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Oren Peli’s supernatural found-footage horror film Paranormal Activity spawned a franchise that included seven movies, so the Paranormal Activity timeline needs some explaining. The films follow the history of two sisters named Katie and Kristi who are tormented by a demonic entity, "Toby." As the franchise expanded with sequels, prequels, and parallel installments, the exact timeline of events remains complicated. The franchise shares a basic premise: supernatural occurrences that are caught "found-footage" — such as security systems, webcams, and more.
The 2021 installment Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin was a soft reboot since it is the first installment in the franchise to feature a new demonic entity: Asmodeus, based on the real-life Abrahamic dogma. The next title in the franchise, The Other Side, returned to Paranormal Activity's core story, centering on "Toby" once again and continuing the story from where Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension left off. The installments aren't released chronologically, however, but instead, jump between different years and decades.
Paranormal Activity 3
September 1988
The prequel to the Paranormal Activity franchise, Paranormal Activity 3, dives deeper into the history of the demonic entity following the main characters of Kristi and Katie. It is set in September 1988, nearly 20 years prior to the first two films. At the time, the two sisters are living with their mother, Julie, and her boyfriend, Dennis. Kristi begins to see an imaginary friend named “Toby” (sometimes spelled "Tobi") who is actually the demon that will plague the family for years to come.
Dennis discovers a symbol that belongs to a coven of witches that brainwashes young women of child-bearing age into having sons and promising them to a dark entity. This bit of information explains the disappearance of Kristi’s son in Paranormal Activity 2. The ending of Paranormal Activity 3 culminates in the family seeking refuge at Julie’s mother’s house — only to find that she is a member of a coven of witches and is responsible for all the evil that the family experienced in September 1988.
Paranormal Activity 3 is a prequel directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, exploring the origins of the supernatural occurrences experienced by sisters Katie and Kristi. Set in 1988, the film follows the siblings as young children living with their mother and her boyfriend, who begin to witness strange and increasingly violent phenomena. The film employs found-footage techniques to depict the chilling events that lay the groundwork for the series' later hauntings.
Release Date October 19, 2011
Writers Christopher Landon
Runtime 83 Minutes
Cast Katie Featherston , Sprague Grayden , Lauren Bittner , Christopher Nicholas Smith , Chloe Csengery
Paranormal Activity 2
August 2006
Paranormal Activity 2 initially appears to be a sequel to the original — until the twist ending reveals it takes place a few months before the events of the first, eventually merging together (which is also why the timeline can be a little confusing). Conversations about Katie and Micah’s experiences with a supernatural presence happen throughout the second film. Furthermore, when Katie disappears at the end of Paranormal Activity — being controlled by the demon entity Toby — the sequel reveals that she went to her sister Kristi’s house to take her son, Hunter.
Prior to these events, Kristi and her family are introduced shortly after she delivers Hunter, their firstborn son.
Prior to these events, Kristi and her family are introduced shortly after she delivers Hunter, their firstborn son. Shortly after his birth, paranormal occurrences begin to plague their home to the point where family members are physically attacked. Ultimately, Katie takes Hunter, and she murders the majority of the family while seemingly possessed.
Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 horror film directed by Tod Williams and starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. Set before the events of the first movie, the prequel follows a family that begins to experience supernatural events in their home, which drives them to the brink of madness as they try to discover the source of the evil that stalks them.
Release Date October 22, 2010
Director Tod Williams
Cast Molly Ephraim , Brian Boland , Katie Featherston , Sprague Grayden , Micah Sloat
Runtime 91 minutes
Paranormal Activity
October 2006
The first installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise is set in October 2006. It follows Katie and Micah, a young couple who have recently moved into a new home together. As the film progresses, the supernatural occurrences around the home grow increasingly stronger to the point where Katie becomes possessed. While it's the first look the audience gets at these characters, it falls in line with Paranormal Activity 2 in terms of the timeline.
As noted, the twist in the sequel reveals that most of the events of the original come after it. The original Paranormal Activity ends with her throwing Micah into the camera and supposedly disappearing. While there are other alternative endings, they are not canonical to the franchise. Therefore, this timeline follows the original theatrical ending of Micah dying and Katie disappearing.
Therefore, this timeline follows the original theatrical ending of Micah dying and Katie disappearing.
After moving to a suburban house, Katie and Micah are increasingly disturbed by a strange demonic presence. So they decide to try to record the phenomenon on video, but neither of them was prepared for the events that follow.
Release Date October 16, 2009
Director Oren Peli
Cast Katie Featherston , Micah Sloat , Mark Fredrichs , Amber Armstrong , Ashley Palmer
Runtime 86 minutes
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night
2010
The 2010 spin-off Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night didn't receive an international release until 2022, although many hardcore Paranormal Activity fans managed to find ways to view it. Despite only releasing in Japan, Tokyo Night is the official Paranormal Activity 2 in that territory and is considered canon. AMC included it in the bundle with the English Paranormal Activity titles for streaming platforms, which proves the studio considers it officially part of the franchise.
However, it is also still a spin-off and takes place outside the continuity of the main movies. It's thematically linked in that it's a found footage Paranormal Activity movie and occurs within the same universe. It does not, however, feature the demon Toby or any of the events or characters from the other Paranormal Activity movies.
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night is set in 2010, just after the events of the first Paranormal Activity. It should be watched between Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity 4. While it doesn't add to the main narrative of the franchise, it doesn't detract from anything either. When included chronologically in the Paranormal Activity viewing order, it does a fantastic job of fleshing out the wider supernatural universe that movies like The Ghost Dimension and The Marked Ones exist in, adding a new layer of immersion.
The Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night was made on a modest budget of approximately ¥1.35 million (around $12,000).
Paranormal Activity 4
November 2011
The fourth installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise seems to be a bit out of place and somewhat unimportant to the storyline and is set in November 2011. It reveals that Katie from the first Paranormal Activity has moved to the suburbs and lives across the street from the Nelson family, who is now plagued by the spirit named “Toby” that only the youngest member, Wyatt, can see. Katie has also acquired a child to pose as her son named Robbie who becomes friends with Wyatt.
It is revealed in the fourth Paranormal Activity movie that Wyatt and Robbie were both adopted and that Wyatt’s real name is actually Hunter. At some point between the second film and Paranormal Activity 4, Katie lost Hunter and is now trying to get him back in order to sacrifice him to the demons she and her coven worshiped. Before the audience finds out what happens to the Nelson family, Hunter/Wyatt, and Katie, the screen cuts to black.Paranormal Activity 4 still leaves holes in the timeline of the franchise that could be resolved in the upcoming installment.
The Paranormal Activity film series continues with Paranormal Activity 4 from Paramount Pictures. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman return once again to helm the latest film in the franchise. The fourth film is the latest, chronologically, and takes place after the events at the end of Paranormal Activity 2, with Hunter now a young boy, and his aunt (and kidnapper) Katie living in Nevada across the street from a family which will be the latest recipients of demonic creepiness.
Release Date October 19, 2012
Director Ariel Schulman , Henry Joost
Cast Matt Shively , Kathryn Newton , Alisha Boe , Katie Featherston , Brady Allen
Runtime 99minutes
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
June 2012
Departing from the premise of the first four movies in the Paranormal Activity series, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones follows a Latino community in California dealing with the aftermath of eighteen-year-old Jesse Arista receiving the mark of a demonic cult. The Marked Ones is set after the events of the previous Paranormal Activity movies, starting when Jesse discovers a witch’s altar in his home and sees the apparitions of a young Kristi and Katie.
However, The Marked Ones introduces a new concept in the franchise: time travel. When a possessed Jesse forces his friend Hector Estrella through a marked door, the latter finds himself in the setting of the first film, Katie and Micah’s home. Hector takes on a role in the original Paranormal Activity ending. Thus, the fifth installment loops back to the first, while also adding the larger threat of the Midwives.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a 2014 horror film directed by Christopher Landon. The fifth installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise, it follows a teenager named Jesse who becomes the target of malevolent supernatural forces after exploring a neighbor’s mysterious apartment. Diverting from the series’ previous suburban settings, the film delves into a Latino community and explores themes of possession and witchcraft, maintaining the series' found-footage style.
Release Date January 3, 2014
Runtime 84 Minutes
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
2013
What was thought to be the finale in the Paranormal Activity franchise, The Ghost Dimension was released in 2015 but is set in 2013. It follows the Fleeges family who have relocated to a new home in California. Shortly after moving in, they discover videotapes of Katie and Kristi being initiated into the coven of witches called Midwives twenty-five years prior.
The family discovers that the home they are living in was built on top of Kristi and Katie’s home which burned down in 1992; adult Katie sold them the new house that was built on the land. Like in The Marked Ones, there is time travel in Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, with the climax transporting characters back in time to a pivotal moment for Kristi, Katie, and Toby.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is the sixth film in the popular horror franchise and acts as the directorial debut for Gregory Plotkin. The film primarily focuses on a young Katie in 1998 as she and her family struggle to fight a demonic entity. The film got mostly negative reviews upon release but was followed by another film called Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin in 2021.
Release Date October 23, 2015
Director Gregory Plotkin
Cast Brit Shaw , Chloe Csengery , Chris J. Murray , Michael Krawic , Dan Gill , Olivia Taylor Dudley , Ivy George , Jessica Tyler Brown
Runtime 88 Minutes
Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin
March 2021
Jumping ahead to March 2021, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin was the next movie in the Paranormal Activity timeline. There is no time travel in this entry — just the culture clash of Margot, Chris, and Dale staying with an Amish community while Margot investigates her roots. The movie features a new antagonist, Asmodeus, who could be connected to Toby and the Midwives. However, at this point, it appears Next of Kin is a parallel story of possession in the Paranormal Activity franchise.
Paranormal Activity’s timeline is a long and confusing one with many twists and turns that transform it from a linear progression to a time-traveling, portal-jumping, interdimensional adventure through the paranormal.
Paranormal Activity’s timeline is a long and confusing one with many twists and turns that transform it from a linear progression to a time-traveling, portal-jumping, interdimensional adventure through the paranormal. While the franchise has introduced various alternate endings, with the introduction of more installments, they become defunct and non-canonical. While Paranormal Activity has used its sequels, prequels, and parallel films to fill holes in the timeline, some of these holes still exist. With an eighth potentially in the works, Paranormal Activity: The Other Side couldeither complicate the timeline even more or give a sound resolution to the entire franchise.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is the seventh film in the found-footage/documentary horror franchise that acts as a standalone sequel. In the movie, a documentary filmmaker follows Margot as she heads to a secluded Amish community hoping to meet and learn about her long-lost mother and extended family. However, followingg a string of strange occurrences and discoveries, she soon realizes this community that welcomed them into their home might be hiding something sinister.
Release Date October 29, 2021
Director William Eubank
Runtime 98 minutes
What's The Future Of The Paranormal Activity Franchise?
There May Be No More Paranormal Activity Movies
The Paranormal Activity timeline might be coming to an end. It seems like the evil from the demonic Tobi might finally have ended with Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin. This comes straight from Jason Blum, who wants the Paranormal Activity series to end with this movie. Blum is the mastermind behind Blumhouse and the entire Paranormal Activity franchise. If he wants it to end, there is a good chance that the end of the road has finally arrived. On top of that, Paranormal Activity director, writer, and producer, Christopher Landon won't be involved.
"I had no intention of even really being involved because I was like, oh, I’m done with that franchise, I really don’t want to do it. And then I had this weirdo idea about a fake Amish community and we ended up making the movie. I mean, it’s a franchise. They’re always going to make another one. I don’t see how they don’t, I just don’t know what they’re planning, and I highly doubt I’ll be involved anymore."
With Jason Blum no longer interested in making any more Paranormal Activity movies, the studio might keep milking the franchise with a new creative team. The original movie was a massive financial success, but the sequels and prequels have dealt with the law of diminishing returns. Despite that, Paranormal Activity: The Other Side still made $90.9 million on a $5 million budget, a good reason to continue on. However, without Landon and Blum, it might end up coming as a reboot, which means the Paranormal Activity timeline might reset, and another new demon might appear if the movies continue.
How Do The Later Movies Connect To The First Few Films?
Time Travel Kept Bringing The Past Back To Life
There is a clear connection between many of the early Paranormal Activity movies. Those films follow Kristi and Katie, two sisters who find themselves haunted by the presence as young children, and it follows them to their tragic fates as adults. The early releases connect pretty clearly as Paranormal Activity introduces the original mystery of the presence haunting Katie and her husband Micah, seeking to destroy their lives all for the soul of a child. The next two films then show why this happened, exploring their childhood.
The biggest example is in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones , where time travel occurs.
However, after Paranormal Activity 3, the franchise moved a little away, although the fourth movie still maintained a connection thanks to a late twist where it turns out that the character of Wyatt is Hunter, Kristi's son, which ties the new film's haunting in with what came before. The later releases just tie in with specific moments. The biggest example is in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, where time travel occurs and shows one character traveling back to Kristi and Katie's childhood to see what started everything.
After that, the story began to move away from Katie and Kristi. In Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the connection is a videotape of Katie and Kristi being initiated in the coven of witches, which later involves another time travel paradox leading to a moment from earlier movies. After using time travel in two consecutive films to force connections to the first three films, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin finally moved on, and it seems the story finally stopped playing into the past.
The Paranormal Activity Timeline Is A Missed Opportunity
Abandoning The Main Arc Left The Franchise Directionless
While the Paranormal Activity timeline is complicated, the throughline in the early movies gave audiences an arc to attach to which was greatly missed in the later entries. The experiences of Kristi and Katie, as well as the entity known as Tobi who they have a history with, made for a gripping story to follow throughout the first three movies and parts of the fourth movie. The films were able to be different and function as standalone pieces, but there was an overall story being built that was exciting to see and made each new installment feel important.
It seems as though, in an effort to grow the Paranormal Activity franchise, the later sequels decided to move further away from this central arc and tell new stories. Ironically, sticking to the storyline that was established from the beginning would have served the franchise much more in terms of the types of stories it could tell. With the supernatural aspect of Kristi and Katie's experiences, there were no limits to what could be explored in this franchise and the types of movies that could have grown out of the overarching plot.
The Paranormal Activity movies could have begun to resemble the Saw movie franchise in this way. Each installment of the Saw franchise offered new characters and new traps that pleased fans who just wanted the gore and gruesomeness of the movies. However, the movies also continued to add to the backstory and legacy of Jigsaw aka John Kramer. Even after his death, Kramer was the central piece to the franchise without being the overwhelming focus.
It is not enough to simply add new movies to the franchise, as fans want to see the sequels building to something.
There was still a lot of interesting material that could have been explored in Kristi and Katie's story. However, there were also plenty of ways the franchise could have extended the mythology established in the early movies while exploring new characters and situations. By abandoning this arc, the rest of the Paranormal Activity movies seemed to lose direction and the franchise as a whole came apart. It is not enough to simply add new movies to the franchise, as fans want to see the sequels building to something.
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity is a highly influential horror franchise that began with the 2007 film of the same name, created by Oren Peli. The series is renowned for its use of the found-footage style, focusing on various families haunted by a demonic entity named "Tobi." The franchise's success lies in its minimalistic approach, using low-budget production techniques to deliver maximum scares. Over time, the series expanded its mythology, exploring the origins of the hauntings and the demonic entity that stalks its victims.
Created by Oren Peli
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English (US) ·