Paranormal Activity
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: September 25, 2009
5.9
USER SCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 702 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
377
Mixed:
138
Negative:
187
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
0
KatieG.Oct 18, 2009
Worst movie of the year. I want a refund. In fact, I want the 2 hours of my life back spent on this garbage.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
0
JohnMOct 20, 2009
This movie was an utter failure. There was no real terror in the movie. The concept had the potential to be a truly terrifying movie, but it was poorly done and left me bored, so much so that I screamed just to try to make it more interesting.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
JorgeM.Oct 23, 2009
Wack!!!!! looks like they just gather up Youtube videos and put it in a movie don't waste your money!!!!!!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
CariS.Oct 24, 2009
After watching this movie I had to check my pockets because I felt I had been robbed. By far the worst movie ever.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
MickiMOct 30, 2009
The audience was laughing at this joke of a movie. I never heard a scream or sudden intake of breath
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
EliasCJan 22, 2010
Leave it to the Reality TV generation to think that this tedious and unscary film is entertaining. I'd rather watch my sister's travel videos.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
GregG.Oct 11, 2009
What in the world is going on? Are all of these positive reviews about the same movie? Are we all talking about the same thing? How? I'm...flabbergasted; that's the word most appropriate. What at all was scary about this movie? What in the world is going on? Are all of these positive reviews about the same movie? Are we all talking about the same thing? How? I'm...flabbergasted; that's the word most appropriate. What at all was scary about this movie? I'm not one of those sado-masochistic weirdos that watches House of a 1000 corpses or whatever. Just an avid movie buff. I honestly don't get it. A few noises and bumps and all of a sudden it's the scariest move for 20 years? The whole appeal of films in general is that they tell a story that even though may be false is still exciting enough to get you involved and believe. This movie does the opposite, it takes a story that isn't true and then through some weird ideas tries to make it seem real as a documentary. If this is cinema then G-d help us.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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JoshuaTNov 15, 2009
Completely abysmal! Horrible! Do not waste your time. I had never heard of this movie and decided to see it. Never heard of any "hype" good god...worst movie I've yet to see!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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MagsOct 16, 2009
Best part of the movie? When it was finally over. The movie would be a good nominee for a comedy. I laughed so much, and so did everyone else in the theater. When the movie was over PLENTY of people complained loudly about how horrible of a Best part of the movie? When it was finally over. The movie would be a good nominee for a comedy. I laughed so much, and so did everyone else in the theater. When the movie was over PLENTY of people complained loudly about how horrible of a movie this is. Save your money, as far as scary goes, the only thing scary is how much hype this movie is getting. WORST movie I have seen in a long time. I never really regret paying for movies, but I surely regretted paying money for this garbage.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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JaredTOct 16, 2009
Avoid this movie like H1N1. 75% of the people who see this movie will feel really cheated. The other 25% need to raise their standards. Honestly, this movie is the critic's revenge -- we ignored their warnings and saw movies like Avoid this movie like H1N1. 75% of the people who see this movie will feel really cheated. The other 25% need to raise their standards. Honestly, this movie is the critic's revenge -- we ignored their warnings and saw movies like 'Couple's Retreat' -- well now they have the last laugh, because their positive reviews are going to lead people (like myself) to pay $12 to see a student film that has approx. 1/10 the ingenuity of 'Blair Witch'. Like the ING guy says, "SAVE YOUR MONEY!" If you must satisfy your curiosity, download it for free. There is NO reason to see this home movie in a theatre.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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TrudeDDec 26, 2009
Those who say this is scary are obviously joking or so annoyed at wasting their monay that they want others to waste theirs as well, cause no one could seriously be scared of rubbish like that.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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RyanC.Dec 29, 2009
How do you make a box office hit? Apparently all it requires is an incredibly low budget piece of garbage that teases at scaring you and does nothing more than bore you for three-quarters of the entire film. By the time anything that some How do you make a box office hit? Apparently all it requires is an incredibly low budget piece of garbage that teases at scaring you and does nothing more than bore you for three-quarters of the entire film. By the time anything that some may consider 'scary' starts you're too bored to even give a damn. The only way this film was entertaining to watch was all the Mystery Science Theater commentary we made during the entire film.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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CoyC.Oct 25, 2009
It's rare that I would rate a movie as a 0 out of 10... however, there was nothing redeeming about this movie that would make me feel good about having spent $6.50 and almost 2 hours of my life to watch. The quality and editing are what It's rare that I would rate a movie as a 0 out of 10... however, there was nothing redeeming about this movie that would make me feel good about having spent $6.50 and almost 2 hours of my life to watch. The quality and editing are what you would expect out of a film with a $15,000 budget, but the trailers for the film are more than misleading. The only things that make anyone jump is the sound until the very last scene. But that's not saying much as the film is very quiet, almost silent, and as you are straining to hear this haunting, the film pops with a loud noise.... nothing scary, just going from quiet to loud a lot. There's one scene with good special effects but I was so detached from the film by that point, it would have taken someone lighting the theatre on fire to bring out any semblance of fear. This is a perfect example of why people stop going to a theatre to watch movies.... it got a lot of hype, the marketing campaign was done well enough to tease you into wondering if it really could be that scary, and it got some (strangely) glowing reviews from respected film critics as Roger Ebert. His 3.5/4.0 review has me really reconsidering his sanity at this point.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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PFaiOct 27, 2009
This movie is so bad, so unscary, so boring, it doesn't even get a vote of 1.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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PamCOct 27, 2009
Really, really bad - not scary, not realistic, not sympathetic, nothing but boring, mindless drivel!!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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It'sDoomPadillaOct 28, 2009
I don't understand what's so scary about ghosts This movie was just boring and NOT scary I almost went to sleep.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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DavidVDec 8, 2009
Quite possibly the worst movie of all times. The problem isn't that it isn't a typical psycho killers movie. The problem is that it makes you feel nothing because nothing is happening. A door moving slightly at night or a Quite possibly the worst movie of all times. The problem isn't that it isn't a typical psycho killers movie. The problem is that it makes you feel nothing because nothing is happening. A door moving slightly at night or a chandelier moving aren't "scary." Some hail it for its "suspense" and "jump scares," but it completely lacks those, unless you're one of those people that already believes this type of crap is possible and thus just become involved with it as if you believed this could be you. Skip on this movie at all cost.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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sexysexyOct 31, 2009
It is absolutely the worst possible choice for a horror flick right now. The ending was scary, but that's it. Literally, the action was all in the trailer. If you MUST see it, then at least go late into the movie, like an hour late. It is absolutely the worst possible choice for a horror flick right now. The ending was scary, but that's it. Literally, the action was all in the trailer. If you MUST see it, then at least go late into the movie, like an hour late. Then you wont have to go through the slow, slow, agonizingly boring buildup. in groups, this movie is nothing but funny, and it's incredibly predictable thanks to a weird airplane-in-the-distance sound that comes before anything "paranormal" happens. It might be a slightly good movie if u go with just a girlfriend, but no other friends, maybe she'll make it a passable experience.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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DGOct 31, 2009
Here's the ingrediants to this movie... #1- Steal Blair Witch's handheld-camera really-happening horror concept. #2- Steal the nightvision lens and monster dragging young woman into the darkness tricks from "Quarantine". #3- Take Here's the ingrediants to this movie... #1- Steal Blair Witch's handheld-camera really-happening horror concept. #2- Steal the nightvision lens and monster dragging young woman into the darkness tricks from "Quarantine". #3- Take cliche "jump scene" tactics, and make the entire movie build up to the good ol' jump scene. #4- Make the characters too impossibly stupid to think to sleep in a well traveled public place like a shelter or park bench, where traditionally ghosts and goblins have a harder time snatching people. #5- And finally after stealing the entire movie concept from other recent horror movies coupled with horrendously unrealistic ignorances of the characters (the lead male actor seems to think he can kill the Demon by wrasslin' him or talking smack)...brag how it "only cost 15,000 dollars", so people will forgive its countless failings. If you're too old to have a slumber party, you're too old to not have the unoriginal and unrealistic plot sidetrack your attention. This is what happens when a few 8th graders get a derivitive idea, only it occurs to a full grown man with the money to see it to fruition.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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AveryBDec 13, 2009
The scariest thing about the movie is that it cost me $14.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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TJDec 14, 2009
One of the worst movie ever screened in cinema. Wasted more than 1 hour 30 min of my life watching this crap. I want a refund for the movie ticket! Once bitten twice shy, so don't even think of making Paranormal Activity. Just realise One of the worst movie ever screened in cinema. Wasted more than 1 hour 30 min of my life watching this crap. I want a refund for the movie ticket! Once bitten twice shy, so don't even think of making Paranormal Activity. Just realise that I have wasted another 3 mins writing this review.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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PaulHDec 15, 2009
Boring and anti-climatic, not that it would have even taken much at the end to reach some kind of peak compared to the rest of the "film." I'm glad I didn't pay to see this movie. If I had, I most certainly would have walked out to Boring and anti-climatic, not that it would have even taken much at the end to reach some kind of peak compared to the rest of the "film." I'm glad I didn't pay to see this movie. If I had, I most certainly would have walked out to get a refund.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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Skull-o-maniaOct 22, 2010
Those of you who think that the first movie was good you have no sense of what a good movie is let alone a horror movie. Seriously, Paranormal Activity what such a bunch of mindless cliche and terrible script writing. I was so utterly boredThose of you who think that the first movie was good you have no sense of what a good movie is let alone a horror movie. Seriously, Paranormal Activity what such a bunch of mindless cliche and terrible script writing. I was so utterly bored by this movie I would've left had I not fallen asleep to the non-eventfulness of the movie. This movie shows more how Hollywood has stooped to the level of making good commercials than that of good movies. What's that you say, it was made by college kids. That may be so, but still I'm utterly repulsed by how much money this movie made. Beyond that other movies have been made from college level people that were 100 times better than this piece of filth. So angry (even a year later) for watching and hour and fifteen minutes of a movie where nothing happens, there is only fifteen minutes where this movie engaged me. Obviously this movie should have been only fifteen minutes and I would have been happy, but no it dragged on for about 90.

Maybe they'll get it right this time. But I'd rather be watching The Walking Dead on AMC then spending my money on this new cash cow crap-a-thon… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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0
NazguleroJul 24, 2011
The first time I dozed off was after eight minutes, Then at intervals of about five minutes. The problem with this movie is that there is absolutely no story, no meaningful dialogue, just nonsense banter all the time. The bad audio makes itThe first time I dozed off was after eight minutes, Then at intervals of about five minutes. The problem with this movie is that there is absolutely no story, no meaningful dialogue, just nonsense banter all the time. The bad audio makes it really hard to understand. What a disappointment...… Expand
3 of 4 users found this helpful31
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LannistersAug 30, 2011
Well .... is THAT supposed to scary us? There was nothing to be afraid of. I mean what's the point of this movie? After 30 minutes i was already bored (nothing happening + boring characters) and the next hour wasn't any better!
1 of 7 users found this helpful16
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WargearsMar 18, 2013
The only thing scary about this movie is how hollywood was able to dupe everyone into wasting their time and money on a crappy, overhyped, and borefest movie.
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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horrorchickJun 2, 2018
I love this movie... when I'm suffering from insomnia. Put it on, and I'll fall asleep pretty easily. I have watched it over a dozen times, and I don't think I have seen the ending once. Very slow, and no scare factor.
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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SafeCloudNov 18, 2019
A boring movie with bland characters, cheap look and worst of all: no scares.
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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AceFrahmJan 2, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have just created a MetaCritic account entirely for the purpose of warning you away from this worthless movie!

Both the prime protagonist and the secondary protagonist are completely flat characters we have no reason to like at all. We hope that a monster is real and eats them quickly to get the movie over with, so that we never have to watch these boring, unimportant, empty vessel non-player characters ever again. The dialogue is boring and badly written. The character's behavior & responses to each other, and their motives at each point don't make much sense, even by the standards of an F- grade horror movie, in which the audience typically expects that somebody ( even several people ) needs to make a dumb error ( or many ) in order for the plot to be contrived, justified for the "fun" that comes later. Even that doesn't happen here. Micah tries to uncover the haunting mystery for her, but Katie doesn't help or appreciate this in any way. Their supposedly intimate relationship doesn't seem to have any credible reason for existing in the first place.

"Katie" has no characterization. She is supposedly is an english major who's about to graduate and become a teacher, but we see no trace of evidence of this in her behavior or dialogue, or in the house. Very very late in the movie, she has 1 book we can't see any page text or cover of, which appears to be an untouched brand new perfect-bound book with crisp, flawless page edges & corners, and claims to be "studying", but she's seated with her feet bent up under her legs on the couch cushion, a very "I'm not really studying at all" position. She does not seem to have a literate attitude or the sensible manner that a person who intends to be a teacher must have to potentially operate any kind of classroom. We see her at a table with a small amount of bead jewelry making materials, as though she has acquired a teeny-tiny all-in-one "do it yourself" bead-ery kit. We never see her successfully use any of these materials to do so much as thread even a single bead, and the character wears no bead jewelry. "Micah" also has no characterization. Instead of "My-Kah", his name is mispronounced throughout the movie as "Mee-Kah", which is not how any americans or canadians would ever pronounce that name, unless we are supposed to understand that Micah or his parents came from eastern europe, which is NOT established by the movie. Micah is announced to us by Katie as being "interested in electronics". This is the one and only feature his character supposedly has, but the film merely shows us that he has only just bought a camera to try to get proof of the suspected haunting at the very opening of the movie, and he hasn't even thrown out the cardboard box it came in. The movie shows us that he's only just barely learning to make it record. He appears to use an old cassette tape recorder, but for all the audience knows, he's probably only just dragged it out of storage to try to record a "ghost" for the benefit of Katie, and that he hasn't used the machine for anything else. While Micah has a computer, it is not notable. It seems to exist merely for showing the audience that they review what was on the camera & cassette recordings. He is not shown to be particularly adept in any way at the use of any of these items, or to be enamored with them. This reveals NOTHING about his character traits or place in the world.

When the haunting expert pays his 2nd visit to the house, he merely states that the other ( never seen ) demonology expert isn't available, and that he himself can't stay and must leave the house immediately. This is stupid, because even in 2006, ALL human adults would simply communicate this in a phone call. Even the monster's behavior and motives make no sense, even for an ill-defined "I can do anything, I'm a demon" monster. Apparently it wants to kill, but only does that after taking demonic possession of a human host, accomplished by biting them? Why wouldn't it bite Micah instead? At least then it would occupy a body with greater physical strength. Why would it care about boring nobody Katie in the first place? It appears that the monster can drag around anyone it likes, and bite them at any time, and humans are powerless to stop it, yet it waits 16+ days to do so, for no apparent reason.

This is a bad movie. Do not watch it. You will never recover that wasted ~80+ minutes back into your life.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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