It started with a vision. In 2009, Oren Peli’s micro-budget horror flick Paranormal Activity took everyone by surprise with its smart filmmaking and genuinely terrifying spin on the old haunted house formula. Fast forward to 2015 and the horror IP stands as one of cinema’s franchise juggernauts, breaking through enough box office records to cement its place in the history books.
But after such a decorated run on the silver screen, dolling out enough nightmare fuel for a generation, the release of today’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension signals the end of the franchise’s tenure, and producer Jason Blum recently sat down with IGN about all things micro-budget horror.
In particular, it’s Blum’s reason for calling time on the Paranormal Activity series that is perhaps the most interesting. It is, essentially, a decision designed to prevent the franchise from becoming long in the tooth, and the producer is well aware that many horror IPs have overstayed their welcome in the past.
It felt like we posed a lot of questions and I was tired of doing that. There was a fatigue in the audience that was like, “Stop teasing us, we want answers.” It’s hard to give answers and keep going so it felt like a natural time to wrap it up. Most horror franchises, they just stop when the last one doesn’t make any money.
That’s just sad and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth about the whole series. I really didn’t want to do that with this. Paramount was very agreeable to that notion. They came to the same conclusion themselves so we really are agreed about it. It’ll give Paranormal Activity a better cultural impact without grinding it into the ground.
After a long and triumphant run, Gregory Plotkin’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension will mark the end of Blumhouse’s low-key gem when it looms into theaters today, October 23. Before venturing out to catch Plotkin’s curtain call, though, be sure to check out Matt Donato’s thoughts on the ultimate chapter.