If you’ve seen so many scary movies that you no longer feel fear, Paramount Pictures may have the next generation of horror you crave.
VRWerx, a virtual reality experience company, has partnered with Paramount and AMC Theaters to provide a Paranormal Activity VR demo to a few theaters around the United States. The fright simulator will use the SteamVR-powered HTC Vive device to envelope people a world brimming with ghosts, apparitions, and bumps in the night. It’s a free demo, but it’s only gonna pop up in “major markets” like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston. The Paranormal Activity VR game will launch in theaters alongside the new film Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension on October 22.
This is another example of how Hollywood is using games and advanced technologies to innovate and stand out from the crowd. Paramount isn’t alone. Lionsgate has done similar VR promotions for its films, including for the young-adult adaptation of Insurgent.
“We’ve created an entirely unmatched horror experience on this amazing new platform,” VRWerx managing partner Russel Naftal said in a canned statement.
To ensure the best experience, VRWerx worked with HTC, Valve, Epic Games, and Nvidia on the setup for demonstrations. HTC provided the headsets, Valve provided the tracking equipment, Epic is responsible for the Unreal engine powering the game, and Nvidia gave VRWerx some GTX 980 graphics cards to ensure a steady framerate.
“We’re excited to bring gaming experiences to life in ways that fans have never imagined,” HTC VR manager Dan O’Brien said. “With the Paranormal Activity VR Game Demo, the HTC Vive transports players from their local theater directly into the immersive world of Paranormal Activity — an experience they’ll never forget.”
Of course, this is just a demo that is leading up to a full Paranormal Activity VR game that is due out in the spring. It will launch after the HTC Vive and, likely, the Oculus Rift VR headsets have gone on sale. Paranormal Activity VR will also support PlayStation VR as well as Steam, PS4, and Xbox One in a version stripped of VR capabilities.