After seven movies, the “Paranormal Activity” franchise doesn’t frighten audiences the way it once did — that is, through the power of suggestion, using home security cameras, smartphones and webcams to “capture” ghostly phenomena in seemingly innocuous suburban locations. While audiences have gotten wise to the films’ found-footage approach, the name still means something. That’s why it now comes attached to a thinly connected but thoroughly effective haunted-house show from “Sleep No More” director Felix Barrett, presented not as a play, but as “a new story live on stage.”
First attempted in Leeds, England, and now making appearances on various American stages (Chicago’s Shakespeare Theater last month, Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theater this November, followed by stops by D.C. and San Francisco in early 2026), “Paranormal Activity” goes to show that the series hasn’t given up the ghost. Instead, it was time to reinvent — and what better way to do that than by conjuring ghosts in front of a live audience? As with cinema, the impact relies on clever illusions, but in this age of CG and AI, it’s a lot more satisfying to be fooled in the flesh, and “Paranormal Activity” has audiences crying out in fright and surprise.
