A stage adaptation of the "Paranormal Activity" horror franchise has opened on Broadway for a limited run, marking a rare attempt to bring scare-driven horror to a medium that has largely avoided the genre. The production draws on Oren Peli's 2006 found-footage film, which cost just $15,000 to make and went on to gross almost $200 million, and benefits from the franchise's enduring young fanbase, with an eighth film due next year. Following a 2024 premiere in England and a run of stops across US cities, the show's transition to live theatre proves surprisingly effective, generating more genuine thrills and screams than Broadway has seen in some time.

The production replaces the films' camcorder and security-footage perspective with a cutaway two-storey house set by Fly Davis, letting the audience view every room simultaneously as dread builds. Writer Levi Holloway introduces a new couple, Lou and James, who relocate from Chicago to London hoping to escape past trauma, only to be drawn into escalating supernatural disturbances involving a podcast spiritualist and James's overbearing mother. While the review notes the plot can feel muddy and overreaches into themes of faith and psychology, it praises the central performances and, especially, the illusions created by effects designer Chris Fisher as the true highlight of the show.