Paranormal Activity

Oren Peli filmed it in his own house for $15,000 using a consumer-grade camera and two unknown actors. The result was a slow-burn domestic horror film where the scariest thing is a bedsheet moving two inches at 3 AM. Paramount almost released it direct-to-DVD before test audiences reportedly ran screaming from screenings. It earned $193 million worldwide and spawned a franchise, but nothing matched the original's patient, suffocating dread.