Paranormal Activity is a 2009 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Oren Peli.
Originally developed as an independent feature and given film festival screenings in 2007. It was seen by Jason Blum, a senior executive at Miramax Films, who joined the project. Blum had been working as a producer since 1995 and had formed his own production company Blumhouse in 2000 but had not had any successes. He clearly saw a way to finally gain traction on the back of Peli’s production. However, when submitted to the Sundance Film Festival it was rejected.
DVDs were sent out to many people in the industry and DreamWorks executives Adam Goodman, Stacey Snider, and finally, Steven Spielberg was impressed. The film was acquired by Paramount Pictures, who owned DreamWorks and extensively modified, particularly with a new ending. Paramount/DreamWorks apparently acquired U.S. rights for $350,000.
When released widely in 2009, the film earned nearly $108 million at the U.S. box office and $194 million worldwide.
Paranormal Activity is apparently the most profitable film ever made, based on return on investment, although such figures are difficult to verify independently as this is likely to exclude marketing costs.
Plot:
In 2006, Katie (played by Katie Featherston) 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 Sony HDR-FX1 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 and the sound of keys dropping, which they find on the floor downstairs the next day.
Katie hires a psychic, Doctor 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 Doctor Johann Averies for help…
Limited edition Blu-ray release:
In the UK, Paranormal Activity will be reissued as a Limited Edition Blu-ray from Second Sight Films on 30 August 2021.Special features:
Audio commentary by Oren Peli
Audio commentary by Mary Beth McAndrews and Terry Mesnard
Breaking Normal: a new interview with Oren Peli
The Marked One: a new interview with Katie Featherston
The Man with the Camera: a new interview with Micah Sloat
The Possessed: a new interview with Ashley Palmer
Alternative Ending
The Festival Cut ending
Deleted scene
English subtitles for the hearing impaired
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by James Neal
Softcover book with new essays by Sarah Appleton, Anton Bitel, Shellie McMurdo and Pete Turner
Six collectors’ art cards
Trailer:
