Paranormal Activity tops UK box office

09/12/2009

Low-budget horror film Paranormal Activity has moved to the top of the UK box office chart in its second week.

The movie was shot on an ordinary video camera by first-time director Oren Peli and cost just $15,000 (£9,000) to make, but raked in £1.83 million at British cinemas last weekend.

Paranormal Activity, which could inspire movie T-shirts in the manner of similar cult horror releases such as The Blair Witch Project, has already been named the most profitable film of all time due to its miniscule production budget.

Filmed in Peli's own house, it stars newcomers Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat as a couple who set up a camera in their bedroom after suspecting a ghostly presence in the house.

The Daily Telegraph described Paranormal Activity as "a conceptually tight and very efficient updating of the classic haunted-house genre", while a reviewer for the Times praised it as "a remarkable achievement".

According to reports, distributor Paramount Pictures is already making tentative plans for a sequel.