Paranormal Activity (2007) Dir: Oren Peli
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When people think of successful films, most will speak of Avatar, Titanic and the Avengers films, but when you boil it down, Oren Peli's 2007 paranormal horror has to be considered the greatest success, maybe in cinema history. On a budget of just $15,000, this now modern classic of its genre grossed an astonishing $193.4 million at the box office.
This gives it the record for biggest budget to profit ratio ever; grossing 645,801.51% its budget, miles ahead of any other film. And why was it so successful? Quite simply, it's simple, concise and extremely efficient.
By 2023 standards, it may not terrorise audiences to quite the extent of those who watched in 2007, but it most definitely creates plenty of fear and suspense throughout its 86 minute runtime.
Having been co-produced by Oren Peli & Jason Blum, of Blumhouse fame, this film uses a less is more approach in the most effective and successful way, helped by its premise, to create simple yet immensely effective scares, time and time again.
Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat both do well to come across as believable and, for the most part, non-scripted. Their chemistry is also worth noting, helping to elevate the believability of their characters, as well as audience investment.
I'll also give quick mentions to the brief appearances from Mark Friedrichs, Amber Armstrong and Ashley Palmer, who all help to add suspense to the piece.
Overall, while it may be part of a now out-of-fashion and saturated sub-genre of horror, this has to be considered one of the most influential horrors of the 2000s.
It also serves as a perfect example of what can be achieved on a small budget. This is undeniably a modern horror classic that was both incredibly popular and undeniably influential on one of the most enduringly successful genres.
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