Few modern films have given Hollywood a much-needed adrenaline rush quite like Paranormal Activity. Shot in just seven days with a meager $15,000 budget, Oren Peli‘s 2009 haunted house sensation became an unexpected and massive hit, reviving the found footage genre and spawning a franchise. Ingenious and chilling in equal measure, the bare-bones film about a young couple terrorized by malevolent forces had audiences hearing things go bump in the night for days after seeing it, proving once again that when it comes to horror, less is truly more.
Before Peli’s film became an overnight success, however, it was the subject of some narrative tweaking courtesy of Steven Spielberg. Per the Los Angeles Times, it’s been alleged that after securing a DVD screener, Spielberg’s experience watching the film was followed by an eerie occurrence in his own home. But despite the effect Paranormal Activity had on him, Spielberg had an idea that would make the low-budget scare fest even more frightening.
‘Paranormal Activity’ Scared the Hell Out of Steven Spielberg
Scaring the wits out of Steven Spielberg is probably one of the greatest achievements a filmmaker can aspire to. After all, this is the man behind iconic horror films that have terrified moviegoers for decades. Jaws has made generations of swimmers think twice about going in the water, and Poltergeist, which Spielberg co-produced and co-wrote, continues to haunt our dreams with evil clowns, man-eating trees, and otherworldly monsters of all kinds.
Before it made box office history, Paranormal Activity was touring film festivals. With a bit of incredibly good fortune, DVD screeners ended up in the hands of several potential buyers and distributors, including Blumhouse’s own Jason Blum and Steven Spielberg. According to the LA Times, Legend has it that the latter took the DVD home and watched it alone. And when he tried to enter his bedroom after viewing the film, he discovered that the door was locked from the inside despite no one else being in the house.
Thoroughly spooked and believing the DVD itself was haunted, Spielberg is said to have returned it to the DreamWorks offices in a trash bag. But impressed and shaken as he was, he had some thoughts about Paranormal Activity‘s ending and how to most effectively impact viewers with a terrifying send-off. Though director Oren Peli would later express mixed feelings about the decision, he ultimately went with Spielberg’s suggestion and, with an additional $4,000, shot an alternate ending that ended up in the final cut.
How Did ‘Paranormal Activity’ Originally End?
Before Spielberg pitched his idea, Paranormal Activity ended with what was arguably less of a bang. With the camera fixed on the young couple as they sleep, Katie (Katie Featherston) awakens and stares at Micah (Micah Sloat) from her side of the bed. After exiting the room, she screams bloody murder and rouses Micah, who hurries out of the room to his wife’s side. Following the brief and distant sounds of a struggle is a deafening silence.
Moments later, Katie returns to the bedroom covered in blood and clutching a knife. Taking a seat on the floor beside the bed, she rocks back and forth as the camera’s time code displays hours passing by. Offscreen we hear the phone ring, someone leaving a voice message, and eventually, someone entering the house and discovering Micah’s lifeless body. According to the camera’s time code, police officers arrive a half hour later and discover Katie in the bedroom. When she approaches them, knife in hand, they shoot her dead. Fade to black.
The Shocking Final Cut Ending to ‘Paranormal Activity’ Leaves More to the Imagination
Unsettling as the original ending is, it simply doesn’t pack the same punch that Spielberg’s alternate ending does. Peli’s ending is undeniably creepy, inviting audiences to envision what’s happening offscreen as Katie’s friend, Amber (Amber Armstrong), leaves a concerned message on the answering machine and ultimately discovers lifeless Micah’s body. But the whole ordeal stretches on for far too long, sacrificing shocking thrills in favor of a slow-burning finale that can’t quite sustain the sense of horror that Spielberg’s suggested ending delivers.
Spielberg’s alternate ending, which sees Micah hurled back into the bedroom, knocking the camera to the ground and revealing a blood-soaked Katie standing in the doorway, provides quite the jump scare. In addition, Katie getting down on all fours and sniffing her husband’s body like a predatory animal proves more sinister and effective in selling the notion that she’s been possessed by the demon tormenting the couple. And the final payoff of Katie staring directly into the camera, smiling and lunging at us as her face turns demonic, caps the film off with a smash cut to black that leaves viewers adrenaline-fueled and on edge.
Not only does the alternate ending work better on a purely visceral level, but it also concludes the film with a sense of ambiguity, leaving the door wide open for the sequel that would inevitably follow. Though we’re well aware that Micah has been killed and Katie has fallen victim to demonic possession, we’re left to wonder about what will become of the latter, and what terror she may bring to other unsuspecting victims. While we’ll never know just how well Oren Peli’s original climax would’ve gone over with global audiences, a back-to-back viewing of the two endings reveals an obvious distinction in tone and narrative satisfaction.
Director Oren Peli Prefers ‘Paranormal Activity’s Original Ending Over Spielberg’s
Let’s face it, when a filmmaker of Steven Spielberg’s caliber tells you to jump, the appropriate response is “How high?” So when he praises your film but includes the caveat that the ending should be changed, it’s perfectly understandable that a first-time director would heed that advice. Though Spielberg’s suggestion for a different ending succeeded in delivering the film’s final thrill, no doubt serving as an effective finale to the thrills and chills that preceded it, director Oren Peli continues to harbor reservations about the change to his debut film.
Reflecting on the decision to re-shoot the ending, Oren Peli told Entertainment Weekly,
“They wanted to find something a little bit more — that will be more universally loved. So, we tried a few different ideas…the idea that is in the final cut…I thought it was effective but I wasn’t a huge fan of it, initially. But it played so well against audiences that I know…that’s going to be the new ending. It’s not the greatest feeling, and I tried to fight for my ending, but at the end of the day, the movie did work as a whole with the new ending. I’ve learned to embrace and love the new ending. Still prefer my ending, but I’m totally okay with the new ending.”
It’s safe to say that Peli made the right choice in heeding Spielberg’s advice, though there are certainly still merits to the director’s original ending. But when Steven Spielberg makes you an offer, how can you refuse?
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