Paranormal Activity 2007

Michael Phillips, At the Movies: I say see it, before the inevitable overhyping begins, along with the inevitable backlash. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: The sizzle of the marketing is impressive; the steak of the actual movie, served bloody and rare and juicy, is even more so. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: In the light of day, it's all very silly and conventional. But of course we're not talking about the light of day. Read more

Ted Fry, Seattle Times: After the disturbing experience of squirming through this astonishing movie, you'll be wide awake with lights blazing and may never want to sleep again. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: At best, Paranormal Activity makes the banal and commonplace deeply unsettling. Read more

Justine Elias, Boston Globe: It's like watching a YouTube clip of your irritating neighbors, knee deep in muck, as they argue the effectiveness of plumbers. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The climax is deliciously scary, and Peli gets considerable mileage from the simple matter of lights inexplicably going on in another room. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: Now that's horror. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: With its this-is-really-happening vibe, Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare cliches. The fear is real, all right, because the fear is really in you. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Peli works at mining the unknown, the unknowable, like a minimalist, using small moments and virtually no special effects exceedingly well. Read more

Luke Y. Thompson, L.A. Weekly: Making the most out of a single location and tiny cast, it's the scariest movie of the year. Read more

Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly: The fact that its old-school scares caused seemingly jaded 20-somethings at a recent midnight screening to squirm in their seats suggests that there's hope for the world after all. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: As far as communal experiences at the multiplex go, the film delivers. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Some wild moments make it all worth it. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Like legendary producer Val Lewton in the '40s, director Oren Peli, who shot Paranormal in seven days in his own home, understands that what's most frightening is what you don't see but merely suggested. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: Peli is to be congratulated for pulling off such an audacious project, but he needs a sharper sense of timing: The film's pacing is uneven, which weakens the suspense. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: His is a tale of the supernatural, but its strength is that it is rooted in the ordinary. That's what makes it creepy. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It illustrates one of my favorite points, that silence and waiting can be more entertaining than frantic fast-cutting and berserk f/x. For extended periods here, nothing at all is happening, and believe me, you won't be bored. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: With a $15,000 budget too puny to empty a petty-cash drawer, the no-frills Paranormal Activity comes packed with thrills. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: A few people in the audience were laughing during the first half of the film. No one was laughing during the long walk out of the theater. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Though it never poses a question more abstract than "Where's that scratching sound coming from?" Paranormal Activity is all about spiritual and ethical debts coming due. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Without financing, stars or more than a couple of special effects, first-time writer/director Olen Peli has made a diabolically effective essay in irrational horror. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The people most scared by Paranormal Activity may be the makers of high-priced special effects, who will have to explain to studio bosses how a kid with $15,000 and one or two cameras can create such effective terror. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Beyond the viral ingenuity of the marketing, what's cool about PA is that it's not just a fun thrill ride; it's an instructive artistic experience. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: It's this feeling of vulnerability that Peli's slow-burning supernatural chiller so effectively exploits, fashioning heart-stopping scares out of almost nothing. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: This unsettling ultra-low-budget tale capitalizes on our innate fear of things that go bump in the night, and adds a supernatural element that will effectively terrorize even the toughest among us. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Horror fans who value credible creepiness over the usual splatdom will welcome this. Read more

Jen Chaney, Washington Post: It's the sleeper hit that makes audiences too petrified to ever sleep again. Read more