Review: Paranormal Activity on Broadway (LIVE)

After screaming through a viewing of Paranormal Activity live, I’m convinced haunted houses have met their match.

Movies that can become transformed into an amazing live performances are usually of a certain genre. Dramatic romance seems to be a frequent flyer across high-grossing, legendary shows. A cult classic poltergeist story, one that made an entire generation afraid of low blue lighting and quiet nighttime routines, is not the first that comes to mind but gave the audience scares of a lifetime.

The fleeting Halloween season always seems to pass by with a quickness, leaves emerging from summer’s green into a deep red before dropping to the ground with the season’s final breath. The opportunity to see this show met me with intrigue, how could they capture the eerie quiet building of explosive intensity from the original film?

I could have never expected what was delivered at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. The curtains open on a side slice of a two story home, quaint, and ready to be full of ghastly fury. Within 5 minutes, the woman behind me screamed “FUCK!” that gave the crowd a bit of relief of what had just terrified us all, and we were just getting started. The story is a new one, following James and Lou who moved from Chicago to London to escape their previous hauntings who soon find out that “places aren’t haunted, people are”. Written by Levi Holloway, Directed by Felix Barrett and in arrangement with Paramount Pictures, this show is a continuation of what we saw in the original Paranormal Activity (2007) movie.

Some of the moments were long and drawn out, but completely necessary in the best way to create the atmosphere of terror. Multiple times, I couldn’t figure out how the actors achieved the terrifying movie magic on a live stage. I won’t spoil anything in case the readers plan to see it, but I highly recommend bringing something to hold onto as you shake with fright. I was personally clutching my coat and gasping for air each time the set design jolted the audience with surprise, as they stretched timelines and planes of existence like silly putty. Bravo!