With lean budgets, small casts and a shrewd blend of practical and digital effects, the Paranormal Activity franchise has proven a great investment for Paramount Pictures, bringing in more than $575 million worldwide to date. While horror sequels are often sloppily made cash grabs that boast higher body count but often fewer satisfying scares, Paramount seemed to learn their lesson when Paranormal Activity 2 was dinged on both counts by critics in 2010. So, for their third feature they brought on board controversial documentarians Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman of Catfish to give Paranormal Activity 3 a new edge.
Despite being a prequel—which audiences and critics are accustomed to loathing on sight—the film fared well with critics and audiences, spurring Paramount to rush into Paranormal Activity 4 with both Joost and Schulman returning to helm. However, aside from Katie Featherston reprising her role as the franchise's freaky final girl, little else is known about where this latest demon-centered horror flick will take us. But laying the groundwork for the film's fast-approaching fall release, Paramount has unveiled a teaser that gives us a brief glimpse at Katie's latest exploits:
I wasn't kidding about it being brief. Still, we can see Joost and Schulman haven't abandoned the franchise's found footage aesthetic, which I actually find exciting since they brought new thrills to the device with that oscillating fan cam in Paranormal Activity 3. Aside from this, we get a peek from the story told in the first film, where Katie and her live-in boyfriend Micah are haunted by an unseen threat. Then a shot of Katie and her little nephew from Paranormal Activity 2 as they leave his family and home behind. And then back to the final shot from Paranormal Activity, before cutting to a flash of an unknown blonde girl. Each is presented like a piece of a puzzle without revealing what exactly Paranormal Activity 4 is about.
What does it mean that the shot of Katie and her nephew is reversed? Why no shots from Paranormal Activity 3? Is the unidentified blonde Glee's Dianna Agron, who is rumored to appear in the feature? Maybe we'll find out when the full trailer is released on August 1st.
