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DVDfever.co.uk – Paranormal Activity on Blu-ray and DVD
Icon Home Entertainment
Posted: January 22nd, 2010.
Blu-ray: 
DVD:
The horror film that shocked the world is finally making its presence on Blu-ray and DVD!
Icon Home Entertainment is pleased to announce the 22nd March Blu-ray and DVD release of the horror phenomenon that is PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Directed by Oren Peli and having grossed over $100 million dollars in America, it has now exceeded the £10 million mark at the UK Box Office. Hailed by Harry Knowles as one of the scariest at-home viewing experiences ever, this truly terrifying film is now primed to frighten the hell out of people in the safety of their own homes!
After Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston), a young, middle class couple move into what seems like a typical suburban starter house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic, but is certainly most active in the middle of the night, especially when they are fast asleep.
The presence seems most concerned with Katie, a student who has felt haunted her whole life.
Her boyfriend, Micah, a day-trader, becomes fixated on learning as much as he can about the phenomenon. Technologically savvy and a lover of toys, Micah spends a few thousand dollars on a high-definition video camera and sets it up at the foot of their bed, creating at once the most intimate of tableaux and an evidentiary medium.
The arrival of Micahs new toy seems to trigger an escalation of paranormal activity, causing Katie to observe that the presence doesnt like it. As the video tape rolls, Katie becomes increasingly distant while Micahs fascination grows into obsession.
The Blu-ray and DVD release includes an alternate ending, plus the winner of Icons Film Your Own Paranormal Activity short film competition. The short film competition enabled horror fans to shoot and submit their own paranormal short film so that it could be included on the most talked about DVD of the decade!
During the cinema release, fans were challenged to shoot their own paranormal footage using the same home-made techniques as the film and then submit their film to the Prepare to Be Scared YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/preparetobescared).
The entries will be judged by Paranormal Activity director, Oren Peli and the best of them will be included on the DVD and Blu-ray!
Paranormal Activity was originally filmed in director Oren Pelis suburban San Diego home, during a seven-day sprint in 2006. Peli first got the idea for Paranormal Activity when he first moved from his native Israel to California into his first house.
Says Oren, It was the first time Id ever lived in a house: Id only ever rented small apartments. So especially in quiet suburbia, I quickly learned that you become conscious of every little noise, especially at night.
The house, or the ground around it, was settling; things were falling off shelves in the middle of the night. Im not saying there was a ghost or anything, because the incidents, or whatever you would call them, were happening months apart.
Separately, Orens previous girlfriend, Toni Taylor recalls that, like Katie in the film, she has felt haunted off and on for years, long before she met Peli. I like to think I was some kind of inspiration for the film, she says.
She also talks about having wanted to make improvements to the new home right after they moved in, while Peli wanted to wait. And wait they did. And for the next couple of years those nighttime noises however intermittent persisted.
They got the techno-geek side of me thinking, OK, it would be cool to set up video cameras as a way to figure out what was going on, says Peli.
If those cameras caught something good, I thought that could make a pretty interesting movie. Blair Witch proved that if a movie that purports to be found footage is done well, it can be very popular.
This would not be the first time Peli would bring up that movie, of which he is a true fan and which he has said inspired him to make Paranormal Activity.
Once he had written a script, Peli finally agreed with Taylor: it was time to make those home improvements. The couple put in new wood flooring, hung some pictures on the walls and re-arranged their bedroom. They even constructed the Ouija Board that plays a central role in the narrative.
On the two leading actors in Paranormal Activity – when we put Katie and Micah together, they were absolutely convincing as a couple that had been together for years, they were telling stories about their vacations, talking about how Katies mom didnt approve of them living together. They came up with elaborate back stories for their characters on the spot. That was the moment when I actually green-lighted the movie in my head, because I wasnt going to do it unless I could find actors who could pull it off.
ABOUT THE CAST:
Katie Featherston (Katie) makes her feature debut with Paranormal Activity. A native Texan, Katie attended Southern Methodist University where she majored in acting. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she studies acting.
Micah Sloat (Micah) makes his feature debut with “Paranormal Activity.” In addition to his acting duties and being the de facto camera man, Micah’s original music is featured in the film’s soundtrack. He holds degrees from the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood as well as Skidmore College, where he created television shows for the college’s station. He lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Elevate Entertainment.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Oren Peli (writer/director/producer/editor) is a native of Israel who came to the US at the age of 19. Back home he had dropped out of high school at age 16 to write a highly commercial painting program, then became a full time software designer, using his skills to create animation programs and, ultimately, game software. Paranormal Activity is his first film. His next, Area 51, which he also wrote, is produced by Jason Blum and is to shoot in Utah in the fall of 2009.
Special Features: Alternative Ending, Film Your Own Paranormal Activity Short Films
The Blu-ray is released on March 22nd, it runs for 86 mins and sells on Amazon for £14.98 (RRP £24.99),with a DVD version for £11.98 (RRP £19.99).
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.