Paranormal Activity Review on Broadway: Stage Adaptation of a Film Franchise is a Superbly Terrifying and Thrilling Experience
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, critic Sophie Harrison wrote in an exclusive note: There are plenty of laughs in Paranormal Activity, which may well be the scariest horror production in Broadway history. But these are not the lightweight jokes of shows like Titanique or the raucous belly laughs of Oh, Mary!. The laughter in Levi Holloway’s thrilling work feels much more like the memories of watching The Exorcist in a movie theater: screams of relief blurted out in embarrassment after sudden, Jamie Lee Curtis–esque shrieks from Halloween.
The cinematic references in the text are entirely intentional. Written by Holloway, precisely directed by Felix Barrett (co-founder and artistic director of Punchdrunk, the company behind the immersive hit Sleep No More), and starring two Broadway newcomers deserving of overnight stardom, Paranormal Activity is drawn from Paramount Pictures’ wildly popular and enduring film franchise of the same name (though more in spirit than strict plot line).
While the production employs virtually every horror trope and scare tactic in the book, Paranormal Activity remains thoroughly theatrical. Holloway and Barrett work a kind of magic that makes us forget we have seen slamming doors, impossible shadows, glitching static TVs, and strobe-flickering lights a thousand times before. The show uses all these elements with near-perfection, pairing them with uniquely theatrical tools like stage lighting and sound design to amplify the terror to its absolute peak.
Abandoning the film storylines, the play opts for a fresh yet connected narrative. The story centers on a young American couple, Lou (Cher Álvarez) and James (Travis A. Knight), who have recently relocated from Chicago—where strange, blurred events involving “lost time” and blackouts had been tormenting poor Lou.
Right from the start, we are met with a classic, battle-tested premise: a young woman who might be possessed, or might be mentally unstable, and the men in her life who do not entirely trust her either way. It is a trope as socially resonant today as when Gaslight pioneered it, Rosemary’s Baby perfected it, and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death brought it to drive-ins. Let the man pretend to be the hero; we know the truth.
Well, at least we think we do! Playwright Holloway has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, turning misdirection—visual, narrative, auditory, or otherwise—into a brilliant symphony of shifting focus. Early on, there is a shocking moment where the writing, direction, acting, Chris Fisher’s illusions, Ann Veronk’s lighting, and Gareth Fry’s sound design align so powerfully that the audience’s reaction is a mix of gasped breaths and piercing screams—followed, of course, by that same embarrassed laughter.
The play opens on Fly Davis’s two-story set: a spacious yet cozy London apartment where the upstairs bedrooms remain constantly visible, allowing us to watch what the couple downstairs cannot see. Meanwhile, the ambient sound of a podcast fills the theater. The host, a psychic medium with a thick accent, reminds us that houses aren’t haunted—people are. Keep that in mind.
The anticipated sense of creeping dread sets in quickly as noisy lights and TV static become a nuisance, and a dazed Lou stares into the distance at a presence only she can sense. Well-meaning and affectionate though he may be, James cannot hide his skepticism, repeatedly (and oblivious to his condescending tone) asking his wife if she has taken her meds today.
Audiences need not worry about a drawn-out red herring over mental illness versus possession, however; James is soon confronted with undeniable proof that they are definitely not alone. Even the podcast psychic, during an in-person visit (perhaps the only improbable moment in a story inherently full of them), is utterly terrified when faced with something he never actually believed existed.
Spoiling any more of the plot would ruin the terrifying thrill of this two-hour runtime—a duration packed with long, drawn-out stretches of suspense broken by blaring sounds ranging from rock music and slamming doors to alarms, doorbells, eerie night noises, and a deeply unsettling, muffled voice from another realm. Long-held secrets are exposed, embarrassments laid bare, accusations hurled, and no one is safe from the past, predictions, or each other.
The newcomer leads, Álvarez and Knight, could not be better as the newly married couple—whether in passionate moments of affection, casual domesticity, lingering doubts, or, above all, the sheer terror inflicted by the entity lurking in the air and in their souls.
In supporting roles, Eva Kaminsky keeps the audience sharp and on edge as demonologist Ethel Category, while Shannon Cochran, as James’s evangelical Christian mother, is both hilarious and suitably intimidating, whether preaching in person or via remote video call.
The mother’s name, Carol-Anne, is a deliberate nod to the iconic character and the famous “They’re here” line from Poltergeist. Sure, it’s a bit on the nose, but who can blame Holloway for having a little fun? Having perfected his stage-frightening craft since his overlooked 2019 play Grey House, the playwright—together with his director, cast, and creative technical team—has delivered a roaring, immensely fun kick-off to Broadway’s fall season.
