Paranormal Activity…The British Version?

Wow, this Paranormal Activity mania is really getting wild; now that Oren Peli’s low-budget ghost flick has made $61 million for Paramount, every studio and their mother is scrambling to try to duplicate the successful recipe. Taking a page out of the Hollywood playbook, Epic Pictures is doing its own English-themed version of Paranormal Activity, entitled The Possession of David O’Reilly.

Written and directed by Andrew Cull, The Possession of David O’Reilly tells the story of the David O’Reilly, a British boy who becomes possessed by the same demonic spirit that was exorcised from his American cousin, Emily Rose.

Ok so I just made that synopsis up, if you haven’t guessed, but still, this film IS borrowing some familiar elements from some very familiar sources…

The TRUE synopsis for The Possession of David O’Reilly is that it is a “terrifying supernatural shockumentary about a demonic presence in a young couple’s home in London.”

Meanwhile, the true synopsis for Paranormal Activity is that it is a “terrifying supernatural shockumentary about a demonic presence in a young couple’s home in California.

They’re completely different movies! Cali and London – how are people NOT seeing the difference?

I could go on poking fun at all this, but really, why beat a dead, zombiefied, and died again horse? We all know the movie biz by now: try to make lighting strike the same box office 50 times over. The Dark Knight does $1 billion = superhero movies all going “dark.” The Ring remake scared the beejeezus out of American viewers = Jhorror remakes for the next half-decade; Want a movie to make a bundle during July 4th weekend = have Will Smith save the world again. It’s simple math – often made simple by we, the complacent viewers.

I'm looking for something 'Paranormal Activityesque...'

We all know the deal, the only question now is will the whole world fork over the cash to see a dozen different Paranormal Activity knock-offs? Call me a cynic, but there’s a guy selling knock-off DVDs on an NYC street whose pockets are fat enough to make me believe that moviegoers are going to make sure this “found footage horror resurgence” is here to stay…at least until the next breakout hit comes along.

We’ll let you know more about The Possession of David O’Reilly (and any other Paranormal Activity clones) as we hear it.

Source: Shock Til You Drop