After announcing plans to produce a seventh Paranormal Activity film in June 2019, Paramount Pictures and Blumhouse Productions recently tapped Underwater director William Eubank to helm the latest installment of the security-cam horror franchise. Christopher Landon, who wrote the screenplays for the second, third, fourth, and fifth chapters of the series, is also back to pen the script for the new untitled sequel.
Poised for a March 4, 2022 release date, plot details of the newest iteration of the found-footage franchise are being held close to the vest. However, given the technological advancements in smart home security made in the past six years, a contemporary setting could very well be in the cards. Regardless, it's a good time to look back at the entire series so far.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015) - 4.6
Gregory Plotkin made his directorial debut with The Ghost Dimension, the sixth and most-recent Paranormal Activity entry. Also marking a franchise first, the film was released in 3D and boasted the biggest budget so far at $10 million.
Set in 2013, the film is also the first in the series not to feature Katie Featherston as a primary character, and the first to show the demonic entity onscreen. For all the formula-busting firsts, the film fell flat among critics and audiences alike, putting a temporary halt on the franchise. The story centers on the Fleege family, which finds itself accursed by Toby, the evil demonic force that becomes unleashed through a camera and series of old videotapes.
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) - 4.6
Catfish directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman helmed Paranormal Activity 3 and Paranormal Activity 4, with the latter far inferior to the former according to IMDB. The story picks up five years after the possessed Katie (Katie Featherston) murdered her boyfriend, sister, and brother-in-law, and fled with her infant nephew Hunter.
Outside of Las Vegas, Alex (Kathryn Newton) begins witnessing strange phenomena in the home she shares with her parents and little brother, Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). When Wyatt speaks of his imaginary friend Toby, Alex and her beau Ben (Matt Shively) adorn the house with security cameras to capture the odd activity. As Wyatt is slowly possessed, Alex's parents disbelieve her story until abject mayhem ensues.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) - 5.0
Although he has written four of the six chapters to date (with a fifth on the way), The Marked Ones is the only Paranormal Activity movie that Christopher Landon has directed. With a new poster design and a story set in the daytime, Landon set out to refurbish the franchise formula.
As the first film in the series released in January rather than the customary Halloween exhibition, The Marked Ones focuses on Jesse (Andrew Jacobs), a teenager tormented by freaky phenomena following the sudden death of his next-door neighbor. The closer Jesse gets to uncovering the truth, the more imperiled he becomes by a malefic entity that has marked the boy for murder.
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) - 5.6
Serving as a prequel set two months before the events depicted in the first film, Paranormal Activity 2 revolves around a burgled house in Carlsbad, California. After equipping their premises with security feeds to catch a repeat offender, Daniel (Brian Boland) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden) soon realize something far more sinister has infiltrated their residence.
Directed by Tod Williams, the film capitalized on the massive viral success of the original entry. As such, Paranormal Activity 2 made history at the time by setting the all-time opening weekend record for an R-rated horror movie, earning $41.5 million. That feat has since been eclipsed seven times, most recently with It: Chapter 2.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) - 5.8
Hot on the heels of their hit MTV series Catfish, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman turned in the best Paranormal Activity sequel to date, according to IMDB. Technically a prequel, the story is set in 1988 as young siblings Katie and Kristi encounter Toby the demonic entity for the first time.
Katie and Kristi live with their mother Julie and boyfriend Dennis in Santa Rosa, California. When an earthquake interrupts their attempt to record a sex tape, Dennis witnesses a shadowy figure amid his camcorder footage. Kristi begins speaking to an imaginary friend named Toby, prompting her parents to outfit the house with hidden security cameras that capture increasingly inexplicable happenings.
Paranormal Actvity (2007) - 6.3
Written and directed by Oren Peli, Paranormal Activity turned a paltry $15,000 shooting budget into a $193 million viral hit sensation. The film also launched the success of Blumhouse Productions, which still employs a similar business model of making inexpensive horror movies that are almost guaranteed to make a handsome profit.
Paranormal Activity adheres to the same basic plot as the entire series, with a couple besieged by eerie occurrences upon moving into their new suburban abode. As things go bump in the night without a visible culprit, the mortified couple Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) do all in their power to find answers and rid the demonic curse at once. Although Oren Peli has produced every film in the franchise since he's only directed one other movie in his career: the poorly-received Area 51.