The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Paranormal Activity
Horror · Mystery · 2007
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
Movie details
Paranormal Activity
“What happens when you sleep?”
2007 Horror · Mystery 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Paranormal Activity?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Paranormal Activity 2
Horror · 2010
Just as Daniel and Kristi welcome a newborn baby into their home, a demonic presence begins terrorizing them, tearing apart their perfect world and turning it into an inescapable nightmare.
Paranormal Activity 3
Horror · 2011
In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.
The Blair Witch Project
Horror · 1999
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
The Vigil
Horror · 2020
A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
Horror · 2021
Margot is a documentary filmmaker looking to meet her long-lost mother and extended family in a secluded Amish community. She and her film crew soon realize the family that welcomes them into their home might be hiding a sinister secret.
Until Dawn
Horror · 2025
One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one...only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.
The Possession of Michael King
Horror · 2014
Michael King asks occultists to summon all evil spirits to prove his point that they do not exist. But something goes wrong and he becomes a danger to everyone.
Hell House LLC
Horror · 2015
Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened.
Phoenix Forgotten
Horror · 2017
Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor
Horror · 2023
A group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor, site of the grisly and unsolved murders of the Carmichael family back in the eighties. After four nights, the group was never heard from again. What is discovered on their footage is even more disturbing than anything found on the Hell House tapes.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Oren Peli
Written by
Oren Peli
Katie Featherston
Katie Featherston
Micah Sloat
Micah Sloat
Mark Fredrichs
The Psychic
Amber Armstrong
Amber
Ashley Palmer
Diane
C
Crystal Cartwright
Exorcism Nanny (uncredited)
S
Spencer Marks
Dr. Johann Averies (uncredited)
Court is in session
Put Paranormal Activity on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.