Paranormal Activity

Play trailer

Paranormal Activity

R

Released Oct 16, 2009

1h 26m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

208 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics 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.

Read Critics Reviews

Julie and Brandy

Autostraddle

it was awesome in the way that it was extremely, horrendously and torturously stressful... worth it.

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Shubhra Gupta

The Indian Express

[Paranormal Activity] is way more scary than Blair Witch because it takes the old conceit of things that go bump into the night, and brings it slyly into a well-to-do, middle class suburb.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 17, 2019

Full Review

Deborah Ross

The Spectator

This is a scarily well-made scary little film, although it certainly isn't flawless... But the acting is supremely naturalistic and, for such a small-scale project, it does have an amazingly heightened effect.

Aug 30, 2018

Full Review

Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

...Before every douchebag had a ghost hunting tv show, this tapped into the suspension of disbelief around “real hauntings”... Ghosts [aren't] reaching through tvs stealing children, but [they are] knocking things off of shelves like housecats.

Rated: 10/10

Sep 23, 2025

Full Review

Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

I had my bets on liking the film … I did not expect it to be one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen.

Rated: 4.5/5

Dec 4, 2024

Full Review

Emilie Black

JoBlo's Movie Network

The cast is solid, the directing is great, the set-up works, the scares are built up just right.

Dec 14, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Aidanlee W.

Classic movie, good scares and good tension. The movie created a series of interesting tales and characters.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/30/25

Full Review

Alejandra C

back in the day it traumatized everyone. OG. Watch

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/06/25

Full Review

Marc L

Watch this film to learn how *not* to write a horror movie. It isn’t scary. Bambi is scarier. I found myself hitting the pause button to see how much longer this nonsense was going to continue. It’s slow-burn horror that never ignites. The boyfriend character was so annoying that I was hoping something bad would happen to him. The female character had one redeeming quality: she was cute. If you find 90 minutes of bumping noises and doors moving by themselves to be scary, this movie will terrify you. Otherwise, don’t waste your time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/24/25

Full Review

randomshjt 2.

Watch this by myself and I kind of regretted it because even though this movie really isn’t that scary it’s a movie that has some very creepy and intense moments

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/21/25

Full Review

Affleberry F

Very well could be the best found footage movie made. I'm a big fan of the sequel as well, but it would have to come down to them or maybe As Above, So Below as my favorite found footage movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/12/25

Full Review

Kirsty I

What "Jaws" did for swimming, "Paranormal Activity" did for sleeping. I first saw this film in 2009 when it was still in theaters, and it had such a profound impact on me that 10 years later I couldn't sleep because my partner at the time was hearing impaired and I was laying up at night thinking about how if a Demon dragged me down the hallway in the middle of the night, no one in the house would hear me scream. Deducting half a star from the rating for the sheer trauma this film induced.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/11/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Oren Peli

Director

Katie Featherston

Katie

Micah Sloat

Micah

Amber Armstrong

Amber

Mark Fredrichs

Psychic

Ashley Palmer

Girl on Internet

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - We Need Your Help

1:11

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Powder Footsteps

2:11

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - How Did She Die?

1:53

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Dragged Out of Bed

2:04

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - I Feel it Breathing on Me

1:41

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - The Sheets Move

2:10

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Slamming the Door

2:06

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Paranormal Ending

2:13

Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Ouija Board on Fire

2:11

View more videos

Paranormal Activity 2

58%

48%

Paranormal Activity 2

Watchlist

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

40%

34%

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Paranormal Activity 4

23%

34%

Paranormal Activity 4

Watchlist

Sinister 2

15%

31%

Sinister 2

Watchlist

Paranormal Activity 3

67%

51%

Paranormal Activity 3

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Paranormal Activity 3

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The 25 Scariest Movie Scenes of All Time

10 Killer Movie Marketing Campaigns

Claire Foy’s Five Favorite Films

Movieclips: Paranormal Activity - Try Not to Get SCARED!

57:27

Jason Blum's Five Favorite Horror Films

3:44

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.

Director: Oren Peli
Producer: Jason Blum, Oren Peli
Screenwriter: Oren Peli
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Blumhouse
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $107.9M
Runtime: 1h 26m

Most Popular at Home Now