We round up the reviews for the stage adaptation based on the Paramount film franchise, running in the West End until the 28th March.
WhatsOnStage: **** “With jump scares, amazing illusions and strong performances, Paranormal Activity showcases just how innovative live stagecraft can be. It’s entertaining, frightening and has cemented itself in the horror theatre hall of fame. As the tagline promises, you’ll be holding onto your nerves!”
The Guardian: **** “The script may be perfunctory, and some of it is deeply hammy, but its flaws are forgivable for such a dexterous production, with every technical element ramping up tension and toying with expectations. Every jump scare is earned, every trick embedded in the twisted narrative of this poor, doomed couple. And the fear lingers. When I wake at 3am to a strange light in my bedroom, I pull the duvet tight around my head, refusing to reopen my eyes and repeating to myself that it was just a play.”
London Theatre Reviews.co.uk: ***** “Paranormal Activity is not just a horror movie retread; it is a razor-sharp, immersive event that blends technical wizardry with genuine human dread. If you can get a ticket, go. It’s scary, it’s clever, and it is undoubtedly the wildest ride in London right now.”
All That Dazzles: ***** “Flawlessly executed, Paranormal Activity is a breath of fresh air in the current climate, giving audience members a refreshing alternative to enjoy in a climate dominated by Christmas shows (though there is a Christmas tree on stage here, but that’s where the festivities end). Not relying on cheap jump scares, every scare in Paranormal Activity is well-earned, and the result is a surprisingly strong play. Every bit as terrifying as it is terrifyingly good, perhaps the biggest paranormal activity here is in how good it is – like many of the twists and turns in the play, I really didn’t see that coming.”
Time Out: **** “It’s a slick, self-contained two hours of mounting terror that, as much as anything else, serves as a showcase for the type of tricks a great creative team can accomplish in a theatre: some techy, some old fashioned, all effective. Theatre and horror have an uneasy relationship: witness the godawful Enfield Haunting, which played at this same theatre two years ago. Thoroughly exorcising the memory of that catastrophe, Paranormal Activity is about as good as stage horror gets.”
Theatre & Tonic: *** “That said, the show knows exactly what it wants to be. As a piece of theatrical horror, it’s expertly executed and often thrilling. It may not offer the richest narrative or the most complex characters, but it delivers a polished, nerve-rattling night out that many audiences will relish.”
First Night Magazine: *** 1/2 “Those coming just for the thrill of the experience will be pleasantly horrified by its striking special effects and generally well-established buildups. However, the expectation for an arresting plot might end up cursing you for the rest of your life. It makes as much sense as it makes séance, but its feebleness can’t be ignored anyway. And if you’re bringing a friend, remember to tap them in the neck during its multiple blackouts — just for shock value.”
The Spy in the Stalls: **** “The four performances are quite outstanding, and give the impression that they are as fresh to the story as we are. Each bump, jump, scare and shock comes as a surprise in a perfectly paced and executed telling of the tale. I wish I could tell you more, but I’m minded of Holloway’s instructions in the press pack to ‘keep our secret’. So, it’s up to you. There’s only one way to find out. I’d urge you to… if you dare.”
Metro.co.uk: **** “But instead of feeling humiliated like I’d feared when I was 13, I left the theatre with a sense of childlike giddiness from being really, truly, scared s***less for the first time in years.”
Theatre Weekly: *** “As part of the Paranormal Activity legacy, this production is an intriguing experiment. It honours the franchise’s themes while carving out a new narrative, and its technical achievements are undeniable.”
The Telegraph: **** “Punchdrunk’s reworking of the original horror film is a spook-a-thon mounted with devious technical finesse.”
Radio Times: *** “As a piece of stage horror, Paranormal Activity favours tension and surprise over lasting dread. It may not leave you afraid to turn off the lights at home, but in the moment, it delivers some genuinely effective shocks. On its own terms, that’s largely where it succeeds.”
A Young(ish) Perspective: ***** “Besides the breath-holding illusions work by Chris Fisher, Gareth Fry’s soundscape and soundtrack are equally haunting, even when the melodies are rock and roll. Anna Watson’s lighting captures the nuance shifting in-between the normal and the abnormal within Fly Davis’s realistic domestic setting. Holloway intends to convey that the real problem lies with the not yet fully grown-up husband, but the dramaturgical connection isn’t sound enough between the couple’s relational dysfunction and thus the psychological horror grounded within.”
Lost in Theatreland: *** “Whilst the scares made a lot of the audience jump, the creative team ingenuously makes this feel as though you’re watching a horror movie unfold in real time. This is one for horror film buffs, and less so for theatre fans expecting a great play. For fans of the spookier things in life, and the franchise itself, this is not one you should miss. Your appetite for the supernatural will definitely be satiated!”
London Theatre.co.uk: *** “Indeed, there’s a paint-by-numbers feel to much of the writing, not least as it pertains to these Americans’ view of London: the weather (tick), the food (huh?). A Brexit reference feels irrelevant to our focus on a marriage built on shifting sand into which both husband and wife are sinking, though the leading players chart their shared uncertainty appealingly and well. Heusinger – a veteran of this role – deserves special praise for coming in at the 11th hour in what marks the Juilliard graduate’s West End debut.”
London Theatre 1: ** “The blackouts were too frequent and too long. There are a couple of decent effects, though nothing that hasn’t already been done by, for instance, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Maybe in a world of CGI and AI it’s just that little bit harder than it used to be to impress audiences with theatrical illusions.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “While Paranormal Activity is not the scariest thing to grace the stage, there is a lot here that will leave audiences on tenterhooks. Some of the scares are a little obvious, but its dark and genuinely chilling final few moments land well, and will leave fans old and new to the series delighted from the comfort of peeking through their hands.”
West End Wilma: **** “Paranormal Activity is an experience to be had and I highly recommend anyone who likes psychological horror to check it out.”
Broadway World: ** “In a city spoiled for theatrical hauntings, Paranormal Activity struggles to justify itself beyond brand recognition and a famous name above the title. There are flashes of atmosphere and moments of technical skill, but fear cannot be summoned by reputation alone. Two stars feels about right here: one for the occasional inspired rug-pull, and one for reminding us that sometimes the scariest thing in theatre is wasted potential.”
West End Best Friend: ***** “This is a show that leaves the audience unable to trust their own eyes. There are some fantastic special effects used causing bewilderment and horror to ripple through the audience. The terrified gasps that travel through the audience are a testament to just how unsettlingly well these special effects are executed. The end of the show allows for multiple interpretations, all just as haunting as one another. The show’s ending also reinforces the feeling of being unable to trust your senses or the events that may or may not have just been unravelling on stage.”
Variety: “The mere insinuation of horror may have been scary in the “Paranormal Activity” movies, but when it comes to the play, seeing is believing.”
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