Watch The First Full-Length Trailer For Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin
Hard to believe, but true: The first "Paranormal Activity" movie, released in 2007, was a surprise hit. Made on a tiny budget, the found-footage horror pic earned nearly $200 million at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo). To date, "Paranormal Activity" is considered one of the most profitable movies ever made based on its initial budget and its box office gross, per The Hollywood Reporter. The Oren Peli-directed fright-fest went on to spawn an additional five more films in its ongoing franchise, including the upcoming installment "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin."
Directed by William Eubank ("Underwater") from a script written by Christopher Landon ("Happy Death Day"), the latest "Paranormal Activity" film promises to be a thrilling entry. The new movie follows Margot (Emily Bader), a documentary filmmaker who decides to record her experience meeting her biological family, who live in a remote community similar to the Amish, for the first time. The first trailer for "Next of Kin," which debuted on Wednesday, reveals some big changes to the traditional set-up for a "Paranormal Activity" movie. While most of the previous films are set in someone's home, this latest story moves us out of the franchise's comfort zone and takes us to a rural homestead that winds up being more sinister than they appear.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin goes full cult
As you might expect, things in the trailer for "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin" go very wrong, very quickly. Margot's biological family is strange, to put it mildly (there's an old lady peeling her own hand at one point) and might not be as God-fearing as they seem. It doesn't take long for Margot to discover what appears to be a demonic chapel hidden on her family's property. She begins to suspect there were dire circumstances around her birth and that her biological mother may still be alive, too.
Since the last "Paranormal Activity" movie, "The Ghost Dimension," saw release in 2015, there's been a somewhat common theme among big-name horror films — cults. In fact, the very same year "The Ghost Dimension" bowed, Karyn Kusama's "The Invitation" debuted, as well as filmmaker Ari Aster incredibly successful movies featuring cults, "Hereditary" and "Midsommar." It looks like "Next of Kin" is following in the genre trend by serving up a new cult that is somewhat familiar to franchise fans and will frighten you.
If you're wondering how long you'll have to wait to find out what happens, the good news is that "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin" is coming out on October 29 and will be immediately available to stream on Paramount+.