Six years have passed since Paramount’s Paranormal Activity franchise last frightened audiences in their theater seats. With Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension acting as the supposedly final entry in the series, the found footage mainstay sank back into the shadows. However, its day has come once more, as Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is about to revive that title with chilling new secrets; and it’s going to do so as a Paramount+ exclusive.
The seventh film to bear the Paranormal Activity name, Next of Kin shows us an in-universe documentary being put together by protagonist Margot (Emily Bader.) Debuting on October 29th, exclusively on Paramount+'s streaming library, this journey is supposed to be about how she’s about to meet some long lost relatives in a secretive Amish community. But since this is the Paranormal Activity franchise and not This Is Us, the results are far from a warm welcome.
Branded as a reboot to the series producers Jason Blum and Oren Peli co-created, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is still very much a found footage film. But Underwater director Wiliam Eubank’s film, based on a script by Happy Death Day/Freaky director Christopher Landon, opens the traditionally confined format of the series into some wide open spaces. A veteran of the franchise himself, Landon’s new approach looks like a cross between something like Robert Eggers’ The Witch and a good old fashioned Paranormal Activity scarefest.
That particular cross section of horror is most certainly felt in Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin’s visuals as well. With subdued but warm color palettes marking the pre-turn events as a calm before the storm, you can see those colors give way to darker atmospheres. Though if you pause the trailer at the right time, there’s a horrific shot of what looks like a two-headed goat calf bathed in red light. And if you’re curious, but don’t feel like pausing, we’ll provide that nightmare fuel for you in a handy screencap.
Nothing but good, clean gruesome fun on this farm. Even if you’re not a Paranormal Activity die hard, Next of Kin looks like a reinvention of the formula that will draw in newcomers just as easily. That's right, you don't need to worry about following the interesting chronology of the original films, or spin-offs like Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. All you really need to enjoy this new spin on a time tested formula is an open mind. So if you can accept the existence of two-headed goats and almost assured instances of horrific ritual sacrifice, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin will be waiting for you at the appointed hour.
Debuting on October 29th, exclusively on Paramount+, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin will be available just in time for your Halloween festivities. Though if you’re looking to avoid horror altogether, and have somehow read this entire article, you deserve a well earned respite. Take shelter in the 2021 release schedule, which has all of the films heading your way, in theaters and on streaming, throughout the rest of the year. And it’s totally curse free...we think.
