Movies
‘Paranormal Activity’ – The Found Footage Horror Franchise is Getting a Stage Play
Found footage horror evolves in an unexpected way: the Paramount horror movie series Paranormal Activity has a stage play in the works.
THR reports that “Simon Friend, the veteran producer who brought Life of Pi to Broadway, has picked up the license to the Paramount horror movie series with the intent of bringing it to the West End via his Simon Friend Entertainment.”
The stage play adaptation of Paranormal Activity is in early development and set to be penned by Levi Holloway, who previously wrote Grey House.
The 2007 found footage film that started it all, Paranormal Activity, was written and directed by Oren Peli. The microbudget feature, made on very little money, wound up grossing $193.4 million globally and successfully launched a franchise still going strong with Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, most recently released in 2021 on Paramount+. The movies have grossed almost $900 million theatrically, THR reports.
In the initial entry: “Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.
The franchise runs seven films deep so far and an additional non-canon spinoff, Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night. All include variations of a home under siege from a demonic presence, utilizing the found footage format. So, while there are no plot details on the stage play adaptation, it’s safe to assume that the demons will be involved.
Friend is no stranger to adapting films to stage plays, having adaptations on “both on Broadway and the West End, with The Da Vinci Code and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel among the better-known titles.” Friend’s adaptation of Life of Pi on Broadway has amassed five Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards.
While it remains to be seen how found footage will translate to a West End production, we have an upcoming stage musical adaptation of horror-comedy Teeth arriving early next year to stave off the wait.
NEON has been absolutely slaying the marketing game for their horror output this year, and they’re kicking the Longlegs campaign into high gear with one more month until release.
A cryptic ad in The Seattle Times today (seen below) has led clever horror fans to discover TheBirthdayMurders.net, the brand new official viral marketing website for Longlegs.
The in-universe website details the victims of the serial killer known as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), described as a “Satan-worshipping psycho” who has terrorized families throughout the Pacific Northwest for nearly three decades.
The website details, “A bloody trail of bodies here in the great state of Oregon attests to the depraved savagery of this one-of-a-kind serial killer. With over three dozen victims that we know of, LONGLEGS is one of the most prolific mass murderers ever to have graced the region, and his gruesome endeavors are the stuff of nightmares. At first, all of the killings appeared to be straightforward murder-suicides: the handiwork of average men who suddenly snapped and slaughtered their wives and children. But a series of eerie coded messages left at the crime scenes indicate that someone – or something – is influencing these horrific crimes. The cryptic letters are signed by someone calling himself LONGLEGS.”
“With thirty-eight kills to his name, LONGLEGS has torn apart the lives of eleven different families throughout the Beaver State. His victims were good people: honest fathers, decent mothers, innocent little children.”
The website is loaded with secrets, clues, and gruesome (faux) crime scene photos, and you might even find a mention of yours truly nestled in there. Poke around. Stay a while.
Longlegs arrives in theaters July 12.
The upcoming serial killer horror movie marks the return of director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel). Nicolas Cage stars alongside Maika Monroe, with Monroe playing an FBI agent and Cage playing a serial killer.
In the film, “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
The film is rated “R” for “Bloody violence, disturbing images and some language.”
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