The Paranormal Activity movies brought a whole new level of terror to horror fans with their found-footage style. Although the shaky-camera documentary style of horror had been introduced to great effect with the Blair Witch project, Paranormal Activity’s use of seemingly banal footage from webcams and home security systems brought the terror inside your house.
With a total of seven instalments released between 2007 and 2021, there’s plenty of Paranormal Activity content to watch and rewatch. Check out the full JustWatch guide to how (and where) to watch all the Paranormal Activity movies in order below!
How to watch the Paranormal Activity movies in order of release
The seven Paranormal Activity were released between 2007 and 2021, and feature both new stories, prequels, and continuations of the original story. Here’s how to watch all the Paranormal Activity movies in order of release:
- Paranormal Activity (2007)
- Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
- Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
- Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
- Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
- Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
- Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
How to watch the Paranormal Activity movies in chronological order
The chronological order of the Paranormal Activity movies is different to their order of release. In order to get started, you’ll need to begin with Paranormal Activity 3, which takes place in 1988 and goes back to Kristi and Katie’s childhood and their first exposure to the demon known as “Toby”.
- Paranormal Activity 3 (1988)
- Paranormal Activity 2 (August 2006)
- Paranormal Activity (October 2006)
- Paranormal Activity 4 (2011)
- Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2012)
- Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2013)
- Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Paranormal Activity 2 follows Kristi’s story when she is an adult with a family, just after she gives birth to Hunter. At points, the film coincides with Paranormal Activity, which is the original and follows the story of Katie (Kristi’s sister) and her husband Micah, after they move into a new home and begin to experience increasingly alarming supernatural activity.
Paranormal Activity 4 takes place in 2011 in the suburbs, where Katie has moved across the street from the Nelson family. The Nelsons also begin to experience supernatural occurrences perpetrated by Toby. The fifth instalment, The Marked Ones, takes place in 2012 and follows the story of Jesse Arista, who begins to dig into the past after being marked by a demonic cult. This film ties into both Paranormal Activity 3 and the original, and introduced the concept of time travel to the franchise.
The Ghost Dimension takes place in 2013 and sees the Fleeges family move into a house built on top of Kristi and Katie’s old childhood home. Finally, Next of Kin takes place in 2021 and follows the story of Margot, Chris, and Dale, who go to stay with an Amish community so that Margot can find out more about her past. While there, they come into contact with a new demon: Asmodeus.
Where to watch the Paranormal Activity movies in order
Find out how (and where) to watch the Paranormal Activity movies in order by scrolling down to the list below. The films are all available to stream online across a variety of platforms, including ITVX, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and more!
