‘Paranormal Activity’ Review: This First Theatre Adaptation Of The Iconic Found-Footage Horror Is Truly Terrifying
Bringing horror to the stage is a daunting task. The noises of a theatre auditorium and the modern distractions of snapping Coca-Cola cans and rustling sweet wrappers can easily disrupt the eerie, suspenseful atmosphere of a traditional ghost story. Writer Levi Holloway and director Felix Barrett had a nearly impossible task when they set out to adapt an iconic Blumhouse franchise for the stage. However, they have risen to the challenge and pulled off the first-ever theatre adaptation of Paranormal Activity with tremendous verve. Those with a lucky spot in the audience of this production’s first night were treated to an immersive ghost story that could only work in front of a live audience.
Paranormal Activity is a film franchise that needs no introduction to horror fans. It’s the mid-2000s low-budget hit that became an unexpected hit and turned into a barnstormer of a horror franchise with six sequels. The original 2007 film injected new life into found-footage horror with its story of a San Diego couple, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, haunted by a demonic entity in their suburban tract home. As the franchise grew, Katie and Micah’s story multiplied into numerous prequels, sequels, and other offshoots. Each told found-footage stories of supernatural possession, all set in ordinary American homes and all caught on hand-held cameras, webcams, and security cameras.
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This creepy, supernatural tale has been adapted for its first-ever theatre stage production. This adaptation rearranges the central plot points of the original film. American actor and Broadway star Patrick Heusinger and British actor Melissa James play James and Lou, a young American couple who have freshly arrived in London from Chicago. They are a few months into settling into their spacious London home. (A warning for British audiences: you’ll have to suspend your disbelief that a young couple can rent a home of this size in the capital). As they settle in, previously undiscussed details about their life in Chicago come to light. It’s clear that they are fleeing demonic activity of the type that haunted Katie and Micah in the original film.
When I first sat in my theatre seat, I was skeptical. The thrill of the original Paranormal Activity was in its overarching narrative, which wove together individually eerie incidents into a dark and ominous narrative. Minor incidents—creaking bedroom doors, flickering lights, and echoing footsteps—become more frequent and escalate into poltergeist-style violence.
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This uncanny build-up of coincidental details led to a terrifying final scene with an outburst of demonic destruction that has become synonymous with the film. It takes more work to convey these subtler touches on the stage. Much to my surprise, Levi Holloway and Felix Barrett have conveyed this subtlety through a production peppered with simple yet effective stage illusions. Holloway is the playwright who has devised the sellout Broadway horror play Grey House; Felix Barrett is the director and founder of the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk. Together, the two creatives have an obvious delight in the horror genre, and the story is not a tired restaging of the original plot of Paranormal Activity.
What more can I reveal without spoiling the surprises? In fact, the audience is reminded before the curtain rises not to spoil the twists in this clever production. This anticipation is further heightened by the knowledge that even if you’ve seen the original film before, Holloway and Barrett have tweaked this staging, so you won’t know what to expect throughout the whole of this tense two-hour production.
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Clever stage illusions that would have been cornier on the cinema screen conjure up a genuine sense of dread on the stage. Fly Davies’ set design does remarkable work in presenting James and Lou’s home as a kind of Gothic Wendy house that opens up all four floors like a creepy Victorian doll house. This set spreads the action across multiple floors and helps us see them move around their dimly lit surroundings. It is very effective, with sound effects of rain and drizzle softly beating against the pane with other subtle touches. The lighting casts eerie shadows, and the simplest effects on this set provide the most startling jump scares.
Holloway’s script is tightly structured into a set of scenes that reveal new secrets about each of the characters. We’re introduced to them as James and Lou settle into their new home. James’ mother, Carolanne, makes regular calls with not-so-subtle references to Lou’s problems back in Chicago. Lou is made visibly uncomfortable by Carolanne but manages to contain her frustration. Lou has secrets in her past, secrets that the demons use against her to attack her. Yet this isn’t the only source of tension. James has his own guilty memories that threaten to disturb their peace. This is the true source of horror in the production.
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People are not what they seem, and the stakes in a scene can change very quickly through one word or phrase. As the tagline says, “Places aren’t haunted; people are”. Keep an eye on the characters throughout the production. The actors have to change their tone and approach very quickly as the fast-paced script places demands on them. Particular praise should go to the supporting actors, Pippa Winslow as James’s mother, Carolanne, and Jackie Morrison as a spiritualist who tries to help the couple through a séance that does not go as expected. Both played with an easy charm that can turn into something more surprising—and more sinister—with one line or phrase.
Noise and shadow lurk in unexpected places on the stage and cleverly direct attention as the story evolves and events reveal a more sinister picture. Nothing in this production is as it seems, and the stage story unfolds quietly and deceptively. Immersive effects manipulate your perception, making you question what you see. A genuinely thrilling event, Paranormal Activity does what horror on the stage should do: it holds up a mirror to our fears whilst indulging in a splash of gore and special effects. Expect to experience the jolts of thrilling jump scares and to be frightfully entertained by this new adaptation of Paranormal Activity.
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