video review : Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones

video review : Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones

This is Paranormal Activity 5. The decision to omit the “5” and give it a subtitle was a stupid one that not only causes confusion but basically ruins the consistency of the series. Not that it wasn’t already stupid. Paranormal Activity should’ve ended after the first one. Making more has less to do with art than money and it shows. This is, in a lot of ways, the same story being told over and over again. It’s a decent story usually; 2 is notably worse than the rest; but essentially the same nonetheless.

This time the camera focuses on a recent high school graduate named Jesse. His best friend Hector is the one with the camera and he seems to have it on constantly, as if he knows he’s shooting a real movie. They also have a friend named Marisol. The three serve as amatuer investigators when spooky things start happening around Jesse’s apartment. It begins with the death of the weirdo downstairs neighbor. By the end, people are screaming and running for their lives as the camera shoots on.

my rating : 3 of 5

2014

video review : Paranormal Activity : The Ghost Dimension
video review : Paranormal Activity : Next Of Kin

video review : Paranormal Activity 3

video review : Paranormal Activity 3

3 is better than 2. I’ll give it that. It’s about on-level with the movie that introduced this increasingly more unnecessary string of Blair ghost sequels. If they end it here, perhaps it will stand as a decent trilogy; notably better than, say, the Poltergeist series. But there’s almost a better chance of real ghosts and demons existing than that happening. This series; each entry of which is presented by a different director, though that fact isn’t obvious from watching them; will probably long overstay its welcome.

Let me just make it clear that I don’t like any of these movies. And I especially don’t like the way this one ends. Going to Grandma’s house was a bad idea for the plot. But the story before that point is thoroughly decent, which is surprising because, when it comes to movies, it seems part threes are rarely better than part twos. It’s another prequel; revolving around, or panning back and forth on, Katie and Kristi as little kids. Katie, I think, is about eight years old, so this is where their demonic hauntings begin.

my rating : 3 of 5

2011

video review : Paranormal Activity 4
video review : Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones
video review : Paranormal Activity : The Ghost Dimension
video review : Paranormal Activity : Next Of Kin