenon has raked in over $60 millon.

    The film, like "The Blair Witch Project" or "Cloverfield", utilizes an ultra-realistic "found footage" approach. The limitations of the equipment are certainly noticeable - both the audio and video quality are terrible - but the film's technical inadequacies only add to it's conceit.

    Katie (Katie Featherston), an English major, has been haunted all of her life by a tormenting demon. Now, after revealing this information to her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat), his interest peaks to such an extent that he begins to film their bedroom every night. Surely enough, Micah and Katie begin noticing things on the tape that they had slept through - loud crashes, doors swinging open, lights flickering. As Micah begins to antagonize their intruder, it's appearances become increasingly violent.

    The bedroom scenes in the film are enormously effective. Utilizing a stationary camera with a wide angle lens, the audience is forced to study the environment and detect any changes - will a shadow appear on the door? Will the bedsheets ripple? Will the pounding footsteps begin to make their way towards the doorway? The success of "Paranormal Activity" is that it doesn't rely on it's jump scares. We're fully aware of where the demon is in relation to the couple, but the horrific claustrophobia of the bedroom makes for a handful of pitch-perfect suspense sequences.

    Because "Paranormal Activity" has been such a smashing success, both the over-hyping and the backlash has begun. Before you get sick of hearing about it, go and experience it for yourself. Something tells me that the film won't have any success translating to home viewing, but in the theater there's nothing quite like it.
  • November 20, 2009
    THIS MOVIE SUCKED!!!
  • November 20, 2009
    Paranormal Activity tiene una de las mejores escenas de terror que he visto, deja a un lado, el exceso de sangre que abunda ahora en las películas y se centra en un juego psicológico, que sin duda cumple con mantener el suspenso al máximo en algunas escenas.

    Su mayor problema es...( read more) que la historia avanza de forma muy lenta, todo el principio es aburrido. Además las actuaciones no son de lo mejor, convincentes en algunas partes, pero muy malas en otras. 6/10
  • November 20, 2009
    I don't like the first part of the scenes, kind of boring...I just like the part on the end, the rest...
  • November 20, 2009
    Spine-chilling. Scared the hell out of me.
  • November 20, 2009
    It was only scary the last 15 minutes and I admit the scary parts do make you paranoid and get stuck in your head.

Critic Reviews


November 9, 2009
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

The same old thing dressed up in very slightly different clothes. full review

October 12, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

In the light of day, it's all very silly and conventional. But of course we're not talking about the light of day. full review

October 9, 2009
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

It works best when it comes out of nowhere, because that's, in the end, where it goes. full review

October 9, 2009
Kurt Loder, MTV

Even Roger Corman might have hesitated to pitch this deal to one of his hungry young proteges: "You get a little over $11,000, one camera and two unknown actors to make a really scary movie. No effect... full review

October 9, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

This unsettling ultra-low-budget tale capitalizes on our innate fear of things that go bump in the night, and adds a supernatural element that will effectively terrorize even the toughest among us. full review

October 8, 2009
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Without financing, stars or more than a couple of special effects, first-time writer/director Olen Peli has made a diabolically effective essay in irrational horror. full review

October 1, 2009
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

With a $15,000 budget too puny to empty a petty-cash drawer, the no-frills Paranormal Activity comes packed with thrills. full review

View more Paranormal Activity reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • Ghanjaspawn
    November 14, 2009
    Complete and utterly EPIC FAIL. It had some freaky scenes, but this movie was totally over-hyped. I've seen episodes of Ghost Hunters scarier than this.
  • Giwrg0sSs
    November 1, 2009
    Looks Really Scary......
  • sunshinegurlsrule95
    October 24, 2009
    but you people do know the ENTIRE movie is them and no crew or anything.
    i kinda liked it but not really cuz thier house looked like mine so thats how i got abit creeped out..

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Joey (Making Contact)
    Joey (Making Contact) (0%)
  • [Rec]
    [Rec] (91%)
  • The Notebook
    The Notebook (8%)
  • The Blair Witch Project
    The Blair Witch Project (94%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Theater Showtimes


No showtimes found.

Paranormal Activi... : Watch Free on TV


Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Paranormal Activity. Want to create one?

Most Popular Skin