Paranormal Activity 3

"Discover how the activity began."

2011 1h 23m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 2,452

HorrorMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.

“Discover how the activity began.”

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Cast

Katie Featherston
Katie Featherston
Sprague Grayden
Kristi Rey
Lauren Bittner
Julie
Christopher Nicholas Smith
Dennis
Chloe Csengery
Young Katie
Jessica Tyler Brown
Young Kristi
Marilyn Alex
Creepy Lady
Dustin Ingram
Randy Rosen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ariel Schulman
Writers: Christopher Landon
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $207M — a 41.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Paranormal Activity Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ariel Schulman, shot by Magdalena Górka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gregory Plotkin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Katie Featherston and Sprague Grayden and Lauren Bittner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Discover how the activity began.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ariel Schulman directs. Magdalena Górka behind the camera. Gregory Plotkin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Grossed $207M — a 41.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 15 years ago.
4Part of the "Paranormal Activity Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Ariel Schulman, shot by Magdalena Górka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Gregory Plotkin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Katie Featherston and Sprague Grayden and Lauren Bittner carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Discover how the activity began.".
9IMDB entry: tt1778304 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "witch", "sibling relationship", "supernatural", "halloween".

The technical file

Cinematography: Magdalena Górka
Editing: Gregory Plotkin
Production design: Jennifer Spence
Costume design: Leah Butler
Makeup / hair: Kymber Blake
VFX supervisor: Jamie Dixon
Sound: Stephen P. Robinson
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $207,039,844
Return: 4141% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Part of

Paranormal Activity Collection

An American found footage horror film series based on the haunting of families.

Also by

Ariel Schulman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522022-10-06
★ 5/10
A tad better than the first if only because at 84-minutes there's not as much filler and a couple creepy scenes. Still not great with forgettable characters but at least watchable, although it was a bridge too far with the HD-quality level of video for a camera from 1988. 2.5/5
Ahmad2022-11-01
★ 7/10
Paranormal Activity 3 is a faithful continuation of the series, delivering all the expected horrors and more. Colour me surprised. This one was better than the second, and I enjoyed it more than the first one. The atmosphere of “Paranormal Activity 3” is similar to the first film, and the larger cast delivers respectable performances. The scares might not be as effective as they once were since the same formula is becoming stale, but a handful of fresh ideas were good enough to compensate for it. The plot isn't the franchise's strong suit, but we get a little more insight into the demon and how the demon became connected to the family in this instalment. Most of the connections between the films appear forced, and there is an overall sense of incoherence. Nonetheless, if you like the first two films, this one could be exactly up your alley; if not, it's probably better to avoid it, as it doesn't add much to the formula. ___ Rating: 6.9/10 (Good)
Andre Gonzales2023-07-24
★ 8/10
My favorite one out of the series. Goes back when they were little kids. This is how it all begin. Lots of hauntings going. This is how I wish the other 2 made before this one was.