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Reviews Counted:155
Fresh:129
Rotten:26
Average Rating:7.1/10
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.
Genre: Horror/Suspense
US Box Office: $106,082,922
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
A couple may be desperate enough to place a camera on a tripod to record what goes bump in the night but the enforced recording of every other moment soon becomes a tiresome construct that turns the whole film into a wobbly home video with terrible sound.
Top CriticThe promise is to scare you out of your wits. Does it work? For me: no. To tell you the truth, I was bored, frustrated and nauseous from the terminally jerky hand-held camera
Top CriticThe suspense that's missing from so many horror films is there. It's a genuinely scary film -- and that's a rare thing to accomplish in front of today's blase, switched-off audiences.
Top CriticIts been called the scariest movie of all time. It's certainly not far off. Simple. Effective. Terrifying.
If Paranormal Activity is not quite as scary as the publicity would have us believe, it is at least witty, thought-provoking and —in a woozy, stark sort of way — beautiful.
An Amityville for the YouTube age: potent, primal and genuinely frightening.
Top CriticIt’s this feeling of vulnerability that Peli’s slow-burning supernatural chiller so effectively exploits, fashioning heart-stopping scares out of almost nothing.
Not since David Lynch’s Lost Highway has a movie manipulated so skilfully the disturbing power of black screen space and the potential horror hidden within.
Top CriticThis ingenious and often genuinely frightening film is a digital mocu-real nightmare.
Top CriticA conceptually tight and very efficient updating of the classic haunted-house genre.
This is still postmodern horror, but if nothing else Paranormal Activity proves that you don’t need buckets of gore and a tacked on twist to send chills racing down audience spines.
The fear of the unknown and what may lurk in the dark shadows of your own home creates moments that set the heart racing in this subtle, understated little shocker.
Peli makes our identification with the 20something couple so complete, we’re utterly caught up in the escalating terror.
Don't watch it alone or, if you're of a nervous disposition, don't watch it all.
Paranormal Activity trafficks in shadows and shivers yet is more malevolent than a dozen Hostels.
The film is adequately acted by its two young leads, but for this to be terrifying it would need an already hyped-up, excited audience, ready to jump at the smallest thing.
It takes a while to get going, but that only adds to the sheer terror of a horrifying final 20 minutes.
Paranormal Activity shows how little it takes for inventive filmmakers to do a lot.
Paranormal Activity sets out to please, to create a frisson that entertains as much as it scares. That's my kind of horror.
This will make you want to sleep with the lights on.
November 04, 2009:
Peli exhibits paranormal skill at escalating tension, so that even the most banal visual elements... quickly become associated with unbearable menace and foreboding. 
More...
October 30, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: A Paranormal Sequel, Hopkins Joins Thor
This week's Ketchup includes news of sequels for Paranormal Activity, Mad Max, and Men in Black franchises, as well as casting news for Sir Anthony Hopkins, Matt Damon, Keira... More...
October 28, 2009:
Watch the Original Paranormal Activity Ending
So, now that you've had the popcorn scared out of your lap by "Paranormal Activity," how about watching the original ending? Thanks, YouTube! More...
October 27, 2009:
Bidding Begins for Paranormal Director's Next Film
"Paranormal Activity" is already one of the most profitable films of all time -- so what will studios be willing to pay for director Oren Peli's next effort, "Area 51"? More...
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