Once considered the media darling of found-footage horror flicks, the Paranormal Activity franchise began to show signs of aging last year with an underwhelming fourth installment, which failed to match its predecessors both in terms of box-office returns and reviews. In light of that film’s somewhat tepid reception, producers evidently want Paranormal Activity 5 to be handled by someone who has a long history with the series. Today, Deadline reported that Gregory Plotkin, who co-produced the third and fourth films as well as upcoming spin-off Paranormal Activity: The Lost Ones, has become attached to direct the upcoming fifth film.
Paranormal Activity 5 will mark Plotkin’s directorial debut; he previously worked on the series as a co-producer and editor, so fans can rest easy knowing the franchise is in familiar hands. He’ll be working from a script by Jason Pagan and Andrew Deutschman, a currently unknown writing duo also working on two projects for Michael Bay – found-footage sci-fi movies called Almanac and Raindrop.
Many critics and viewers bashed Paranormal Activity 4 for what they saw as lazy execution, a premise only tangentially related to the series’ overall arc and frustratingly few scares, so the fact that producers appear to have listened and are taking more time to develop subsequent installments must be satisfying for fans. 2013 will mark the first year without a Paranormal Activity film since 2010; the fifth installment was moved from next month to October of 2014.
As is the Paranormal Activity way, no new actors or actresses have been announced to have roles in the upcoming sequel as of yet, though viewers can expect an appearance from demon-possessed series MVP Katie (Katie Featherston). No word yet on the involvement of Paranormal Activity 4‘s protagonist, Alex (Kathryn Newton), whose fate was left unclear at the end of that movie.
Will you be queuing up to get freaked out next October for Paranormal Activity 5, or is this series too much of a ghost of its former self for you to fall for its tricks again? Let us know in the comments section!
Paranormal Activity 5 opens October 24th, 2014.