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Paranormal Activity diehards, after six long years with no films from the found footage franchise, the wait is finally over: Next of Kin has landed on Paramount+. After you’ve had a bone-chilling marathon with all seven movies, you’ll surely be aching for more thrills to keep you entertained this Halloweekend. If you haven’t found enough to watch in our Stream and Scream recommendations, we’ve got a few more movies to recommend if you love Paranormal Activity.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin promises to be one of the franchise’s creepiest installations yet. The movie follows one woman’s quest to find her missing mother’s secrets, only to uncover a family tragedy that happened years earlier. Full of weird cults, eerie children’s games, and more, Next of Kin is where you should begin your Halloween binge-watching.
And after? Flip the lights off and get someone who’ll let you squeeze their arm — here are seven films like Paranormal Activity to watch this weekend.
'The Blair Witch Project'
Released in 1999, The Blair Witch Project is the all-time found footage movie, and it surely had an impact on the Paranormal Activity series as we know it today. Following three student filmmakers, the movie sets out into a quiet Maryland town. The trio is set on finding and interviewing Rustin Parr, a hermit in the woods who kidnapped and murdered children in his basement years ago.
'Host'
Host is a newer version of found footage, blending in elements of the new screen movie genre. If you thought Paranormal Activity was scary, just wait until you get a whiff of this pandemic-branded horror flick. The movie takes place entirely over *shivers* Zoom, which should be a relic of the world’s darkest years by now. When a group of girls try to have a seance online, chaos ensues.
'Unfriended'
Unfriended combines found footage with technophobia. The 2014 horror takes place entirely on Skype, following a group of mean-spirited high school bullies as they have their weekly hang sesh online. When a random user joins without any video, they’re tormented by the antics and games the person drags them through. One by one, they’re all murdered while they’re still on the Skype, having to witness each others grisly deaths in real time.
'Cloverfield'
Want a little supernatural element in your found footage thriller? Look no further than Cloverfield, Matt Reeves’ monster movie that’s set amidst a New York City apocalypse event. The film centers around six New Yorkers who attempt to escape the city as giant creatures threaten humankind, using their video recordings as a way to move the plot along. At the beginning of the film, the camcorder is discovered in Central Park and used by the FBI as evidence of national emergency.
'The Visit'
The Visit features the creepiest family of all time. When a young mother sends her two children to spend some time with their grandparents in a deeply isolated forest, they realize they’re not in safe hands almost immediately. Facing a Hansel and Gretel type of situation, the pair of kids do everything they can to stay alive and make it home safely — but it may be no use. As each day passes, the elderly couple grow more and more hostile, willing to stop at nothing to make the kids’ visit a living hell.
'Megan is Missing'
One of the most popular found footage films in recent history, Megan is Missing follows a teenager who goes missing after she meets an online acquaintance in person. While not based on one specific disappearance, the filmmaker based the movie on a series of abductions in order to raise awareness for online safety and keeping children protected. The controversial movie has since been banned in New Zealand for violent images, making it go viral online for being incredibly difficult to watch.
'Creep'
Yes, that incredibly creepy picture of Mark Duplass is meant to scare you senselessly. That’s because in Creep, he plays a bizarre stranger who requests to be filmed in the middle of nowhere for one day. A helpless man agrees to come out and record him, resulting in the found footage seen in the movie. The strange guy claims to be looking to make a movie for his unborn child, but as the title suggests, he’s a real creep. His requests become more and more life-threatening as the day goes on.
