The 2007 low-budget ghost movie Paranormal Activity made $194 million on little more than flickering lights and slamming doors.  I never understood the hype.  Still, those same effects do work much better in person.  On film, you can use computers and cuts to cheat.  On stage, you have to perform a magic trick.

In Levi Holloway’s script, the story, never the main attraction, has been shuffled but not fundamentally changed from the original.  James (Travis A. Knight) and Lou (Cher Álvarez) have just moved from Chicago to London.  James has landed some cushy corporate job, but the move seems motivated more by Lou’s poor mental health: at the end of the first act, she refers to “blackouts” where she would lose time.  James’ mother, Carolanne (Shannon Cochran), serves as an invasive presence, beaming in by video call, asking inappropriate questions about their marriage, and pestering her son about praying.  Her faith is one thing she shares with her daughter-in-law: Lou is superstitious and religious, James a devoted materialist.

All of this provides the scaffolding for the point of Paranormal Activity, the scares.  The production, directed by Felix Barrett, is full of great moments that I will not spoil.  I will say that the scenic design by Fly Davis is exceptional.  The house is two stories, with two rooms on each floor and a hallway on the second.  It fills the stage, which means it is easier to misdirect your eyes, to surprise you with something in your peripheral vision.  There were times when I had to look for the scare after hearing the screams from the audience.  It is a fantastic haunted house.

What more could you ask for?

Paranormal Activity runs through February 28th at the August Wilson Theatre. 245 West 52nd Street New York, NY. 2 hours 15 minutes. One intermission. Photograph by Matthew Murphy.