It’s October once again which means that audience members across the nation will be getting yet another dose of the “Paranormal Activity” franchise. The latest sequel, “Paranormal Activity 3,” is filled with plenty of jump scares and thrills like the previous two
We continue to go back further in time in the “Paranormal” series as we try to figure out where ‘it all began.’ The year is 1988 where we follow the day-to-day lives of a young Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) who live with their mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) and her boyfriend Dennis (Christopher Smith). Lo and behold, all terror begins to break loose as Kristi’s imaginary friend Toby isn’t just no friendly invisible creature.
Warning: This review contains minor spoilers
Story
Instead of going forward in the story and dealing with the end result of “Paranormal Activity 2,” which leaves us wondering what happened to the now-possessed Katie and poor baby Hunter, we leap back into the year 1988 to figure out how all of this bump-in-the-night activity began. The story is a pinch predictable if you’ve seen the previous two, using the same formula of the overly ignorant male who continues to film the strange occurrences throughout the house out of pure curiosity, despite the fact that after a certain period of time the entity is starting to cause harm. The ending for this one is a lot more interesting than the second film because it opens up a whole new supernatural can of worms that can obviously lead to yet another prequel if the studio so chooses. It also leaves a couple of questions unanswered, which could have been done purposefully in order to make two more movies if they want, like what happened to their house? It was mentioned in the first movie that it burned to the ground yet we don’t see any of that. Maybe they’ll choose to answer these questions in the inevitable sequel/prequel but it would’ve made more sense if it had happened in this feature. And yes, it’s true, a fair portion of footage in the trailer for “Paranormal Activity 3” is not shown in the final cut, although the Bloody Mary sequence is the most effective/scary scene of them all.
Acting
One of the things that the “Paranormal Activity” franchise is known for is the scares, not so much the acting. That’s not to say the acting is bad, which it isn’t, but it tends to be more or less average, meaning that none of them are outstanding in the roles but they get the job done. The two little girls who played the younger versions of Kristi and Katie actually stood out the most, mainly because they played the adorable and super scared parts pretty well.
Directing
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman made themselves well known last year for their praised film “Catfish,” and the shooting format they had to deal with for “Paranormal Activity 3” was more or less the same. We fall into another case of ‘they got the job done’ as the camera positioning does the trick to show you most of the room but not enough to know what exactly is moving around there when the time comes. You wonder how the two directors will do when they direct a narrative that doesn’t rely heavily on the found footage kind of visual feel.
Technical
Although there isn’t too much that has to be done in the visual effects side of it all, since most of the scares rely heavily on the quietest ambient sound leading up to a large boom of sorts, they at least deliver when everything goes to hell for the lead characters. There’s one part that bothered me the most and that was the editing. The story may also have something to do with this, or the directors as well if they planned it as so, but after the first twenty minutes you can figure out when the scares will happen. First there’s the few minutes of dialogue/small character establishment that quickly leads into the next night. After we’re shown the camera P.O.V. placements throughout the house then the fun begins. Some people may not mind the predictability but it became a little annoying after awhile.
Overall
The studio keeps on par with the rest of the franchise, delivering one jump scare after another and further expanding the franchise to new supernatural heights. “Paranormal Activity 3” is fine to watch if you want a few good jump scares but stays in the average supernatural horror movie category with the latest installment.
Story: C+
Acting: C+
Direction: B-
Technical: C-
Final Grade: C+
