Christopher Landon says people thought the Paranormal Activity movies were mostly improvised, rather than written – proving them to be a little too effective.
"I always told people that writing those movies was a thankless task because the whole point of them was to sort of create the illusion that they were real," says in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Black Mirror season 7 on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, March 26.
"So often people, even people within the industry, really didn’t think that the movies were written, like there wasn't an actual script. Which I thought was really funny. So you make these movies and people would say, 'Oh it's so easy, you improvise and do a bunch of stuff.' I was like, 'No, there's a whole design there!'"
You might remember that the first Paranormal Activity movie hit theaters in 2007, and was an unexpectedly massive success, earning $192 million against a budget of just $200,000. After the flagship film, Landon was brought in to write Paranormal Activity 2, 3, and 4, before writing and directing Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. Landon had no involvement with 2015's Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, but returned for 2021's Next Of Kin.
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The sixth sequel could very well be Landon's last foray into the franchise. "But you can never say never," he says. "If the right thing comes along, for some reason, or I’m struck by some idea, I might consider it. But probably not."
Landon is perhaps best known, however, for directing Happy Death Day and its sequel Happy Death Day 2 U. His upcoming movie, Drop, is more of a mystery thriller than his usual slasher horror. The film stars Meghann Fahy as a widow who is essentially held hostage via her phone – and has to do what the caller says...or else.
Drop releases on April 11. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Black Mirror season 7 on the cover and will be available from Wednesday, March 26. Check out what you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...
I was invited to the set of the first ever @blackmirror sequel and onto the bridge of the USS Callister…Repeatedly told @charltonbrooker how much I love Dead Set. New issue of @SFXmagazine on sale 26 March! #BlackMirror #BuyMagazines pic.twitter.com/Uq2CLJRiTMMarch 21, 2025
