James Wan To Help Revive Found-Footage Horror Franchise at Blumhouse

You won’t ever be able to recreate the cultural phenomenon that was The Blair Witch Project. The found-footage film was made even scarier by the fact that, upon release, many people weren’t sure whether it was real. Thanks to the infancy of the internet, producers were able to promote it online by pretending it was real. That just wouldn’t work today. It could come close, but there has to be a red carpet at some point.

The film added to the internet-driven confusion by being found footage. Given the documentary feel, people were more easily able to buy into the supposed reality. No movie has been able to replicate something like that since, but Paranormal Activity came close. The 2007 low-budget horror film did gangbusters at the box office. While producers didn’t suggest it was real, they benefited from some early instances of viral marketing.

As a franchise, Paranormal Activity was far more successful than Blair Witch, spawning six sequels and a play that hits the West End tomorrow. It has kept going, and now, it will continue to grow with the help of James Wan. The Insidious and Saw director will be joining the franchise as a producer of the next film alongside his partners at Blumhouse, the studio that took a chance on the first film almost twenty years ago.

“I’ve been a huge admirer of Paranormal Activity since the brilliant first movie, with its creeping slow burn and subtle ability to make the unseen terrifying,” Wan explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m looking forward to expanding on its legacy and helping shape the next evolution of this scary found-footage franchise.” Wan is no stranger to franchises, having worked on ones like the Fast & Furious, The Conjuring Universe, and the DCU.

Not only does Wan have franchise experience, but the ones he has worked on have been quite successful. So, I’m curious to see what he could do by shepherding Paranormal Activity. While I don’t think he would direct the next installment, there isn’t a director listed yet, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He doesn’t currently have an upcoming project he’s directing, and, if the new film boasts a smaller budget, it may be a nice break for him, given that the last film he directed was Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.