The ultra-low-budget horror film Paranormal Activity has been building praise for the past few years—after successful showings at the Screamfast and Slamdance film festivals, and most recently at Telluride. Anne Thompson is now reporting that the film is set for a September 25 release by Paramount. Given that the film was shot for $11,000 over a week, I don’t think the studio is worried too much about pushing it out there without a huge marketing campaign.

Directed by first time writer/director Oren Peli, Paranormal Activity is inspired by Peli’s own experiences with strange noises after moving into a new house. The film centers around a young couple (played by Micah Sloat and Katie Featherstone) who learn that their house is haunted, and end up having increasingly disturbing experiences. It’s being compared to Blair Witch because the film consists of home video and security camera footage, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in my book. While Blair Witch may not have been entirely successful at scaring the crap out of you, there’s something to be said for minimalist horror that implies more than it shows.

Judging from the critical response to this film at the various festivals (it’s still at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 5 reviews), Peli’s low budget experiment will get some sort of reaction out of you. I’m hoping it’s one that involves being curled up in the fetal position.

View the trailer for Paranormal Activity below:

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.