Grease, Pretty Woman, Wicked!, Back to the Future, Frozen, Cabaret, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton – the list of must-see West End shows goes on and on. Now, we might be about to add another to the list. Believe it or not, Paranormal Activity is about to receive the West End makeover treatment.
Courtesy of a report from The Hollywood Reporter, Simon Friend, a producer with connections to Broadway’s Life of Pi, has secured the licence for the found-footage horror franchise and at the time of writing is in early development with his company Simon Friend Entertainment. Friend has partnered with Levi Holloway, who penned the Broadway horror hit Grey House to bring the activity to the stage.
Simon Friend has developed several high-profile films for the stage, with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Da Vinci Code among his portfolio. In 2020, Friend produced The Father, an Oscar-winning drama starring Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell.
Written, edited and directed by Oren Peli, the original Paranormal Activity, launched in 2007, focuses on a young couple (Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston) terrorised by a supernatural entity within their home. On a micro-budget of only $15,000, the film was a critical and commercial success, spawning several spin-offs and helped revitalise the found-footage genre.
Paranormal Activity grossed $193.4 million worldwide. Collectively, the series has generated upwards of $900 million. The seventh film, Next of Kin, debuted in 2021 on Paramount+.
Would you go and see a West End production of Paranormal Activity? Let us know of your thoughts in the comments below.
