It may not be the scariest movie ever made, but Paranormal Activity has certainly gotten a great celebrity recommendation of sorts: Steven Spielberg was apparently convinced that his copy of the movie was itself haunted.
The weird claim comes as the movie prepares for limited release this weekend. According to the LA Times' Hero Complex blog, Spielberg was given a DVD of the movie last year as part of a potential Dreamworks purchase of the movie, but odd things led to a worry that the DVD was haunted but worthy of a rave review:
As the story goes, Spielberg had taken a "Paranormal Activity" DVD to his Pacific Palisades estate, and not long after he watched it, the door to his empty bedroom inexplicably locked from the inside, forcing him to summon a locksmith.
While Spielberg didn't want the "Paranormal Activity" disc anywhere near his home — he brought the movie back to DreamWorks in a garbage bag, colleagues say — he very much shared his studio's enthusiasm for director Oren Peli's haunting story about the demonic invasion of a couple's suburban tract house.
Either Spielberg is a great sport trying to get publicity for the low-budget movie, or producing movies like Poltergeist, The Haunting and Monster House have taken their toll on the poor man.
Ghost in the Hollywood machine: 'Paranormal Activity' beat the odds (and gave Spielberg the willies) [LA Times/Hero Complex]