Paranormal Activity Returns, This Time for a Full Week

Paranormal Activity first played to festival audiences over 2 years ago, and has made the rounds through a number of venues, but never received any kind of theatrical distribution. Two weeks ago it played to a midnight audience on the opening night of Fantastic Fest where it was widely accepted by festival-goers as one of the fest's highlights, if not one of the year's best, if not one of the greatest horror films they'd ever seen. The following day the film started to trickle out to other multiplexes across the country via a distribution method by Paramount Pictures that steered citizens to the film's website, giving them the chance to 'demand' that the film play in their city. Since then, Paramount has received over 500,000 demands to have the film in towns across the country, which is half-way to their goal of 1,000,000, which would warrant a full-on wide theatrical release. However, until that threshold is crossed, midnight shows on demand are the only available outlet for moviegoers like you and me.

Paranormal Activity tells the story of a couple that has settled in a new home and have begun to experience what they think might be incidents of a spiritual haunting. The boyfriend is somewhat skeptical and takes the situation relatively lightly. However, the prospect of it being a ghost is fascinating to him so he purchases a camera and sound equipment in an effort to catch the phenomena on film, which is where the movie begins. Told through a 'found footage' style a la The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield the audience is shown a string of recordings that take place over the course of 3 weeks that starts with lighthearted couples fare, and gradually escalates from minor sounds in the middle of the night to intense encounters with what may be a vicious demon.

We here at Austinist don't get scared. We're adults, and we laugh in the face of the things that haunt the dreams of others. Freddie Krueger? Bring it. We're not Johnny Depp. Jason Vorhees? We'll just dress up as your mother. Michael Myers? We know how to run without tripping. The Exorcist possession? The power of Christ compels us. Clowns? ........well, we just don't go places that have clowns. However, all of those things considered Paranormal Activity is incredibly affective, and unforgettable. What's even scarier is the thought of watching it at home for the first time. That's like watching Jaws out in the ocean,Alien out in deep space, or Dead Ringers before a gynecology appointment. Trust us, don't miss this opportunity to see what is one of the greatest horror films of our time outside the discomfort of your own home.