Oren Peli’s supernatural horror film Paranormal Activity spawned a franchise that included seven films, then the Paranormal Activity the timeline needs some explanation. The films follow the story of two sisters named Katie and Kristi who are tormented by a demonic entity, “Toby”. As the franchise has expanded with sequels, prequels, and side installments, the exact timeline of events remains complicated. The franchise shares a basic premise: supernatural occurrences that are captured in “found footage.” – such as security systems, webcams and more.
The 2021 installment Paranormal Activity: Next of kin was a soft reboot, as it is the first installment in the franchise to introduce a new demonic entity: Asmodeus, based on real-life Abrahamic dogma. The next title in the franchise, The Other Sidereturned to Paranormal Activitythe central story, focusing on “Toby” once again and continuing the story from where Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension stopped. Installments are not released chronologically, but rather jump between different years and decades.
Paranormal Activity 3
September 1988
The prequel to Paranormal Activity franchise, Paranormal Activity 3, dives deeper into the history of the demonic entity following the main characters of Kristi and Katie. It is set in September 1988, almost 20 years before the first two films. At the time, the two sisters live with their mother, Julie, and her boyfriend, Dennis. Kristi begins to see an imaginary friend named “Toby” (sometimes written as “Tobi”) who is actually the demon that will torment the family for years to come.
Dennis discovers a symbol that belongs to a group of witches who brainwash young women of childbearing age into having children and promising them to a dark entity. This information explains the disappearance of Kristi’s son in Paranormal Activity 2. The end of Paranormal Activity 3 culminates with the family seeking refuge in Julie’s mother’s house – only to discover that she is a member of a coven of witches and is responsible for all the evil that the family experienced in September 1988.
Paranormal Activity 3 is a prequel directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, exploring the origins of the supernatural occurrences experienced by sisters Katie and Kristi. Set in 1988, the film follows the brothers as children who live with their mother and her boyfriend, who begin to witness strange and increasingly violent phenomena. The film employs found footage techniques to depict the chilling events that laid the groundwork for the series’ later hauntings.
- Release date
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October 19, 2011
- Writers
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Christopher Landon
- Execution time
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83 minutes
- Cast
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Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden, Lauren Bittner, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Chloe Csengery
Paranormal Activity 2
August 2006
Paranormal Activity 2 initially appears to be a sequel to the original – until the twist ending reveals this takes place a few months before the events of the first, eventually merging (which is also why the timeline can be a little confusing). Conversations about Katie and Micah’s experiences with a supernatural presence occur throughout the second film. Furthermore, when Katie disappears at the end of Paranormal Activity — being controlled by the demonic entity Toby – the sequel reveals that she went to her sister Kristi’s house to take her son, Hunter.
Before these events, Kristi and her family are introduced shortly after she gives birth to Hunter, her firstborn son.
Before these events, Kristi and her family are introduced shortly after she gives birth to Hunter, her firstborn son. Shortly after his birth, paranormal occurrences begin to plague his home to the point where family members are physically attacked. Ultimately, Katie takes Hunter and kills most of the family while apparently possessed.
Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 horror film directed by Tod Williams and starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. Set before the events of the first film, the prequel follows a family who begin to experience supernatural events in their home, which leads them to the brink of madness as they try to discover the origin of the evil that pursues them.
- Release date
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October 22, 2010
- Director
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Todd Williams
- Cast
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Molly Ephraim, Brian Boland, Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden, Micah Sloat
- Execution time
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91 minutes
Paranormal Activity
October 2006
The first installment of Paranormal Activity The franchise takes place in October 2006. It follows Katie and Micah, a young couple who have recently moved into a new house together. As the film progresses, the supernatural occurrences around the house become stronger and stronger, to the point where Katie becomes possessed. Although this is the first time the audience has seen these characters, it is in line with Paranormal Activity 2 in terms of schedule.
As noted, the sequel’s twist reveals that most of the events of the original come after it. The original Paranormal Activity ends with her throwing Micah at the camera and supposedly disappearing. Although there are other alternative endings, they are not canon to the franchise. Therefore, this timeline follows the original theatrical ending of Micah’s death and Katie’s disappearance.
Therefore, this timeline follows the original theatrical ending of Micah’s death and Katie’s disappearance.
After moving into a suburban home, Katie and Micah are increasingly troubled by a strange demonic presence. So they decide to try to record the phenomenon on video, but neither of them was prepared for the events that would follow.
- Release date
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October 16, 2009
- Director
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Oren Peli
- Cast
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Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer
- Execution time
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86 minutes
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night
2010
The 2010 spin-off Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night did not receive an international release until 2022, although many hardcore Paranormal Activity fans managed to find ways to view it. Despite launching only in Japan, Tokyo night is the official Paranormal Activity 2 in that territory and is considered canonical. AMC included it in the package with English Paranormal Activity titles for streaming platforms, which proves that the studio officially considers it part of the franchise.
However, it is also still a spin-off and takes place outside the continuity of the main films. It is thematically linked by being found footage Paranormal Activity film and takes place within the same universe. However, it does not feature the demon Toby or any of the events or characters of the other Paranormal Activity films.
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night takes place in 2010, shortly after the events of the first Paranormal Activity. It must be observed between Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity 4. While it doesn’t add anything to the franchise’s main narrative, it doesn’t hurt anything either. When included chronologically in the Paranormal Activity viewing order, does a fantastic job of fleshing out the broader supernatural universe that the films enjoy The Ghost Dimension and The Marked exist in, adding a new layer of dip.
Paranormal Activity 4
November 2011
The fourth installment of Paranormal Activity franchise feels a little out of place and unimportant to the plot and takes place in November 2011. It reveals that Katie since the first Paranormal Activity has moved to the suburbs and lives across the street from the Nelson family, who are now tormented by the spirit named “Toby” that only the youngest member, Wyatt, can see. Katie also acquired a son to pose as her son, named Robbie, who becomes friends with Wyatt.
It is revealed on Wednesday Paranormal Activity film that Wyatt and Robbie were adopted and that Wyatt’s real name is actually Hunter. Sometime between the second film and Paranormal Activity 4Katie lost Hunter and is now trying to get him back to sacrifice him to the demons she and her clan worshiped. Before the audience finds out what happens to the Nelson family, Hunter/Wyatt, and Katie, the screen goes black. Paranormal Activity 4 it still leaves gaps in the franchise’s timeline that could be resolved in the next installment.
The Paranormal Activity film series continues with Paranormal Activity 4 from Paramount Pictures. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman return once again to direct the latest film in the franchise. The fourth film is the most recent, chronologically, and is set after the events at the end of Paranormal Activity 2, with Hunter now a boy, and his aunt (and kidnapper) Katie living in Nevada, across the street from a family who will be the last recipients of demonic frightening.
- Release date
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October 19, 2012
- Director
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Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
- Cast
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Matt Shively, Kathryn Newton, Alisha Boe, Katie Featherston, Brady Allen
- Execution time
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99 minutes
Paranormal Activity: The Marked
June 2012
Based on the premise of the first four films in the series Paranormal Activity series, Paranormal Activity: The Marked follows a Latino community in California dealing with the aftermath of eighteen-year-old Jesse Arista being branded by a demonic cult. The Marked is set after the events of the previous Paranormal Activity filmsstarting when Jesse discovers a witch altar in his home and sees apparitions of young Kristi and Katie.
However, The Marked introduces a new concept to the franchise: time travel. When a possessed Jesse forces his friend Hector Estrella to go through a marked door, he finds himself in the setting of the first film, Katie and Micah’s house. Hector takes on a role in the original Paranormal Activity end. Thus, the fifth installment returns to the first, while also adding the greater threat of the midwives.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a 2014 horror film directed by Christopher Landon. The fifth installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise, follows a teenager named Jesse, who becomes the target of malevolent supernatural forces after exploring a mysterious neighbor’s apartment. Deviating from the series’ previous suburban settings, the film delves into a Latino community and explores themes of possession and witchcraft, in keeping with the series’ found footage style.
- Release date
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January 3, 2014
- Execution time
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84 minutes
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
2013
What was thought to be the end of Paranormal Activity franchise, The Ghost Dimension was released in 2015, but is set in 2013. It follows the Fleeges family who have moved to a new home in California. Shortly after moving in, they discover videotapes of Katie and Kristi being initiated into the coven of witches called the Midwives twenty-five years earlier.
The family discovers that the house they live in was built on top of Kristi and Katie’s house, which burned down in 1992; adult Katie sold them the new house that was built on the land. As in The Marked, there is time travel in Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, with the climax transporting the characters back in time to a pivotal moment for Kristi, Katie and Toby.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is the sixth film in the popular horror franchise and serves as Gregory Plotkin’s directorial debut. The film focuses primarily on young Katie in 1998 as she and her family struggle to fight a demonic entity. The film received mostly negative reviews upon release, but was followed by another film called Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin in 2021.
- Release date
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October 23, 2015
- Director
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Gregory Plotkin
- Cast
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Brit Shaw, Chloe Csengery, Chris J. Murray, Michael Krawic, Dan Gill, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Ivy George, Jessica Tyler Brown
- Execution time
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88 minutes
Paranormal Activity: Next of kin
March 2021
Fast forward to March 2021, Paranormal Activity: Next of kin was the next film Paranormal Activity timeline. There’s no time travel in this entry – just the culture clash of Margot, Chris, and Dale staying in an Amish community while Margot investigates her roots. The film introduces a new antagonist, Asmodeus, who may be linked to Toby and the midwives. However, at this time, it seems Next of kin is a parallel story of possession in Paranormal Activity franchise.
Paranormal Activity The timeline is long and confusing, with many twists and turns that transform it from a linear progression into an interdimensional time-traveling, portal-hopping, paranormal adventure.
Paranormal Activity The timeline is long and confusing, with many twists and turns that transform it from a linear progression into an interdimensional time-traveling, portal-hopping, paranormal adventure. Although the franchise has introduced several alternative endings, with the introduction of more installments they have become defunct and non-canonical. While Paranormal Activity used its sequels, prequels, and parallel films to fill in gaps in the timeline, some of those gaps still exist. With an eighth potentially in the works, Paranormal Activity: The Other Side it could further complicate the timeline or provide a good resolution for the entire franchise.
Paranormal Activity: Next Kin is the seventh film in the documentary/found footage horror franchise that acts as a standalone sequel. In the film, a documentary filmmaker follows Margot as she heads to an isolated Amish community in hopes of meeting and learning about her long-lost mother and her family. However, after a series of strange occurrences and discoveries, she soon realizes that this community that welcomed them into their home may be hiding something sinister.
- Release date
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October 29, 2021
- Director
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William Eubank
- Cast
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Dan Lippert, Roland Buck III, Kirby Johnson, Emily Bader, Tom Nowicki, Henry Ayers-Brown
- Execution time
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98 minutes
What is the future of the paranormal activity franchise?
There May Be No More Paranormal Activity Movies
THE Paranormal Activity the timeline may be coming to an end. It looks like the evil of the demonic Tobi may finally be over Paranormal Activity: Next of kin. This comes straight from Jason Blum, who wants the Paranormal Activity series to end with this film. Blum is the brains behind Blumhouse and the entire Paranormal Activity franchise. If he wants this to end, there’s a good chance the end of the road has finally arrived. Furthermore, Paranormal Activity director, writer and producer Christopher Landon will not be involved.
“I had no intention of really getting involved because I was like, oh, I’m done with this franchise, I don’t really want to do this. And then I had this weird idea about a fake Amish community and we ended up doing the movie. I mean, it’s a franchise. They will always make another one. I don’t see how they don’t do it, I just don’t know what they’re planning, and I highly doubt it. I’ll be more involved.”
With Jason Blum no longer interested in doing more Paranormal Activity films, the studio can continue exploring the franchise with a new creative team. The original film was a huge financial success, but the sequels and prequels have dealt with the law of diminishing returns. Despite that, Paranormal Activity: The Other Side it still made $90.9 million on a $5 million budget, a good reason to keep going. However, without Landon and Blum, it could end up being a reboot, which means the Paranormal Activity the timeline could be reset and another new demon could appear if the films continue.
How do the later films connect to the first films?
Time Travel Kept Bringing the Past Back to Life
There is a clear link between many of the first Paranormal Activity films. These films follow Kristi and Katietwo sisters who are haunted by the presence as children, and it follows them to their tragic fates as adults. The first releases clearly connect as Paranormal Activity presents the original mystery of the presence that haunts Katie and her husband Micah, seeking to destroy their lives for the soul of a child. The next two films show why this happened, exploring their childhood.
The best example is in Paranormal Activity: The Markedwhere time travel takes place.
However, after Paranormal Activity 3the franchise has strayed a bit, although the fourth film still maintained a connection thanks to a late twist where it turns out that Wyatt’s character is Kristi’s son Hunter, which ties the new film’s haunting to what came before. Later releases only relate to specific moments. The best example is in Paranormal Activity: The Markedwhere time travel takes place and shows a character traveling back to Kristi and Katie’s childhood to see what started it all.
After that, the story started to move away from Katie and Kristi. In Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimensionthe connection is a videotape of Katie and Kristi being initiated into the witch coven, which later involves another time travel paradox that leads to a moment from previous films. After using time travel in two consecutive films to force connections to the first three films, Paranormal Activity: Next of kin I finally moved on and it seems like history has finally stopped going back to the past.
The Paranormal Activity Timeline Is a Missed Opportunity
Abandoning the main arc left the franchise without direction
While the Paranormal Activity The timeline is complicated, the throughline in the first few films gave audiences an arc to cling to that was sorely lost in the later entries. The experiences of Kristi and Katie, as well as the entity known as Tobi, with whom they have a history, have created an exciting story to follow throughout the first three films and parts of the fourth film.. The films were allowed to be different and function as standalone pieces, but there was an overall story being built that was exciting to watch and made each new installment feel important.
It seems that, in an effort to grow the Paranormal Activity franchise, later sequels decided to move further away from this central arc and tell new stories. Ironically, following the plot established from the beginning would have served the franchise much better in terms of the types of stories it could tell. With the supernatural aspect of Kristi and Katie’s experiences, there were no limits to what could be explored in this franchise and the types of films that could have emerged from the overarching plot.
THE Paranormal Activity movies could have started to look like the Mountain range film franchise this way. Each portion of Mountain range the franchise offered new characters and new trappings that pleased fans who just wanted the blood and terror of the films. However, the films also continued to add to the backstory and legacy of Jigsaw, aka John Kramer. Even after his death, Kramer was the centerpiece of the franchise without being the overwhelming focus.
It’s not enough to simply add new films to the franchise, as fans want to see the sequels turn into something.
There was still a lot of interesting material that could have been explored in Kristi and Katie’s story. However, there were also many ways the franchise could extend the mythology established in the first films while exploring new characters and situations. By abandoning this arc, the rest of the Paranormal Activity the films seemed to lose their way and the franchise as a whole fell apart. It’s not enough to simply add new films to the franchise, as fans want to see the sequels turn into something.