The first film tested patience pace-wise but delivered a low-fi idea that worked on the big screen, the second spiced things up with better camera work and action, and the third (the best of the entire series) delivered shocking terrors and a powerful climax. Landon has indeed crafted an interesting MacGuffin but the scares are really starting to get threadbare. The biggest issue with this film is really much more basic.
Grave Encounters 2 felt pompous and Insidious: Chapter 2 over-explained, but this film (part 4.5 if you will) leaves enough ambiguity and interest to keep things moving until this October’s Paranormal Activity 5. Of late, certain horror films have overdone this sort of thing. However, this spin-off, despite its lagging moments and sparsity of scares, just about makes up for it with some fun scenes of haunting and a very neat and intriguing direction for the series’ mythology. Early opinion from the avid fanbase called this a definite reinvigoration of the series, which is a bit of a stretch. Especially when their outcast neighbour Anna (Gloria Sandoval) is spontaneously murdered by another student and the strange activity and forces that surrounded her come to rear their malevolent head. The film sees recent graduate Jesse (Jacobs) and his family get involved with forces he does not fully understand. Say what you like about the Paranormal Activity films but they have built their own mythology admirably and in that regard this film works pretty well. After the worst film of the franchise, Paranormal Activity 4, which delivered some fun jolts and frights but no distinctive developments, we now have a film that does exactly the opposite.
However last year saw one of the first activity-free Octobers, so to celebrate new year here is the delayed Latino themed spin-off, The Marked Ones. The Paranormal Activity franchise, while painted by some as a mere cash cow, has been surprisingly durable since the original haunted its way to critical acclaim back in 2009. Review: Paranormal Activity – The Marked Ones / Cert: 15 / Director: Christopher Landon / Screenplay: Christopher Landon / Starring: Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, Gabrielle Walsh, Carlos Pratts / Release Date: Out Now
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