Tag Archives: Blumhouse Productions

‘Paranormal Activity’ revealed in sixth and final film in the franchise

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Four films and one spinoff later, the Paranormal Activity franchise is ready to reach its climax and conclusion. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is prepared to guide the supernatural horror flicks that came before it into the light by addressing the many unanswered questions and riddles left lingering over the years. Producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions confirmed to USA Today that Ghost Dimension is indeed the final installment and that answers are coming.

“It’s coming to an end. This is it, the finale,” says Blum. “We’re saying it before the movie opens. We’re not going to grind this horror franchise into the ground. This will keep Paranormal Activity as part of this culture and this particular time in a really fantastic way. We couldn’t go just teasing. All the questions that everyone has asked from the past Paranormal Activity films: What does Toby look like? What’s the backstory to the families? These questions have been teased out. Now they will be answered.”

That’s a big one. Ever since the first Paranormal Activity released in 2007, audiences have been forced to use their powerful imaginations to put a face on the invisible, angry entity that has been terrorizing the families featured in all the movies. In Ghost Dimensions, a special video recording device enables the latest family to actually see the paranormal activity going on around them. PA producer and director of the original Oren Peli commented on this major reveal: “We’ve done well without showing Toby, being able to create tensions and scares based on audiences’ imagination,” he said. “But people are very curious.”

Curious, indeed! And by the looks of it, Ghost Dimension may just be the most haunting Paranormal Activity of all. Watch the debut trailer hanging above to see what I mean. Though the many sequels failed to capture the same kind of awe and suspense of the original, this final chapter aims to bring it all home by tying everything that came before it together in a neat bow. Hopefully plot satisfaction and fun scares will have made the journey worth it.

Eight years after the micro-budget original spent $15,000 and made $193 million at the box office worldwide, there’s no denying the powerful effect the Paranormal Activity franchise has had on the horror genre and the box office in general. It spurred the proliferation of scary micro-budget movies including other Blumhouse works like Insidious, Sinister, and The Purge. And perhaps we haven’t seen the last of PA after all?

“At some point, might there be a reboot? You never know. We’ve never discussed it,” says Blum. “[But] we made this movie like it’s the end of this Paranormal line for sure.”

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension hits theatres October 23, and it’s the first PA movie to be released in 3D. Just in time for Halloween! Continue reading ‘Paranormal Activity’ revealed in sixth and final film in the franchise →

M. Night Shyamalan goes “found-footage” for latest supernatural horror pic ‘The Visit’

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What happens when director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water) teams up with producer Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, The Purge)?

The Visit, that’s what. Shyamalan’s next original supernatural film goes a little something like this:

Shyamalan returns to his roots with the terrifying story of a brother and sister who are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a weeklong trip. Once the children discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing, they see their chances of getting back home are growing smaller every day.

Let’s just say these aren’t your typical grandparents–unless your Grandma and Grandpa are seemingly possessed by otherworldly, decidedly demonic creatures.

With The Visit, Shyamalan is embracing Blum’s tried-and-true “found footage” shooting technique; Paranormal Activity and its many sequels have proven that even dirt-cheap horror flicks can be thrilling and quite lucrative. Though the acclaimed director has shot some duds as of late (read: The Happening, After Earth), this inevitable collaboration between Shyamalan and Blum is just tantalizing enough to warrant a look-see. Shyamalan is known for his twist endings that turn all of the events proceeding it on its head, and I can only imagine what he’s cooked up in Blumhouse Productions’ latest.

The Visit opens September 11.