Horror Breakout Ian Tuason Boards Paramount’s PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Revival
Paramount Pictures is wasting no time reviving Paranormal Activity, and the studio has found a filmmaker who seems almost Aestheticly aligned with the job. Less than two weeks after news broke that Paramount was teaming with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster on the new chapter, Ian Tuason is now in final negotiations to direct.
The project marks a full relaunch of the franchise that first rattled audiences back in 2007. That original microbudget experiment cost only $15,000 before DreamWorks stepped in with an additional $200,000.
The film went on to scare up $194.2 million worldwide, turning it into one of the most profitable movies ever released and helping kickstart the Blumhouse brand into the horror juggernaut it is today.
Paramount will co-finance, co produce and distribute the new entry, with original creator Oren Peli returning as a producer through his Solana Films. James Wan will also step into the series for the first time as a producer.
Tuason’s background makes him an interesting choice for this fresh start. The Toronto based filmmaker first gained traction with his live action virtual reality horror shorts that collected millions of YouTube views and earned a SXSW showcase.
His feature debut, Undertone, premiered this summer at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival where it won the audience award for Canadian film. A24 later secured the movie in a mid seven figure bidding war.
Undertone dives into supernatural territory. Inspired by Tuason’s own experiences, it follows a paranormal podcast co-host caring for her ailing mother whose world unravels after anonymous audio files arrive documenting what appears to be a possession.
Sound is central to the film’s design and Tuason describes it as “found audio, not found footage.” The movie will head to Sundance next month.
This new opportunity seems especially meaningful for the filmmaker. He has openly ranked the original Paranormal Activity as number three on the list of movies that most frighten him, with The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project taking the top two spots.
Now he’s stepping into the franchise that once kept him up at night, and fans are about to see what happens when a rising director who thrives on unconventional horror gets handed the keys to one of the genre’s most iconic series.
Source: THR