Review by Ron Fassler . . .
Allow me to confess that I have never seen any of the seven Paranormal Activity films produced since 2007. Admittedly, my enthusiasm for horror has waned somewhat since my teenage years in which my soul was permanently scarred by the likes of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973), Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975), and Brian DePalma’s Carrie (1976). Yet, Hollywood has consistently turned to this time-treasured genre whenever things start to slump, especially with this summer’s low-budget successes of Curry Barker’s Obsession and Kane Parsons’ Backrooms. Together, they cost $3 million and can boast combined grosses of $675 million—so far.
In terms of Broadway, horror/thrillers are a different story. Once common, they are now scarce. But that hasn’t stopped Levi Holloway from taking on the Paranormal Activity franchise by writing a new play for the stage to take full benefit of its brand. His previous attempt to resuscitate the thriller was Grey House (2023) which, despite Laurie Metcalf’s presence in a Joe Mantello-directed production, felt tired when it should have been scary and closed after two months. What Holloway has done with Paranormal Activity isn’t boring, but it doesn’t make for solid drama. The characters are slight, their dialogue is weak, and it doesn’t amount to much more than a 30-minute Twilight Zone episode stretched to a two-hour running time (with intermission). And though the talented, immersive theatre director Felix Barrett (of Sleep No More fame), guides the evening with a skillful hand by showing off a couple of stunning tricks up his sleeve, he is ultimately stymied by a play that stubbornly remains inert.
The story is simple. A young, newly married couple, Lou (Cher Álvarez) and James (Travis A. Knight), has recently moved to London from their Chicago home. It seems James grabbed a job opportunity to get away from the growing concern he and his wife shared that something evil had taken root where they lived. However, their new split-level house (beautifully designed by Fly Davis) turns out to be glitchy, twitchy, and downright demonic. The special effects range from the pedestrian (the curtains rustling for no reason) to the sublime (a person disappears in front of our eyes). Those who come specifically for special effects will be satiated since some really do rattle and elicit a “How did they DO that?” response, even if they are few and far between. The rest of the time is taken up by a plot that has more holes than it can patch.
Basically, a two-character play, the only other characters are Carolanne (Shannon Cochran, pulling out the stops), James’s deeply religious mother, and Etheline, a serious medium (Eva Kaminsky in an intelligent performance). Both are quite quirky and enjoyable, even a bit more so than the leads. It’s not Álvarez and Knight’s fault that they come off colorless, though even if star casting were employed it’s doubtful that would be enough to fill the holes in the lackluster writing.
Happily, an incredible design team create moments that make for scary-good fun, led by Chris Fisher, the illusion designer, whose prior work includes and Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Tony Award). The lighting by Anna Watson is flawlessly dark and creepy, and the sound supplied by Garth Fry is disturbing in all the best ways. The video designs from Luke Halls are so seamless that it’s nearly impossible to tell what has been built and what is projected. And again, the set by Fly Davis (who also contributed the costumes) is impressively ominous.
Trust me, I yearn for the thriller to make a comeback. Once a Broadway staple prior to the 1960s, over the ensuing years the successful ones can be counted on one hand: Wait Until Dark (1966), Sleuth (1970), Deathtrap (1977), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2018), and Stranger Things (2025). See? One hand. So, it’s admirable that Holloway is out to change that, but he needs to become better at creating characters to care about and situations that don’t feel past their expiration date. There is little that is original about Paranormal Activity (it’s a common ghost story) and waiting for the next jump scare, built to make the audience scream and clutch one another, grows tiresome. There will surely be those who exit into the night from the August Wilson Theatre fully satisfied, but this ghost story left me more bemused than terrified.
Paranormal Activity is at the August Wilson Theatre, 245 W 52nd Street, NYC. For ticket information, click here.
Photos by Matthew Murphy.
Headline photo: Cher Álvarez and Travis A. Knight.
