Definitive Ranking Of ‘Paranormal Activity’ Franchise

TV & Film

Jan 28

Paranormal Activity — Image Source: Reel Rundown

When you ask someone who is a horror fan, you know you will never get someone to say that they like the overall horror genre, but everyone has their niche that gives them comfort, or they will defend to the bitter end regardless of what others say about it. For me, that is found footage movies. The genre is movies made out of “edited” previously lost or found footage from an incident where things typically go wrong for the actors we meet. What appeals to me as a fan is while I know that these incidents are not real, the belief that they could happen is appealing. I also appreciate the use of practical effects and the camera to give us our scares instead of relying on gore to make things scary.

Hollywood studios love found footage movies because they are cheap to make as we typically have single camera shots and single location shots, and to create the mystique that the actors are like you and me, you get relatively cheap and unknown actors, all of which keep the costs down. Of the found footage movies with success rates for the studio, one of the most famous entries, and the one most people equate with found footage, is The Blair Witch Project which was made in 1999 with a budget of $600,000 and currently over $248 million worldwide and it is this type of success that studios when they need a quick money maker for nothing, you go to found footage. This past year, another famous found footage franchise celebrated its 15th anniversary, Paranormal Activity.

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The movie was made in 2007, written by Oren Peli, and brought to us by Blumhouse Productions magnate Jason Blum. The story centers on Katie, and her husband, Micah, who has moved into a new home, and paranormal incidents begin to occur in the house, all being documented via hand-held cameras. What makes the movie interesting is how the story is told chronologically, so we see how the hauntings become increasingly more intense and ultimately violent, leading to a chilling and frankly frightful ending with an open end that makes people feel a little uneasy. The evident cut success of the first movie, which was famously made originally for $15,000 and currently has a worldwide gross of almost $200 million, would spawn five direct sequels to the original movie, one spin-off tied to the main franchise, and a seventh movie unrelated to the franchise but in name only. But what is the best of the series?

7. Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin (2021)

The most recent entry into the Paranormal franchise is honestly the weakest one. Fans were drawn into the movie thinking we would get a continuation of the series but were instead treated to an Amish community with seemingly no attachment to anything before. In it, a group of friends documents their time looking into their friend’s past, leading them to that Amish community. Unfortunately, the movie itself is a little contrived, and while they tried to maintain some of the franchise’s essence, it just doesn’t land. They also fell into the horror trap of jump scares being a MUST for you to be scary.

6. Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Taking place in a suburb, we meet the Nelson family, specifically Alex, who discovers that weird haunting occurring in her house may be related back to her mysterious neighbor and her son, who we find out is Katie and her nephew from the second movie which she took from her sister. But that reveal doesn’t happen until the end. What bothers many fans is that the Nelson family is just not that interesting, and the main character, Alex is a little irritating and is a turnoff. Don’t get me wrong, we did get growth in the overall storyline about the monster Tobi, but it was clear the franchise needed to move on to continue its success.

5. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)

In the 6th film of the franchise, we get an “inception” moment when we not only get to see found footage from the Fleeges family, but they also find footage from a young Katie and Kristi from the first four movies and how Tobi appears to have gained another child into his flock or fold. What made this movie enjoyable is that it was shot in 3D, which was utilized pretty well, but it still didn’t carry the same weight as the others.

4. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Set in 1988, we get a background on Katie and Kristi and their exposure to Tobi. The unique feel of the movie comes from the use of antiquated technology and is bolstered by one of the best scenes in the franchise with a camera on an oscillating fan. What I appreciated about the movie is we learned that the source of all these troubles appears to be Kristi rather than originally Katie, as we believed during the first couple of films. It also could have closed a loop if the series had ended with the finish of this movie.

3. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

Set during the months leading into Paranormal Activity, we meet Kristi and her family, who appear to be suffering from an evil presence in their home. The movie is filled with typical tropes, like a husband playing a skeptical and overzealous religious person. But the unique story-telling involving cross-over with the first film helped flesh out the series. The film also had great use of practical effects and some unique scares.

2. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)

Following the events of Katie and Kristi in the first 4 films, we get a break from their trials and focus on Jesse, Hector, and Oscar. This was a great movie from start to finish. After four films where we focused on one single thread, we get a more wide lens of the Paranormal franchise and the return of a character from the second movie, the orphaned daughter and niece to Katie, Ali, who helps tell us who we are really dealing with which is the group of witches called “The Midwives” whose sole purpose is to inherit firstborn sons to lead an army of possessed males. However, what truly makes this movie exciting is the ending which ties to the first movie in one of the most unique ways in cinema.

1. Paranormal Activity (2009)

There was no doubt about this being number one on the list. It was the originator and set the tone and format of the rest of the series. The use of found footage made sense and didn’t seem forced like some movies in this genre tend to. And the build-up of the events with increasing stress with the audio queues of the film added to the appeal of the movie. The ending used in theatres was definitely foresight by the studios to help build the franchise, but the two original endings designed involved Katie killing herself and certainly wouldn’t have brought us this great franchise.

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