Do you want to see ‘Paranormal Activity’?

Paranormal Activity (2007)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 187
Fresh: 154 | Rotten: 33

Using its low-budget effects and mockumentary method to great result, Paranormal Activity turns a simple haunted house story into 90 minutes of relentless suspense.

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 2

Using its low-budget effects and mockumentary method to great result, Paranormal Activity turns a simple haunted house story into 90 minutes of relentless suspense.

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Average Rating: 3.3/5
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Movie Info

A haunted house makes no secret of the fact it's not pleased with its new tenants in this independent tale of supernatural horror. Katie (Katie Featherson) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a twentysomething couple who've just moved into a new home in San Diego, CA. Katie has an interest in the paranormal and believes that malevolent spirits have been following her since childhood, though Micah is not so easily convinced. However, after several nights of loud noises and strange happenings, Micah

R, 1 hr. 26 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Directed By: Oren Peli

Written By: Oren Peli

In Theaters: Sep 25, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Dec 29, 2009

Box Office:$107.9M

Paramount Pictures

Paranormal Activity Trailer & Photos

More Photos (7)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Paranormal Activity

All Critics (188) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (156) | Rotten (33) | DVD (10)

The climax is deliciously scary, and Peli gets considerable mileage from the simple matter of lights inexplicably going on in another room.

December 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment (1)

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

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.

December 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comments (44)

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Though it never poses a question more abstract than "Where's that scratching sound coming from?" Paranormal Activity is all about spiritual and ethical debts coming due.

October 30, 2009 Full Review Source: Slate

| Comments (2)

Dana Stevens

Slate

Top Critic

Peli is to be congratulated for pulling off such an audacious project, but he needs a sharper sense of timing: The film's pacing is uneven, which weakens the suspense.

October 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

| Comments (12)

Tirdad Derakhshani

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top Critic

Like legendary producer Val Lewton in the '40s, director Oren Peli, who shot Paranormal in seven days in his own home, understands that what's most frightening is what you don't see but merely suggested.

October 22, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Post

| Comments (5)

Lou Lumenick

New York Post

Top Critic

It's like watching a YouTube clip of your irritating neighbors, knee deep in muck, as they argue the effectiveness of plumbers.

October 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Globe

| Comments (26)

Justine Elias

Boston Globe

Top Critic

Peli teases the audience expertly. Scenes remain silent and still; not for long, but long enough to make you sweat. The terror of anticipation and its abrupt release, particularly in the final scene, is exhilarating.

October 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Quickflix

| Comment

Simon Miraudo

Quickflix

A suburban couple mess with dark spirits in the effective low budget chiller.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews

| Comment

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

Oren Peli in his feature debut has a few jolts in store, and the natural performances of the cast and the aura of reality provided by the video format keep the tension high.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix

| Comment

Peter Keough

Boston Phoenix

Paranormal Activity isn't an actor's film per se, but it wouldn't be as eerily effective without Featherston and Sloat's believable, lived in performances.

January 31, 2010 Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

| Comment (1)

Mark Pfeiffer

Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

It's a good try.

January 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central

| Comment

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

I'd rank being stuck in a big quiet house at night as one of life's most easily unnerving experiences, and this movie capitalizes on it.

January 10, 2010 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies

| Comment

Jeffrey Chen

Window to the Movies

... a fairly satisfying piece of filmmaking and an overhyped piece of cult marketing.

January 10, 2010 Full Review Source: Seanax.com

| Comments (2)

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

Indie scare fest doesn't need blood and gore to terrify.

December 21, 2009 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Common Sense Media

Authentically unnerving, exploiting basic fears with flashes of real brilliance and creating something that lingers long in the memory -- and definitely will come back to haunt you in the dark of night.

December 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Rip It Up

| Comment

Rip It Up

It's not the scariest movie I have ever seen, but it's probably the most efficient and insidious. The noises in my house never seemed so loud or inexplicable as they do after seeing this. It's a great scary treat and the filmmakers should be rewarded wi

December 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinerina

| Comment

Karina Montgomery

Cinerina

Paranormal Activity boasts some scary moments, sure, but the movie cannot live up to its own hype . . .

December 15, 2009 Comments (3)

James O'Ehley

fantastiqueZINE

full review at Movies for the Masses

December 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses

| Comment

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

Extremely unthrilling, very obvious, very clich�d. We've seen it all before.

December 7, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia)

| Comments (27)

David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

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Audience Reviews for Paranormal Activity

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Better than I expected but really I think im over this style of film.

November 12, 2009

John Manard

Super Reviewer

Paranormal Activity is a solid supernatural horror film that is one of the most memorable films in the genre in quite some time. The film delivers effective chilling sequences of horror that will stick with long after you've seen this film. Paranormal Activity for me is a better attempt at the found footage/documentary

March 12, 2012

Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

Paranormal Activity Quotes

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1. Micah: FUCK THIS SHIT!
– Submitted by Matthew E (54 days ago)
1. Katie: Micah, get the fuck out!
2. Micah: Whoa!
– Submitted by John D (7 months ago)
1. Katie: I said don't mess with that stuff, because it scared me and what do you do? You go out and get the best looking fucking Ouija board I've ever seen and put it in the middle of our living room? Explain that to me.
– Submitted by John D (7 months ago)
1. Katie: Something's here.
– Submitted by James W (13 months ago)
1. Micah: Basically, they're these malevolent evil spirits that only exist to cause pain and commit evil for their own amusement. It's pretty creepy- I mean, they stalk people for years, like decades, and sometimes they're really intelligent in the way they do things to freak you out.
– Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)

Character	Quote
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