Paranormal Activity broke records to become one of the most successful low budget horror movies ever made and created a huge fanbase in the process.
If you love the franchise and are looking for other scary movies that share its style and subject matter, make sure to check out these movies that are like Paranormal Activity in many ways.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
This classic found footage movie was the genre's first real landmark and essentially revolutionized people's understanding of ultra low budget horror movies and what they could accomplish with available technology, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that the advent of digital filming hadn't taken hold yet.
Following a group of amateur documentarians, as they investigate a small-town legend of a supernatural presence in their secluded Maryland woods, The Blair Witch Project is as atmospheric today as it was in 1999 and it's undeniably one of the biggest influences on Paranormal Activity.
Ju-On: The Curse (2000)
Though not in the found footage style, Takashi Shimizu's iconic direct-to-video J-horror franchise-starter was a similarly big leap forward in low budget supernatural movies as The Blair Witch Project from the same time period.
Made up of a series of vaguely interconnecting segments told in nonchronological order and revolving around an unforgettably creepy haunted house, Ju-On: The Curse is one of the most significant ghost stories of modern cinema and a must-see for fans of paranormal frights.
Home Movie (2008)
This creepy found footage movie is, like much of the Paranormal Activity franchise, made up of a series of home movies made by a young priest who lives in a secluded country home with his wife and children.
It becomes quite clear from the start that there's something not quite right with the kids, with disturbing incidents steadily becoming more and more violent as their father agonizes over the cause and its relationship to his own troubled upbringing.
Noroi: The Curse (2005)
Next to The Blair Witch Project, there are few movies that can rival the worldwide popularity of Paranormal Activity but, even though it's still more of a cult choice, Noroi: The Curse has broken foreign language barriers in a way that few horror movies ever do.
Not related to Ju-On in any way, this found footage movie investigates paranormal phenomena in a documentary format while weaving a terrifying story about the fate of its lead journalist.
V/H/S (2012)
An anthology of found footage segments filmed in different styles, V/H/S is an impressive display of what the format can be used for and at least one of the stories will be of interest to a Paranormal Activity fan.
Each vignette embodies some kind unique subgenre, from slasher movies to vampires, and several aspects to several segments incorporate similar scenes to the Paranormal Activity franchise, especially the retro haunted house finale.
Willow Creek (2013)
Bobcat Goldthwait directed this much more traditional found footage movie and surprisingly, given the director's background in comedy and drama, it acts as perhaps the worthiest successor to The Blair Witch Project's legacy yet.
Another surprising thing is how it manages to cultivate genuine terror from its plot about a couple attempting to capture footage of the elusive Bigfoot. An interesting topic considering that original Blair Witch co-director Eduardo Sánchez released his own Bigfoot found footage horror movie, Exists, the following year. Potentially making it a new subgenre.
Apollo 18 (2011)
Another unique twist on the format, Apollo 18 is a period found footage horror movie that chronicles an ill-fated lunar mission in the 1970s that discovers a deadly stalking presence on the moon's surface.
The unique setting makes for a memorable mood to the story, even if it is somewhat in bad taste, and emphasizes the character's feeling of isolation. It's an up-close and personal kind of horror tale, just like Paranormal Activity, that offers both the characters and the audience little escape.
Grave Encounters (2011)
Set in an abandoned–and supposedly haunted–psychiatric asylum, Grave Encounters follows the crew of a ghosthunting TV show as they spend the night in the building and look out for signs of supernatural activity.
Obviously, it turns out that the team has bitten off more than they can chew with this assignment and the tormented spirits dwelling in the labyrinthian hallways begin to mercilessly terrorize them and play with their sense of reality.
Afflicted (2013)
A vacation video starring two American tourists traveling across Europe transforms into documentation of a man's metamorphosis into a vampire when one of them is bitten by a mysterious woman.
Filled with a lot of visual ingenuity and a satisfyingly slow-burning story focussed on the characters, Afflicted has successfully stood out as one of the most interesting found footage movies of recent years.
Area 51 (2015)
Shot and directed by original Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli, and co-written by Peli and Home Movie director Christopher Denham, Area 51 puts a sci-fi spin on the Paranormal Activity formula and ups the scale.
The movie follows a group of friends who become so obsessed with the titular military base that they go so far as to find a way to break in to film what they find and, of course, they get far more than they bargained for.