Final ‘Paranormal Activity’ finally reveals its demon
Hollywood can be murder. Even on the demon from the Paranormal Activity franchise. Through four Paranormal chapters (plus one offshoot movie), starting with 2009’s original hit, the hell-raising spirit known only as Toby literally has been invisible. He has left footprints, loves slamming doors and brutally broke a guy’s back in Paranormal Activity 3.
But there hasn’t been a moment of screen time for the über-baddie.
That changes with Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (in theaters Friday), when Paranormal filmmakers will unveil the force behind the mayhem as they wrap up the franchise.
“Toby is finally stepping out. It’s a big deal,” says producer Jason Blum. “For the fans that have been waiting, it’s Toby in the flesh, or maybe not so much flesh. They’ll have to see.”
The reveal is being kept under wraps, though hinted in trailers for The Ghost Dimension, which follows a new family in the saga that has killed off or demonically possessed its past characters. This time, a family moves into a house where they find a working 1980s-era video camera and tapes.
The tapes are filled with footage of two young girls, possessed sisters Katie and Kristi from Paranormal Activity 3, being mentally prepared to meet Toby. Meanwhile, the old camera serves as a lens to Toby’s spiritual world.
Views through that camera, onscreen in 3-D for the first time in the franchise, show the evolving Toby in hardly recognizable forms at first. Director Gregory Plotkin worked with designers at the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic to develop the computer-generated creature who grows more promi- nent in the film.
Plotkin, who has edited the films since 2010’s Paranormal Activity 2, says the Toby revelation has long been discussed.
“We have talked about an end game for years. It’s like, who is this guy Toby and what does he want?” Plotkin says.
“We knew we’d have to pay it off in the end.”
The found-footage franchise’s tale started when original writer and director Oren Peli showed his $15,000 film at the 2007 Screamfest Horror Film Festival and received rave reviews.
Blum joined Paranormal as producer and helped secure major studio distribution with Paramount. Formidable lowbudget Paranormal installments have been the feared monster of the Halloween film season since, hauling in $811 million worldwide.
But box office has waned with the past two chapters, and fans have grown impatient for answers to mysteries such as Toby, what the witch coven is seeking and the fate of past possessed children.
The Paranormal faithful are eager for satisfying answers, says Nerdist reviewer Scott Weinberg. “All good things must come to an end,” he says. “But fans deserve real closure. And revealing the head villain is very appealing.”
Plotkin says the message has been received, and he promises to tie up the story strands while showcasing Toby in the final film.
“I definitely have sensed some impatience. We all did,” Plotkin says. “But I don’t think this franchise would have been as fun if the fans got too much, too early.
“I hope and expect people’s mouths to be open as they finally get these answers.”