Paranormal Activity

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Paranormal Activity

R

Released Oct 16, 2009

1h 26m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

207 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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Its strengths come in its subtlety, it's a roller-coaster ride that audiences buy into knowing full well that the narrative will take a backseat to being frightened with effective jump-scares.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 22, 2023

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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

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Adam A.

lmao the way he got yeeted at the end

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/23/25

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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

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Film Critic F

The only thing scary about it is that you'll most certainly get a headache. Stupid movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/22/25

Full Review

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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

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Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Powder Footsteps

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Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - How Did She Die?

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Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Dragged Out of Bed

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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

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Paranormal Activity: Official Clip - Ouija Board on Fire

2:11

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Movieclips: Paranormal Activity - Try Not to Get SCARED!

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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

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