Paranormal Activity: parents' guide
Best for ages 15 and up. Rated R for language.
A slow-burning, low-budget found-footage chiller for older teens who can handle lingering dread. A young couple sets up a camera in their bedroom to record what happens at night, and the presence haunting the girlfriend grows bolder. Little violence is shown until a brief, shocking ending that leaves a character dead, and an alternate ending on the DVD and Blu-ray shows a character cutting her own throat. The couple's sex life is discussed but never shown. Expect sustained tension and nearly 40 f-words. We suggest 15, mostly for language and intensity.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateMost violence is off screen. The woman is dragged from bed and bitten, and her palm bleeds from gripping a cross. A man is killed off screen and his body hurled at the camera. An alternate home-video ending shows the woman slitting her own throat.
Language
StrongPlugged In counted nearly 40 f-words and about 12 s-words, plus "ass," "damn," "hell," one "GD," roughly a dozen uses of God's or Jesus' name as exclamations, and a couple of joking middle-finger gestures.
Sex and nudity
ModerateFrequent sex talk and jokes. The boyfriend pushes his girlfriend to undress and have sex on camera; she refuses. They have sex once off camera and are seen afterward, him shirtless, her under a sheet. The only nudity is in drawings of bare-breasted demons.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
NoneNo real drinking, smoking or drugs. A wine bottle is opened at dinner in one scene, but no one is seen drinking it.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongConstant dread built from still night-vision shots: footsteps, slamming doors, moving shadows, the woman standing by the bed staring for hours. The scares escalate steadily, a Ouija board catches fire, and the abrupt ending is a real jolt.
Worth talking about
The boyfriend keeps ignoring his girlfriend's pleas to stop provoking the presence. Talk about respecting a partner's wishes, even when you think you know better.
On our lists
Similar picks around 15+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, christiananswers.net, movieguide.org, the MPA, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.