If you talk to horror film buffs or people who are generally interested in the timeline and history of film, there is always an argument about what the first ever found footage movie was. For someone who is less knowledgeable the argument is typically made that it was The Blair Witch Project in ’99. While in reality, prior to that was The McPherson Tape in ’89. And, even then, Dean Alioto (the writer director of The McPherson Tape) was unaware that prior to his movie in 1980 was Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust where people thought that the acts depicted in that film were legitimately real and commenced a hunt for Ruggero and demanded his death for his “found footage” film thinking it was a documentary more than fictional. Well, 2007 kicked off the journey for one of the most successful horror franchises of all time which would gross a near billion dollars (excluding Next of Kin). Now with Paramount Pictures releasing a brand-new box set, simply titled Paranormal Activity: The Ultimate Chills Collection, fans can own all of the Paranormal Activity movies on Blu-ray, including the long out of print 3D version of Ghost Dimension, and, for the first time ever, a release of Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, which was a Paramount Plus exclusive originally. Strap yourself in and prepare to get haunted with this all-new set.
A scene from PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.
Now there truly is no reason to break down each and every Paranormal movie because, at this point, it has been done, it’s been exhausted, and, quite frankly, if you’re reading this review of the box set, you’ve most likely seen all seven installments and just want to know why this set is worth purchasing. So, for starters, and first and foremost, the price point is incredibly reasonable at retailers for a box set of seven movies, one of which was never previously released, a re-release of a highly sought-after 3D Blu-ray, and a never-before-seen documentary that goes behind the scenes of the Paranormal Activity franchise. All that snazzy content comes housed in a nice box, with seven separate cases (thank you Paramount for not making fans dig the movies out of those terrible cardboard box sets or, worse, those fold out boxes; separate cases for each individual movie forever please), with reversable artwork for each and every single movie (and the documentary, too). Atop of all that, each movie and the doc has a digital code included, and a home security sticker which is solely meant for a window as its printed backwards so it can be seen from the outside in, and is not meant for your laptop.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Collection.
However, while looking at the quality and differences between the previous Blu-ray releases for these titles and the ones included in this set, there does not appear to be a new audio mix or a new scan of the negatives. However, it is the first time all these films come housed together. The main perk of this new set is for the documentary, Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity and the 3D of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.
In terms of bonus features, I don’t believe anything is new amongst the releases, but again, because of the rarity of the 3D of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the physical release of Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (first time), and the first physical release of Unknown Dimensions: The Story of Paranormal Activity, this is a must have for fans who are missing some of the franchise from their collection.
A scene from PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION.
If you haven’t seen the Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity, it truly is a captivating watch behind the mythos and creation of one of the most successful horror franchises of all time. A fun little tidbit from the documentary — when Steven Spielberg (yes, that Steven Spielberg), first saw a DVD screener of Paranormal Activity, he returned his copy to Jason Blum in a garbage bag because it scared him so much and he didn’t want it in his house anymore, let alone touch the “cursed” DVD screener.
Paranormal Activity: The Ultimate Chills Collection Blu-Ray Special Features:
- Paranormal Activity (Includes Theatrical and Unrated Version with Alternate Ending)
- Paranormal Activity 2 (Includes Theatrical and Unrated Version)
- Paranormal Activity 3 (Includes Theatrical and Unrated Version)
- Paranormal Activity 4 (Includes Theatrical and Unrated Version)
- Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (Includes Theatrical and Unrated Version)
- Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (Includes Theatrical and Unrated Version, and Unrated Version with Alternate Ending)
- Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 3D Blu-Ray (Includes Theatrical 3D Version)
- Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (Includes over 20 minutes of deleted scenes and an alternate ending)
- Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity
Available on Blu-Ray October 12th, 2022.
For more information, head over to Paramount Pictures’s official Ultimate Chills Collection webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
This is the side of horror I leave for others.