Paranormal Activity Review – This Scary Night Will Leave You Surprised and Awed | stage

DThe ark holds us long enough for the terror to seep into our bones. By treating horror as an art form rather than a cheap collection of jump scares, this exciting new show, which wears its connection to the world of the Paranormal Activity film series lightly, proves how surprisingly creepy and gripping stage horror can be. Under the direction of Punchdrunk’s Felix Barrett, the fear of the moment becomes intense. But what’s notable, thanks to Chris Fisher’s incredible illusions, is how this horror is accompanied by the overwhelming, awe-inspiring joy of the demon we’ve just witnessed – and how the hell they pulled it off.

In director Oren Peli’s original film, a young couple sets up home video cameras to capture nighttime ghosts. The brilliance of Barrett’s production lies in the elimination of screens, which are often relied upon to intimidate on stage. Levi Holloway’s script follows Jimmy (Patrick Heusinger) and Lou (Melissa James), who move from Chicago to London to escape Lou’s “spells.” But we were told that the places are not haunted. People are. And so the “spells” continue. Instead of installing cameras, Jimmy tries to find a way out of the mess by enlisting the help of an expert (Jackie Morrison).

The only screens we see are their television, used for video calls from Jimmy’s mother (a glorious, smiling Pippa Winslow) and a few people at the back of the audience, providing a monochrome CCTV camera view of Fly Davis’ impressive two-storey open-air set, every nook and cranny of the house filled with the potential for fear. On stage, Anna Watson’s mercurial lighting deftly directs our attention around the house, some rooms shrouded in the slate gray darkness of the night while others are plunged into ominous power outages.

The script may be perfunctory, and some of it is downright banal, but its flaws are forgivable for such a skillful production, with every artistic element serving to build tension and play with expectations. Every jump scare is an earned score, and every trick is embedded in the twisted narrative of this poor, ill-fated couple. And the fear remains. When I wake up at three in the morning to a strange light in my bedroom, I pull the comforter tight around my head, refusing to reopen my eyes and repeating to myself that it’s just a play.