Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Michael Bayouth, Amber Armstrong, Mark Fredrichs

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

60% liked it

187,705 ratings

Critics

82% liked it

175 critics

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Oren Peli

Release Date: September 25, 2009

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DVD Release Date: December 29, 2009

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Stats: 21,215 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (21,215)


  • December 22, 2009
    "You promised me you wouldn't get a fucking Ouija board!
    - No, I promised I wouldn't go buy Ouija board. I borrowed one."

    So this movie has been given the biggest hype this year. Already released back in '07, 'Paranormal Activity' was re-released again and was a huge hit. It cos...( read more)t only 15000 but has made over 100 million USD's, making it one of the most profitable movies ever made.

    Is it any good then? 'Paranormal Activity' reminds me of 'Blair Witch Project', which everyone of you should at least heard of at some point. 'BWP' had a scarier story, with the woods as the evil thingy. 'PA' steals a lot from the later, with its documentary style and "authentic" videos. Oh yeah, the answer to the question is... This movie sucks ass.

    A 30 something couple are being harassed by some scary demon. They try to get an exorcist but he's conveniently on vacation. Do they still stay in the house? Of course! So what's the scary stuff here then? Watching an Ouija board moving and being burned? Footprints on the floor? Watching the hysteric woman stand for hours still at night watching her husband? Slaming doors? All clichés...

    This film is being advertised as the scariest film ever made, with people crying and leaving the theater. What the fuck is wrong with you!? Scary in what way? I was scared only because of one thing, and that being the fact that I got robbed by the theatre and didn't know how to get my euros back...

    Sure, believe the hype and go see the "scariest" film ever made. Spend 90 minutes in a dark theatre and understand that you could do better things instead. Fuck...
  • December 16, 2009
    Review coming soon.
  • December 8, 2009
    Don't fall for the stories of people walking out of this film because it's too scary. It doesn't even pretend to be scary until at least an hour into it. Somebody's leg is being pulled. And speaking of pulled legs ... that is the only scary scene in the movie.

    There are alleged...( read more)ly three different endings to the film. I saw the original one ... and it's not scary or satisfying at all. There's a little bit of off-screen screaming that abruptly turns into silence. OK, that can be unnerving but it's just a technique. It doesn't move the story to anywhere that matters. The ending being shown in theaters now might be better--a whole bunch more technique with more frightening images that is over with quickly. The original peters out to nothingness for too long and has no meaning.

    Even if we grant that either or both of the two endings I didn't see kick total ass, that doesn't make it a good film. It makes it three minutes of coolness that requires ninety minutes of suffering to get to. The guy in this film is a completely unlikeable moron. The girl is OK but I never really thought she was scared, more just annoyed by her idiotic day-trader boyfriend. I think everyone acknowledges that this film is mostly, for at least an hour, nothing but set up before anything happens, and that's too much time spent with bad actors working without a script. There's nothing subtle about it.

    sitenoise at the movies: Paranormal Activity
  • December 6, 2009
    A masterclass in hype. The issue with Paranormal Activity is that - for it's budget - the film is impressive, yet it is also this level of experience that begins to show as a weakness when taken in it's theatrical context. While the film knows how to scare, it tends to rarely pus...( read more)h these scares to the extremes that it is begging for. It moves at a slowly inclining pace, yet tends to become more predictable as it's tension rises throughout. The film is watchable - even enjoyable at parts - but for it's level of showcase it's script becomes a telling sign of filmmakers learning their craft.
  • December 5, 2009
    This movie scared the piss out of me.

    There. I said it.

    After all the hype, all the Blair Bitch Project comparisons, bla, bla, bla, I'm glad I got to watch this in a DARK ROOM by MYSELF. Because it was terrifying.

    Now, I'm not normally scared at all by horror movies. In f...( read more)act, I think that most are utterly laughable (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Grudge, and A Nightmare on Elm Street were all hilarious). But fuck me sideways! I was talking to the TV...I never do that and it pisses me off when people do it in movie theaters. But I was totally going..."No bro! Don't go up there! Don't go up there! Fuck! Fucking....FUCK! Don't do it! BROOOOOOOOOO" and I literally had to pause the fucking movie 3/4 of the way through and take a few deep breaths to continue. I was a butt fucking 8 year old kid watching this! NOTHING has ever done this to me before...except fucking Fantasia when I was 4 years old and left the theater crying for some reason. I've NEVER been this scared when watching a movie EVER. PERIOD.

    Yes, this is the scariest movie I've ever seen. BAR NONE.

    What creeped me out the most was the fact that barely no conventional horror techniques were used. There were no quick cuts, cheap CGI or visual effects, or monster hiding in the shadows techniques. No no no! This flick went OLD SCHOOL...and reminded us all that what's NOT seen is always scarier than what you show us. My imagination was running wild on this beast.

    There's not much to say about the filming of the movie itself. The director comes up with a scenario, hires two unknown schmoes to film (in his own house) and they wrap in a week. The acting is a little lame at times, I'll admit that, but SO WHAT. The point of the "script" wasn't to portray witty dialogue and interesting characters. The point was to present itself as if it doesn't exist...so that we're left thinking we're watching actual evidence of a "fictional event". What's weird is that even though you are constantly reminded there is a video camera being held by an actor filming the whole thing, I never felt like I was watching a movie. I felt like I was watching two REAL people video taping one scary ass demon in their house for a span of a month or two.

    This movie was like a youtube movie sent from hell...it reminded me of those creepy videos you watch until a zombie-looking creature leaps out in front of the camera and makes you temporarily shit your self (you prarie dog a little bit but don't quite defecate). Except, in this movie, you not only have a fecal evacuation...you end up shitting all over yourself five or six times. Something about how real it all seemed just got to me. Fucked me up!

    Now I know some of you laughed your whole way through the movie, didn't find one ounce of it scary...and thought it was fucking retarded. Some of you thought BWP was scarier...okay that's cool. But to me, this was one horrifying movie made for less than half of a USC graduate thesis by a crew of actors and filmmakers with less experience than anyone at ANY major film program. BVP AT LEAST had some experience from its two directors (Sanchez and Myrick) with a previous directing credit or two on their resume before this movie. I really applaud Peli...first time filmmaker doing more with less money than anyone has done all decade...another reason we can all say FUCK YOU UWE BOLL SACK.

    Enough. I'm tired. I'm just freaked out. I only write long reviews like this when I've seen a movie that really got to me. And man... this one sure did.

    Go see it now.

    PS: Before I forget, I refused to watch the trailer, read any reviews, or know anything about this movie coming into it. I was very smart.

    I ALSO didn't watch the theatrical cut...I saw the ORIGINAL cut...and the ending was AWESOME and not as stupid as the theatrical ending I've been reading about. So do yourself a favor and watch the original. NOW. NOW.

    ...

    GO WATCH THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEERrrrRRRRING MOVIE
  • December 23, 2009
    Right, this couple get a camera and film themselves for about an hour and a half, during which not much happens. Then at the end something happens but I could have just watched that bit on youtube and missed all the banality that preceeded it.
  • December 23, 2009
    scary.....my friend was laughing at me while we are watching it bcoz i was almost tearing her t.shirt....hehehe....
  • December 23, 2009
    Given their budget, they created a very suspenseful and atmospheric movie.
  • December 23, 2009
    It was an okay movie. I thought it was going to be scarier than it was. I would recommend it tho. It really wasnt a bad movie. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. This movie wasn't just scary, but there was a bit of comedy in it. Micah was ...( read more)just full of sarcasm and I loved it. He was hilarious! I thought these were real recordings? Then why are there alternate endings? Hmmmmm...
  • December 23, 2009
    Really enjoyed this. scared the crap out of the other half :P

Critic Reviews


December 15, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It illustrates one of my favorite points, that silence and waiting can be more entertaining than frantic fast-cutting and berserk f/x. For extended periods here, nothing at all is happening, and belie... full review

November 27, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Paranormal Activity shows how little it takes for inventive filmmakers to do a lot. full review

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

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