Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s North American premiere of Paranormal Activity is guaranteed to deliver the horror movie-style scares you’re looking for this Halloween season, but if you’re looking for thematic depth, you’re searching the wrong haunted house.

Cher Álvarez and Patrick Heusinger

Levi Holloway took on the nearly impossible task of writing an original story for stage based on Paramount Pictures’ film franchise. The challenge of adapting found-footage horror for stage seems daunting, but I’m pleased to say he is very successful in writing something that feels like a worthy homage to the first Paranormal Activity. Holloway’s Paranormal Activity follows Lou (Cher Álvarez) and her husband James (Patrick Heusinger) as they settle into their new London home, an escape from their creepy apartment in Chicago. James soon learns what Lou already knows: It wasn’t the apartment that was haunted. It’s Lou.

Cher Álvarez

Much like the movie franchise, Holloway’s writing is structured around the scares, with the connective tissue designed to feel as mundane and realistic as possible. This approach has merit in theory, making the horror feel like it’s intruding into our lives. In practice, however, Holloway’s contemporary realism occasionally overreaches, leaning too heavily into performative millennial vernacular that calls attention to itself rather than disappearing into character. References to Instagram ads and the now-exhausted Zoom call ritual of “you’re muted… you’re on mute…” feel less like real life and more like exposition determined to timestamp the play. Similarly, the script seems unusually preoccupied with establishing the couple’s Chicago origins and new location in London. I longed for a bit more meat on the bones of this story in place of some of that exposition.

Patrick Heusinger

Cher Álvarez and Patrick Heusinger

Horror, especially the style that relies on jump scares, is challenging in live theatre because the director can’t rely on the camera to direct the audience’s attention. Instead, they must direct attention in other ways to ensure the audience is looking in the right place when the monster jumps out. Director Felix Barrett (Sleep No More) manages to create something truly terrifying that has the whole theatre screaming at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and that is worthy of admiration. There is one particular scare where every beat is expertly timed to pack the maximum punch. Unfortunately, that scare sets the bar sky-high, and the following scares that rely on the same storytelling formula lose the element of surprise and become a bit predictable. Still, I’m beyond impressed that a play is able to elicit screams at all.

Scene from Paranormal Activity

Much of the success of this terrifying theatrical experience is due to the incredible designers Anna Watson (lighting), Gareth Fry (sound), Luke Halls (video & projections), and Chris Fisher (illusions). The sound design kicks off the experience, setting the mood for the evening. We begin in darkness, with Fry’s sound roaring in, immersing us in this world, before seamlessly pulling us forward into the intimate, hyper-realistic set, designed by Fly Davis. Watson lights the set in moonlight, the headlights of passing vehicles, and low living-room lamps, successfully manufacturing the feeling of turning the last light off downstairs before you run to the safety of your bedroom for the night. She also makes an interesting choice to point lights down into the audience, in front of the stage, which, combined with haze onstage, partially obscured the audience’s view, forcing us to lean in to await the next scare. And the team does create truly terrifying stage illusions.

Cher Álvarez and Patrick Heusinger

Paranormal Activity is the perfect night out this Halloween season if you’re seeking visceral thrills over intellectual engagement, but don’t expect to walk away with themes to ponder. Instead, you’ll walk away wondering, “How did they do that?!” Which is sometimes just as fun.

Cher Álvarez

photos by Kyle Flubacker

Paranormal Activity
Chicago Shakespeare
Courtyard Theater on Navy Pier
ends on November 2, 2025
for tickets, call 312.595.5600 or visit Chicago Shakes

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

The full North American premiere engagement includes:
Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles (November 13-December 7, 2025)
Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. (January 28-February 7, 2026)
American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco (February 19-March 15, 2026)