It's excellent minimalist filmmaking with relatively simple special effects and a strong reliance on suspense... Paranormal Activity will get inside your head.
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10/12/09
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Paranormal Activity (2009)
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Reviews Counted:179
Fresh:146
Rotten:33
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: 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.
Theatrical Release:Sep 25, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $107,901,736
Synopsis: A haunted house makes no secret of the fact it is not pleased with its new tenants in this independent tale of supernatural horror. Katie (Katie Featherson) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a... [More]
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong
Director: Oren Peli
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Reviews for Paranormal Activity
It's not the be-all, end-all of horror movies. But for what Oren Peli was able to accomplish with an $11,000 budget, Paranormal Activity should definitely be applauded.
10/09/09
This is one seriously scary movie, and the full effect of how terrifying it is won't even hit you until 3am, when you're jolted awake by the things that go bump in the night.
10/05/09
This is a strong movie that should please both hardcore horror fans and casual viewers equally, something that's very difficult to do.
09/27/09
Paranormal Activity goes on the short list of films that totally, completely freaked me out.
10/24/09
This kind of movie only has to work once, and it works about as well that one time as anything else in history.
10/18/09
Since the characters feel real, so do the scares. Peli shows a profound grasp of the fundamentals of suspense, making a 30-second shot of an empty bedroom more terrifying than most of what passes for horror these days. That's because Paranormal Activity's
10/15/09
I say see it, before the inevitable overhyping begins, along with the inevitable backlash.
10/12/09
Top CriticExtremely unthrilling, very obvious, very clichéd. We've seen it all before.
12/07/09
It has a few good scares, but one has to sit through nearly 80 minutes of mind-numbing tedium before the payoff ...
11/18/09
An excruciatingly tedious YouTube gag cleverly marketed to go viral in the broadest and most box office-friendly way.
10/09/09
At best, Paranormal Activity makes the banal and commonplace deeply unsettling.
10/08/09
Proves that in a horror movie, often the less you see, the more intense the story.
10/29/09
This is one of the the few films that actually lives up to all of the hype. Paranormal Activity is one of the scariest films I have seen since The Exorcist.
10/03/09
I respect filmmakers who can make a film for $11,000. However, ten minutes of this movie could've been on YouTube and it would've been an internet sensation. As a feature length film, many viewers will be horrified with boredom at this drip of a movie.
10/13/09
It's one of the scariest movies of all-time. YOU WILL BE AFFECTED as it's hard to ignore the imprint it leaves on your psyche. You know it's fake, and yet, you can't shake it. Nightmares are guaranteed.
09/02/09
It’s like watching a YouTube clip of your irritating neighbors, knee deep in muck, as they argue the effectiveness of plumbers.
10/22/09
Delivers moderate suspense and some scares.
10/09/09
Paranormal Activity is not a movie; it is a participatory sport, an amusement park haunted house complete with the obligatory shrieking teenaged girls clinging to each other for solace.
10/08/09
For a film already at the lower end of professional polish, the acting makes the whole shebang feel like a community theater rehearsal. I was half-expecting Corky St. Clair to show up as a spirit.
09/24/09
Latest News for Paranormal Activity
January 19, 2010:
Writer, Director Hired for Paranormal Activity Sequel 
The inevitable "Paranormal Activity" sequel is moving forward at Paramount, with the studio hiring a writer (television vet Michael R. Perry) and director ("Saw VI" helmer Kevin... More...
December 28, 2009:
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: 9 and Paranormal Activity
Now that Christmas has passed, it's time for you to return all those gifts you didn't really want and pick up something special for yourself. And, unfortunately, though we have... More...
December 11, 2009:
Paramount Thinks Small
Inspired by the success of "Paranormal Activity," Paramount is setting aside $1 million annually for "microbudget" films. More...
December 02, 2009:
10 Horrifically Profitable Films
Oren Peli's debut feature 'Paranormal Activity' -- an ingenious horror movie set in a house as a young couple attempt to capture a spectre on camera -- was made on video for a... More...
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