That's right... It seems that Paramount knows that the underlying momentum that their indie sleeper, Paranormal Activity, has gathered can't hold much longer. After killing the competition at the box office in October, the film is now slated for release on DVD and Blu-Ray at the end of this month (December 29th, to be exact).What fans will probably not be too pleased about is the lack of features on the discs. So far, the only things promised on them are the original theatrical film and an unrated version of the film with a “shocking alternate ending not seen in theatres.” As is becoming the standard with a lot of movies, the Blu-Ray will come with a second disc that features a "digital" (aka "useless") copy of the film.
My guess is that the "shocking" version will be the same one that played at the film's initial screenings (the one that leaked onto the Internet last month). While it was interesting to see the differences, I honestly think that most of the changes made for the theatrical release were for the better. However, I've heard a rumor about a third ending for the film that may be out there, and it sounds much better than either of the two I've seen so far, so maybe it will be included here? In any event, it seems that pretty soon you will be able to judge that for yourself.
The official A/V specs for the film itself are pretty much the standard fare, as seen in the official press release:
The PARANORMAL ACTIVITY DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround (theatrical version only) and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital (theatrical version only) and English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
So there you have it. Paranormal Activity will be coming home soon.
I'm guessing the lack of features is due to a rushed release schedule and the fact that Director Oren Peli is currently working on his second film, Area 51. He may also be so tired of talking about and working on Paranormal after two years that he wants to just put it behind him... Who knows?
Either way, love it or hate it, you can't deny that the film has had a major pop culture impact. What's more, it proves that you don't need huge budgets and crazy CGI effects to make an effective film; even if we will have to suffer through a huge wave of imitators now.
Personally, I have seen it about 6 times now, and I still enjoy it. So I'll definitely be picking up a copy of the movie. If you feel the same, you can grab the DVD or Blu-Ray from Amazon.
Oh yeah, and for all you die-hard crazies out there, there's also a Limited Collector's Edition of the DVD that comes with a film cell and a T-Shirt. I'm going to pass on that one, but you can get it HERE.
We'll be sure to let you know if we find out any added features.
