Paranormal Activity (film)
Encyclopedia
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Oren Peli
. The film centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. It is presented in the style of "found footage
," from a camera set up by the couple in an attempt to photograph what is haunting them.
Originally developed as an independent feature
, the film was acquired by Paramount Pictures
. It received a limited U.S. release on September 25, 2009 and nationwide release on October 16, 2009. The film earned nearly $108 million at the U.S. box office and $194 million worldwide. Paramount/DreamWorks acquired the U.S. rights for $350,000. It is one of the most profitable movies ever made, based on return on investment
, although such figures are difficult to verify independently as this is likely to exclude marketing costs.
A prequel, Paranormal Activity 2
, was released on October 22, 2010, and was followed by a third film titled Paranormal Activity 3
on October 21, 2011.
) and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat), are a young couple who recently moved into a two-story tract house
in suburban San Diego, California
. Katie claims that an "Evil" presence has haunted her since childhood and believes that it has followed her to their new home. Each night, Micah mounts a video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record any paranormal
activity that might occur while they sleep, in the hopes of solving the problem himself. The first night, the only thing they catch are footstep noises. Katie hires a psychic, Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs), who assesses that she is being haunted not by a ghost, but by a demon
. He says the demon feeds off negative energy, and its intent is to haunt and torment Katie no matter where she goes. He advises them not to taunt or communicate with the demon, and to contact demonologist
Dr. Johann Averies for help. Though Katie seems interested and engaged in the situation, Micah does not take it seriously.
The camera captures several supernatural
phenomena which remain minor at first, such as the bedroom door moving by itself during night 3. During night 5 however, Katie wakes up from a nightmare and it is revealed that something was whispering to her in her sleep. Micah begins to taunt the demon and the phenomena worsens; during night 13, they are awoken by an otherworldly screech and a loud thud. They go downstairs to investigate and find the chandelier moving by itself. On night 15, Katie awakens and spends several hours standing by the bed staring at Micah while he sleeps, before going outside to sit on the backyard swing. Micah awakens and tries to convince her to come inside but she refuses, her voice dreamlike and detached. When Micah goes inside to get her a blanket, he finds the TV turned on in the bedroom, and is then startled by Katie, who followed him inside but says that he woke her up. Katie remembers nothing the next day.
Katie, already irritated by Micah's flippant response to the situation, becomes irate when Micah brings home a Ouija board
despite Dr. Fredrichs' warnings. The two go out of the house that evening, leaving the Ouija board in the living room. The curtains and plants start to blow around and the Ouija board's planchette
moves on its own. A small fire erupts on the board, but it extinguishes itself before they get home. It seems that the board has left them an unrecognizable and unreadable message. On night 17, Micah sprinkles talcum powder in the hallway and when the couple is awoken by noises, they find non-human footprints leading to the bedroom from the attic. In the attic, Micah finds a burnt photograph of a young Katie, which was previously thought to have been destroyed in an unexplained house fire.
The next night, a light turns on and off and the bedroom door slams shut. Loud banging is heard, as something is apparently trying to get in. They discover that the glass over a photo of them has been smashed, with Micah's image scratched. Dr. Averies is abroad when Micah finally agrees to invite him, so Dr. Fredrichs comes instead. Upon his arrival, Dr. Fredrichs immediately has a sense of dread. He apologetically leaves despite their pleas for his help, stating that his presence is only making the demon angry. On night 19, a shadow moves across the bedroom door. The paranormal activity starts to become physical; Katie is pulled out of the bedroom by an invisible force during night 20. Stressed and exhausted, the couple decide to go to a hotel. Micah finds Katie gripping a cross
so tightly that it bloodies her palm. Micah, angry at a situation he cannot control, burns the cross and the picture found in the attic. Just as he is set to leave, a suddenly apathetic, languid Katie insists that they will be okay now, her voice flat.
On night 21, Katie awakens to once again stand and stare at Micah while he sleeps. She walks out of the darkness, holding a large bloody kitchen knife, her shirt bloodied. She sits beside the bed, holding the knife and rocking herself, until about 2 p.m. the next day, when her friend Amber calls and leaves a message expressing her concern. At about 9:20 p.m. that night, Katie is still sitting and rocking by the bed, and Amber can be heard entering the house. During this short period, Katie stops rocking and after Amber sees Micah's body, she runs out of the house and Katie resumes rocking. Half an hour later, just after 9:50 p.m., police enter the home and discover Micah's body as well. As they are checking Micah for vital signs, a light turns on in the bedroom down the hallway, but before the police see it, the light turns off again. They discover Katie, still sitting beside the bed with the knife. As they call to her, she wakes from her catatonic state and seems confused. As she approaches them, knife in hand, calling Micah, they ask her to drop the weapon. Suddenly the bedroom door behind the police officers slams shut, startling them and causing them to shoot Katie, who collapses on the floor. The police then call dispatch and check the bedroom at the end of the hall, but find nothing. They discover the video camera, still running. A dedication to and a picture of Katie and Micah are then shown.
In one of them, seen in the theatrical version of the film, after Katie comes out of bed, she stands beside it staring at Micah for approximately two hours and then walks downstairs. After a moment of silence, Katie screams Micah's name, waking Micah who rushes to her. The camera records Katie screaming incessantly, while Micah tries to talk to her when he suddenly lets out a cry of pain. Katie's screaming stops and a brief silence is followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. After another brief silence, Micah's body is violently hurled at the camera, knocking it over sideways and revealing Katie standing in the doorway. She then slowly walks into the room, her clothing soaked with blood. Crouching over his body, she sniffs Micah (who has evidently been murdered) and then slowly looks up at the camera with a sly smile. As she lunges toward the camera, her face takes on a demonic appearance just as the scene cuts to black. An epilogue
text states that Micah's body was discovered by the police on October 11, 2006, and that Katie's whereabouts remain unknown.
The second alternate ending was shown at only one public viewing and was later offered as an alternate ending on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film. In this ending, Katie gets out of bed and stands staring at Micah, as she did in the original ending, except she does not move to Micah's side of the bed. About three hours pass, then she finally goes downstairs. She lets out a blood-curdling scream, which wakes Micah up and he runs downstairs. The screaming continues, and the sounds of a struggle are heard before the noises abruptly stop. There is silence for a short while before loud footsteps are heard on the stairs. Katie then walks into the bedroom, blood covering her shirt, with a bloody knife in her hand. She closes and locks the bedroom door, then walks up to the camera, standing idle briefly. She then takes the knife and slits her own throat, then falls to the floor, dead.
had been afraid of ghosts his entire life, even fearing the comedy film Ghostbusters
, but intended to channel that fear into something positive and productive. Peli took a year to prepare his own house for shooting, going so far as to repaint the walls, add furniture, put in a carpet, and build a stairwell. In this time, he also did extensive research into paranormal phenomena and demonology, stating, "We wanted to be as truthful as we could be." The reason for making the supernatural entity in the story a demon was a result of the research pointing to the most malevolent and violent entities being "demons". The phenomena in the film take place largely at night—the vulnerability of being asleep, Peli reasoned, taps into a human being's most primal fear, stating, "If something is lurking in your home there's not much you can do about it."
Attempting to focus on believability rather than action and gore, Peli chose to shoot the picture with a home video camera. In deciding on a more raw and stationary format (the camera was almost always sitting on a tripod or something else) and eliminating the need for a camera crew, a "higher degree of plausibility" was created for the audience as they were "more invested in the story and the characters". Peli says that the dialogue was "natural" because there was no real script. Instead, the actors were given outlines of the story and situations to improvise, a technique known as "retroscripting
" used in the making of The Blair Witch Project
. In casting the movie, Peli auditioned "a few hundred people" before finally meeting Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. He originally auditioned them individually and later called them back to audition together. Peli was impressed with the chemistry between the actors, saying, "If you saw the [audition] footage, you would've thought they had known each other for years."
During a guest appearance on The Jay Leno Show
on November 3, 2009, Sloat and Featherston explained they each saw the casting call on LACasting. Featherston noted they were originally paid $500 for their work.
The film was shot out of sequence due to Peli's self-imposed seven day shooting schedule, though Peli would have preferred the story unfold for the actors as he had envisioned it. Sloat, who controlled the camera for a good deal of the film, was a former cameraman at his university's TV station. "It was a very intense week", Peli recalled, stating that the film would be shot day and night, edited at the same time, and would have the visual effects applied to it as the acting footage was being finalized.
The film was screened at 2007's Screamfest Horror Film Festival
, where it impressed an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency, Kirill Baru, so much that CAA signed on to represent Peli. Attempting to find a distributor for the film and/or directing work for Peli, the agency sent out DVDs of the movie to as many people in the industry as they could, and it was eventually seen by Miramax Films
Senior Executive Jason Blum, who thought it had potential. He worked with Peli to re-edit the film and submitted it to the Sundance Film Festival
, but it was rejected. The DVD also impressed DreamWorks
executives Adam Goodman, Stacey Snider, and finally Steven Spielberg
, who cut a deal with Blum and Peli.
DreamWorks' plan was to remake the film with a bigger budget and with Peli directing, and only to include the original version as an extra when the DVD was eventually released. "They didn't know what to do with [the original]", said Blum; they just wanted to be "in business" with Peli. Blum and Peli agreed, but stipulated a test screening of the original film before going ahead with the remake, believing it would be well-received by a theatrical audience.
During the screening, people began walking out; Goodman thought the film was bombing
, until he learned that the viewers were actually leaving because they were so frightened. He then realized a remake was unwise. Paramount Pictures
, which acquired DreamWorks in 2005, bought the domestic rights to the film, and international rights to any sequels, for $350,000 USD. When the film was taken in by Paramount Pictures
, several changes were made. Some scenes were cut, others added, and the original ending was scrapped, with two new endings being shot. The ending shown in theaters during the film's worldwide release is the only one of the three to feature visual effects
, and it differs from the endings previously seen at the Screamfest and Burbank screenings. The theatrical release was delayed indefinitely because Paramount had put all DreamWorks productions on hold. Meanwhile, a screening for international buyers resulted in the sale of international rights in 52 countries. Only after Goodman became production chief at Paramount in June 2009 did the film finally get slated for a fall release.
in North America on October 14, 2007, was shown at the Slamdance Film Festival
on January 18, 2008, and screened at the 36th Annual Telluride Film Festival
on September 6, 2009.
On September 25, 2009, the movie opened in 13 college towns across the United States. On his website, director Oren Peli invited internet users to "demand" where the film went next by voting on eventful.com. This was the first time a major motion picture studio used the service to virally market
a film. Twelve of the 13 venues sold out. On September 28, Paramount issued a press release on Peli's website, announcing openings in 20 other markets on Friday, October 2, including large-market cities such as New York and Chicago.
On October 3, it was reported that a total of 33 screenings in all 20 markets sold out and that the movie had made $500,000 domestically. A day later, Paramount announced that the film would have a full limited release
in 40 markets, playing at all hours (including after-midnight showings). On October 6, Paramount announced that the movie would be released nationwide if the film got 1,000,000 "demands" on eventful.com. The full limited release of the film started on Friday, October 9. On October 10 the Eventful.com counter hit over 1,000,000 requests. Paramount announced soon after that the film would get a wide domestic release
on Friday, October 16 and then expand to more theaters on the 23rd. By November, it was showing in locales worldwide.
and Blu-ray
on December 29, 2009. The home release media includes an alternate ending to the theatrical version, in which Katie slits her own throat in front of the camera, then collapses to the floor. It was released in the UK on March 22, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray with some specials.
The DVD and Blu-ray was released in Australia on April 2, 2010. In March 2010, a limited VHS
edition was released in the United States
and the Netherlands
. This was accomplished after a petition on the website, WeWantVHS.com.
Additionally, at the end of the credits, 15 minutes worth of names were added to the DVD release as part of a special promo where the fans who "demanded" the movie were asked by email if they wanted to have their name appear as a thank you for the movie's success.
, the film has an overall approval 'certified fresh' rating from critics of 82%. Movie critics James Berardinelli
and Roger Ebert
each awarded it 3.5 stars out of a maximum of 4 stars. Ebert
stated in his review: "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 believe me, you won't be bored." Entertainment Weekly
critic Owen Gleiberman
gave Paranormal Activity an A- rating and called it "frightening...freaky and terrifying" and noted that "Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés." Bloody Disgusting
ranked the film 16th in their list of the "Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade", with the article saying, "Peli deserves props for milking the maximum amount of tension out of the spare, modern setting – an ordinary, cookie-cutter tract home in San Diego. It doesn’t sound very scary, but Peli manages to make it terrifying. If you aren’t white-knuckling your armrest at least once or twice while watching it, you probably don’t have a pulse.." However, David Stratton
of the Australian version of At the Movies remarked that "it was extremely unthrilling, very obvious, very cliched. We've seen it all before."
As it expanded to 160 theaters on the October 9–11 weekend, the film grossed $2,659,296 on that Friday having a per-theater average of $16,621. It went on to gross $7,900,695, which was $800,000 more than originally estimated. Over the weekend, the film reached the week's highest per-theater average of $49,379, coming in at #4 for the weekend, behind Couples Retreat
, Zombieland
, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
. Over the weekend of October 16, 2009, Paranormal Activity expanded to 600 more theaters, grossing $19,617,650 with $25,813 per theater average gross, and bringing the total gross to $33,171,743. On the weekend of October 23, 2009, Paranormal Activity rose to #1, beating out the expected number one box office victor Saw VI
, earning $21,104,070, expanding to 1,945 theaters for an average of $10,850 per theater, compared with the $14,118,444 gross from 3,036 theaters, and $4,650 average for Saw VI. The film has grossed $107,918,810 domestically and $85,436,990 in foreign markets, with a total gross of $193,355,800.
Using unique social media strategy for both the first and subsequent films, Paranormal Activity was one of the first film franchises of its kind to use social media to make the connection with filmgoers.
.
. It was penned by Scott Lobdell
and features art from Mark Badger
.
episode "Verna
" spoofed Katie's sleepwalking with a fast-forward video of Liz Lemon
"sleep-eating."
On March 7, 2010, Alec Baldwin
and Steve Martin
performed a spoof of the film as part of the 82nd Academy Awards
.
On The Suite Life On Deck
, Zach and the guys try and find a ghost on the ship so while they're sleeping, they recorded their sleep to find if there is a ghost on the ship.
Mockbuster
group The Asylum
created a parody titled Paranormal Entity
in 2010.
In South Park
episode "City Sushi
", Butters sets up a camera in his room to try to find an explanation for his bedwetting (and purported multiple personality disorder). The next morning, the camera footage reveals Butter's psychiatrist Dr. Janus entering his room in the middle of the night, standing for hours next to Butters's bed - seen in fast-forward, similarly to Katie's scenes in Paranormal Activity - and then urinating on Butters before punching him several times and sneaking back out.
Oren Peli
Oren Peli is an Israeli-born American film director, producer and screenwriter, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer.-Biography:...
. The film centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. It is presented in the style of "found footage
Found footage (genre)
Found footage is a genre of filmmaking, especially horror, in which all or a substantial part of a film is presented as discovered film or video recordings, often left behind by missing or dead protagonists. The events onscreen are seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved,...
," from a camera set up by the couple in an attempt to photograph what is haunting them.
Originally developed as an independent feature
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, the film was acquired by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. It received a limited U.S. release on September 25, 2009 and nationwide release on October 16, 2009. The film earned nearly $108 million at the U.S. box office and $194 million worldwide. Paramount/DreamWorks acquired the U.S. rights for $350,000. It is one of the most profitable movies ever made, based on return on investment
Return on investment
Return on investment is one way of considering profits in relation to capital invested. Return on assets , return on net assets , return on capital and return on invested capital are similar measures with variations on how “investment” is defined.Marketing not only influences net profits but also...
, although such figures are difficult to verify independently as this is likely to exclude marketing costs.
A prequel, Paranormal Activity 2
Paranormal Activity 2
Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry. The film is a parallel prequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film...
, was released on October 22, 2010, and was followed by a third film titled Paranormal Activity 3
Paranormal Activity 3
Paranormal Activity 3 is a 2011 American supernatural horror film. It is the third film of the Paranormal Activity series and serves as a prequel, set 18 years prior to the events of the first two films...
on October 21, 2011.
Plot
In 2006, Katie (played by Katie FeatherstonKatie Featherston
-Life and career:Featherston was born in Texas. She attended James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas and participated in numerous drama activities. She attended college at the Southern Methodist University where she studied acting...
) and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat), are a young couple who recently moved into a two-story tract house
Tract housing
Tract housing is a style of housing development in which multiple similar homes are built on a tract of land which is subdivided into individual small lots...
in suburban San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. Katie claims that an "Evil" presence has haunted her since childhood and believes that it has followed her to their new home. Each night, Micah mounts a video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record any paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
activity that might occur while they sleep, in the hopes of solving the problem himself. The first night, the only thing they catch are footstep noises. Katie hires a psychic, Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs), who assesses that she is being haunted not by a ghost, but by a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
. He says the demon feeds off negative energy, and its intent is to haunt and torment Katie no matter where she goes. He advises them not to taunt or communicate with the demon, and to contact demonologist
Demonology
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...
Dr. Johann Averies for help. Though Katie seems interested and engaged in the situation, Micah does not take it seriously.
The camera captures several supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
phenomena which remain minor at first, such as the bedroom door moving by itself during night 3. During night 5 however, Katie wakes up from a nightmare and it is revealed that something was whispering to her in her sleep. Micah begins to taunt the demon and the phenomena worsens; during night 13, they are awoken by an otherworldly screech and a loud thud. They go downstairs to investigate and find the chandelier moving by itself. On night 15, Katie awakens and spends several hours standing by the bed staring at Micah while he sleeps, before going outside to sit on the backyard swing. Micah awakens and tries to convince her to come inside but she refuses, her voice dreamlike and detached. When Micah goes inside to get her a blanket, he finds the TV turned on in the bedroom, and is then startled by Katie, who followed him inside but says that he woke her up. Katie remembers nothing the next day.
Katie, already irritated by Micah's flippant response to the situation, becomes irate when Micah brings home a Ouija board
Ouija Board
Ouija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
despite Dr. Fredrichs' warnings. The two go out of the house that evening, leaving the Ouija board in the living room. The curtains and plants start to blow around and the Ouija board's planchette
Planchette
A planchette , from the French for "little plank", is a small, usually heart-shaped flat piece of wood that one moves around on a board to spell out messages or answer questions. Paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by some extra-normal force. The motion is due to the...
moves on its own. A small fire erupts on the board, but it extinguishes itself before they get home. It seems that the board has left them an unrecognizable and unreadable message. On night 17, Micah sprinkles talcum powder in the hallway and when the couple is awoken by noises, they find non-human footprints leading to the bedroom from the attic. In the attic, Micah finds a burnt photograph of a young Katie, which was previously thought to have been destroyed in an unexplained house fire.
The next night, a light turns on and off and the bedroom door slams shut. Loud banging is heard, as something is apparently trying to get in. They discover that the glass over a photo of them has been smashed, with Micah's image scratched. Dr. Averies is abroad when Micah finally agrees to invite him, so Dr. Fredrichs comes instead. Upon his arrival, Dr. Fredrichs immediately has a sense of dread. He apologetically leaves despite their pleas for his help, stating that his presence is only making the demon angry. On night 19, a shadow moves across the bedroom door. The paranormal activity starts to become physical; Katie is pulled out of the bedroom by an invisible force during night 20. Stressed and exhausted, the couple decide to go to a hotel. Micah finds Katie gripping a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
so tightly that it bloodies her palm. Micah, angry at a situation he cannot control, burns the cross and the picture found in the attic. Just as he is set to leave, a suddenly apathetic, languid Katie insists that they will be okay now, her voice flat.
On night 21, Katie awakens to once again stand and stare at Micah while he sleeps. She walks out of the darkness, holding a large bloody kitchen knife, her shirt bloodied. She sits beside the bed, holding the knife and rocking herself, until about 2 p.m. the next day, when her friend Amber calls and leaves a message expressing her concern. At about 9:20 p.m. that night, Katie is still sitting and rocking by the bed, and Amber can be heard entering the house. During this short period, Katie stops rocking and after Amber sees Micah's body, she runs out of the house and Katie resumes rocking. Half an hour later, just after 9:50 p.m., police enter the home and discover Micah's body as well. As they are checking Micah for vital signs, a light turns on in the bedroom down the hallway, but before the police see it, the light turns off again. They discover Katie, still sitting beside the bed with the knife. As they call to her, she wakes from her catatonic state and seems confused. As she approaches them, knife in hand, calling Micah, they ask her to drop the weapon. Suddenly the bedroom door behind the police officers slams shut, startling them and causing them to shoot Katie, who collapses on the floor. The police then call dispatch and check the bedroom at the end of the hall, but find nothing. They discover the video camera, still running. A dedication to and a picture of Katie and Micah are then shown.
Alternate endings
Once Paramount acquired the film, two alternate endings were developed for it, with one of them eventually being used in the theatrical version. The original ending for the film was available for a time for viewing on the Internet before Paramount exerted a claim of copyright on the material.In one of them, seen in the theatrical version of the film, after Katie comes out of bed, she stands beside it staring at Micah for approximately two hours and then walks downstairs. After a moment of silence, Katie screams Micah's name, waking Micah who rushes to her. The camera records Katie screaming incessantly, while Micah tries to talk to her when he suddenly lets out a cry of pain. Katie's screaming stops and a brief silence is followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. After another brief silence, Micah's body is violently hurled at the camera, knocking it over sideways and revealing Katie standing in the doorway. She then slowly walks into the room, her clothing soaked with blood. Crouching over his body, she sniffs Micah (who has evidently been murdered) and then slowly looks up at the camera with a sly smile. As she lunges toward the camera, her face takes on a demonic appearance just as the scene cuts to black. An epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
text states that Micah's body was discovered by the police on October 11, 2006, and that Katie's whereabouts remain unknown.
The second alternate ending was shown at only one public viewing and was later offered as an alternate ending on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film. In this ending, Katie gets out of bed and stands staring at Micah, as she did in the original ending, except she does not move to Micah's side of the bed. About three hours pass, then she finally goes downstairs. She lets out a blood-curdling scream, which wakes Micah up and he runs downstairs. The screaming continues, and the sounds of a struggle are heard before the noises abruptly stop. There is silence for a short while before loud footsteps are heard on the stairs. Katie then walks into the bedroom, blood covering her shirt, with a bloody knife in her hand. She closes and locks the bedroom door, then walks up to the camera, standing idle briefly. She then takes the knife and slits her own throat, then falls to the floor, dead.
Cast
- Katie FeatherstonKatie Featherston-Life and career:Featherston was born in Texas. She attended James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas and participated in numerous drama activities. She attended college at the Southern Methodist University where she studied acting...
as Katie - Micah SloatMicah SloatMicah Sloat is an American theatre actor and musician, largely unknown before his leading role as Micah in the 2007 hit horror film, Paranormal Activity. He appeared in the horror prequel in 2010, Paranormal Activity 2.-Life and career:...
as Micah - Mark Fredrichs as Dr. Fredrichs (psychic)
- Amber Armstrong as Amber
Production
First-time director Oren PeliOren Peli
Oren Peli is an Israeli-born American film director, producer and screenwriter, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer.-Biography:...
had been afraid of ghosts his entire life, even fearing the comedy film Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
, but intended to channel that fear into something positive and productive. Peli took a year to prepare his own house for shooting, going so far as to repaint the walls, add furniture, put in a carpet, and build a stairwell. In this time, he also did extensive research into paranormal phenomena and demonology, stating, "We wanted to be as truthful as we could be." The reason for making the supernatural entity in the story a demon was a result of the research pointing to the most malevolent and violent entities being "demons". The phenomena in the film take place largely at night—the vulnerability of being asleep, Peli reasoned, taps into a human being's most primal fear, stating, "If something is lurking in your home there's not much you can do about it."
Attempting to focus on believability rather than action and gore, Peli chose to shoot the picture with a home video camera. In deciding on a more raw and stationary format (the camera was almost always sitting on a tripod or something else) and eliminating the need for a camera crew, a "higher degree of plausibility" was created for the audience as they were "more invested in the story and the characters". Peli says that the dialogue was "natural" because there was no real script. Instead, the actors were given outlines of the story and situations to improvise, a technique known as "retroscripting
Retroscripting
Retroscripting is a term for two techniques used in movie and television programs.-Plot outline:A retroscripted script contains a plot outline and leaves dialogue deliberately vague for interpretation by the actors through improvisation...
" used in the making of The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...
. In casting the movie, Peli auditioned "a few hundred people" before finally meeting Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. He originally auditioned them individually and later called them back to audition together. Peli was impressed with the chemistry between the actors, saying, "If you saw the [audition] footage, you would've thought they had known each other for years."
During a guest appearance on The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show is an American comedy show created by and starring Jay Leno, that aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's first tenure as host of The Tonight Show...
on November 3, 2009, Sloat and Featherston explained they each saw the casting call on LACasting. Featherston noted they were originally paid $500 for their work.
The film was shot out of sequence due to Peli's self-imposed seven day shooting schedule, though Peli would have preferred the story unfold for the actors as he had envisioned it. Sloat, who controlled the camera for a good deal of the film, was a former cameraman at his university's TV station. "It was a very intense week", Peli recalled, stating that the film would be shot day and night, edited at the same time, and would have the visual effects applied to it as the acting footage was being finalized.
The film was screened at 2007's Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest horror film festival in the United States. Some of the largest horror online publications have called it the "Sundance of Horror". Previously held at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas, Universal CityWalk, the festival is now held annually at the...
, where it impressed an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency, Kirill Baru, so much that CAA signed on to represent Peli. Attempting to find a distributor for the film and/or directing work for Peli, the agency sent out DVDs of the movie to as many people in the industry as they could, and it was eventually seen by Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
Senior Executive Jason Blum, who thought it had potential. He worked with Peli to re-edit the film and submitted it to the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, but it was rejected. The DVD also impressed DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
executives Adam Goodman, Stacey Snider, and finally Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, who cut a deal with Blum and Peli.
DreamWorks' plan was to remake the film with a bigger budget and with Peli directing, and only to include the original version as an extra when the DVD was eventually released. "They didn't know what to do with [the original]", said Blum; they just wanted to be "in business" with Peli. Blum and Peli agreed, but stipulated a test screening of the original film before going ahead with the remake, believing it would be well-received by a theatrical audience.
During the screening, people began walking out; Goodman thought the film was bombing
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, until he learned that the viewers were actually leaving because they were so frightened. He then realized a remake was unwise. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, which acquired DreamWorks in 2005, bought the domestic rights to the film, and international rights to any sequels, for $350,000 USD. When the film was taken in by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, several changes were made. Some scenes were cut, others added, and the original ending was scrapped, with two new endings being shot. The ending shown in theaters during the film's worldwide release is the only one of the three to feature visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
, and it differs from the endings previously seen at the Screamfest and Burbank screenings. The theatrical release was delayed indefinitely because Paramount had put all DreamWorks productions on hold. Meanwhile, a screening for international buyers resulted in the sale of international rights in 52 countries. Only after Goodman became production chief at Paramount in June 2009 did the film finally get slated for a fall release.
Release
Paranormal Activity premiered at Screamfest Film FestivalScreamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest horror film festival in the United States. Some of the largest horror online publications have called it the "Sundance of Horror". Previously held at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas, Universal CityWalk, the festival is now held annually at the...
in North America on October 14, 2007, was shown at the Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry; it is also the only major film festival fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the...
on January 18, 2008, and screened at the 36th Annual Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
on September 6, 2009.
On September 25, 2009, the movie opened in 13 college towns across the United States. On his website, director Oren Peli invited internet users to "demand" where the film went next by voting on eventful.com. This was the first time a major motion picture studio used the service to virally market
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
a film. Twelve of the 13 venues sold out. On September 28, Paramount issued a press release on Peli's website, announcing openings in 20 other markets on Friday, October 2, including large-market cities such as New York and Chicago.
On October 3, it was reported that a total of 33 screenings in all 20 markets sold out and that the movie had made $500,000 domestically. A day later, Paramount announced that the film would have a full limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in 40 markets, playing at all hours (including after-midnight showings). On October 6, Paramount announced that the movie would be released nationwide if the film got 1,000,000 "demands" on eventful.com. The full limited release of the film started on Friday, October 9. On October 10 the Eventful.com counter hit over 1,000,000 requests. Paramount announced soon after that the film would get a wide domestic release
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
on Friday, October 16 and then expand to more theaters on the 23rd. By November, it was showing in locales worldwide.
Home release
Paranormal Activity was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on December 29, 2009. The home release media includes an alternate ending to the theatrical version, in which Katie slits her own throat in front of the camera, then collapses to the floor. It was released in the UK on March 22, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray with some specials.
The DVD and Blu-ray was released in Australia on April 2, 2010. In March 2010, a limited VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
edition was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. This was accomplished after a petition on the website, WeWantVHS.com.
Additionally, at the end of the credits, 15 minutes worth of names were added to the DVD release as part of a special promo where the fans who "demanded" the movie were asked by email if they wanted to have their name appear as a thank you for the movie's success.
Reviews
The film received positive critical reception upon release. Based on 184 reviews collected by Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film has an overall approval 'certified fresh' rating from critics of 82%. Movie critics James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
and Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
each awarded it 3.5 stars out of a maximum of 4 stars. Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
stated in his review: "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 believe me, you won't be bored." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
critic Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
gave Paranormal Activity an A- rating and called it "frightening...freaky and terrifying" and noted that "Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés." Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is a website that covers horror movies with reviews, interviews and news. It is currently run by Brad Miska, and Tom Owen. According to one source, the site has 1.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. It is widely considered to be the "world's most...
ranked the film 16th in their list of the "Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade", with the article saying, "Peli deserves props for milking the maximum amount of tension out of the spare, modern setting – an ordinary, cookie-cutter tract home in San Diego. It doesn’t sound very scary, but Peli manages to make it terrifying. If you aren’t white-knuckling your armrest at least once or twice while watching it, you probably don’t have a pulse.." However, David Stratton
David Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
of the Australian version of At the Movies remarked that "it was extremely unthrilling, very obvious, very cliched. We've seen it all before."
Box office
The film opened on September 25, 2009, to 12 theaters taking $36,146 on its opening day and $77,873 on its first weekend for an average of $6,489 per venue. It took more success when it opened to 33 theaters on October 1, 2009, doubling the box office reception, grossing $532,242 for an average of $16,129 per venue, bringing the 10-day total to $776,763.As it expanded to 160 theaters on the October 9–11 weekend, the film grossed $2,659,296 on that Friday having a per-theater average of $16,621. It went on to gross $7,900,695, which was $800,000 more than originally estimated. Over the weekend, the film reached the week's highest per-theater average of $49,379, coming in at #4 for the weekend, behind Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Peter Billingsley with contributions to the script by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson, and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau star with Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman and...
, Zombieland
Zombieland
Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors of a zombie apocalypse...
, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (film)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a 2009 American computer-animated family comedy film, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, distributed by Columbia Pictures, and released on September 18, 2009. The film is loosely based on the children's book of the same name by Judi and Ron Barrett.The film...
. Over the weekend of October 16, 2009, Paranormal Activity expanded to 600 more theaters, grossing $19,617,650 with $25,813 per theater average gross, and bringing the total gross to $33,171,743. On the weekend of October 23, 2009, Paranormal Activity rose to #1, beating out the expected number one box office victor Saw VI
Saw VI
Saw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
, earning $21,104,070, expanding to 1,945 theaters for an average of $10,850 per theater, compared with the $14,118,444 gross from 3,036 theaters, and $4,650 average for Saw VI. The film has grossed $107,918,810 domestically and $85,436,990 in foreign markets, with a total gross of $193,355,800.
Using unique social media strategy for both the first and subsequent films, Paranormal Activity was one of the first film franchises of its kind to use social media to make the connection with filmgoers.
Accolades
The film was nominated for "best first feature" in the Independent Spirit Awards 2009Independent Spirit Awards 2009
The Independent Spirit Awardsઞ 2009 announced its nominees in December 2009. The winners were announced on March 5, 2010.-Best Film. :*Precious** Days of Summer**Amreeka**The Last Station...
.
Digital comics
In December 2009, a short digital comic entitled Paranormal Activity: The Search for Katie was released for the iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
. It was penned by Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell is an American comic book writer.-Early Career:Scott didn't begin to read comics until he was 17 years old, while lying in bed after lung surgery....
and features art from Mark Badger
Mark Badger
Mark Badger has worked as an illustrator in the comic book industry.His work includes Greenberg, the Vampire and The Gargoyle for Marvel Comics, Martian Manhunter and Batman: Jazz for DC Comics, and Planetary Brigade for Boom! Studios....
.
Parodies
The 30 Rock30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
episode "Verna
Verna (30 Rock)
"Verna" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 70th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on the National...
" spoofed Katie's sleepwalking with a fast-forward video of Liz Lemon
Liz Lemon
Elizabeth Miervaldis "Liz" Lemon is the main character of the American television series 30 Rock. She is portrayed by Tina Fey, who is also the creator of the series and its showrunner.-Personal history:...
"sleep-eating."
On March 7, 2010, Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
and Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
performed a spoof of the film as part of the 82nd Academy Awards
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
.
On The Suite Life On Deck
The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody...
, Zach and the guys try and find a ghost on the ship so while they're sleeping, they recorded their sleep to find if there is a ghost on the ship.
Mockbuster
Mockbuster
A mockbuster is a film created with the apparent intention of piggy-backing on the publicity of a major film with a similar title or theme and are often made with a low budget. Often these films are created to be released direct-to-video at the same time as the mainstream film reaches theaters or...
group The Asylum
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
created a parody titled Paranormal Entity
Paranormal Entity
Paranormal Entity is an American horror film produced by The Asylum in 2009. It is one of many films dubbed as a "mockbuster", a movie designed to capitalize on the success of a higher budget film. Paranormal Entity is a mockbuster of the successful low-budget horror film Paranormal Activity. The...
in 2010.
In South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "City Sushi
City Sushi
"City Sushi" is the sixth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 215th episode of the series overall. "City Sushi" first aired in the United States on Comedy Central on June 1, 2011. It is the first episode to air in June since the 2002...
", Butters sets up a camera in his room to try to find an explanation for his bedwetting (and purported multiple personality disorder). The next morning, the camera footage reveals Butter's psychiatrist Dr. Janus entering his room in the middle of the night, standing for hours next to Butters's bed - seen in fast-forward, similarly to Katie's scenes in Paranormal Activity - and then urinating on Butters before punching him several times and sneaking back out.
External links
- Paranormal Activity at EventfulEventfulEventful is a web service which aims to help users search for, track, and share information about events. Eventful is a service of Eventful, Inc. from San Diego, California...
- Paranormal Activity at FEARnetFEARnetFearnet is a cable channel, website and Video on Demand television service owned by Horror Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment...