Paranormal Activity (2007)

Paranormal Activity is a found-footage horror film written, directed, shot, and edited by Oren Peli. A San Diego couple sets up a camera in their bedroom to record what has been moving through the house at night. Shot in 2006 at Peli’s own home for about $15,000, it sat in festival circulation until Paramount released a revised cut in September 2009. Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat play the couple.

At a glance

Release date	October 14, 2007 (Screamfest); September 25, 2009 (United States)
Director	Oren Peli
Writer	Oren Peli
Starring	Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs
Runtime	86 minutes
Rating	R
Genre	Found-footage horror
Budget	About $15,000
Box office	About $108 million domestic; about $193 million worldwide

Plot summary

Katie has been followed by something since childhood. She and Micah have just moved in together. He buys a camera, against her wishes, and points it at the bed. The days are ordinary. The nights are time-stamped and mostly still, until a door moves, a sheet shifts, or footprints appear in powder Micah has scattered in the hall.

A psychic visits and tells them this is not a ghost that can be cleaned out of a house. He leaves. Micah keeps filming and starts taunting whatever is in the room. Katie sleeps more, argues less, and begins to stand beside the bed for hours.

Spoiler section: the ending

The theatrical cut ends with Katie walking out of the bedroom after a scream. There is a thud. She returns holding a knife, her shirt bloody, and sits rocking beside the bed until the police arrive. An earlier festival cut used a different last shot, with Micah’s body thrown at the camera. The version most people know is the quieter one.

Production and behind the scenes

Peli shot the film in a week in his San Diego house. Featherston and Sloat were unknowns. Much of the dialogue was improvised inside an outline. The effects are practical and small: a sheet pulled by a wire, powder, a door on a line. Steven Spielberg saw a cut and suggested the ending that replaced the original festival finish. Paramount bought the film and opened it in college towns before going wide.

Release and reception

Screamfest screened it in 2007. The Paramount release began September 25, 2009. Domestic gross landed near $108 million. Worldwide, about $193 million. Sequels followed on a near-yearly schedule. None matched the first film’s gap between budget and gross.