Since 2007, the release of the “Paranormal Activity” films have been big and exciting events for horror fans. Using “found footage” to put the audience into an unavoidable first person experience with terror has always been a strong suit among these films. The first one was the most effective and terrifying, with each sequel losing caliber. This leaves the newest installment being completely ineffective and non-worthwhile. Advertisements tell of how this one is the best and most terrifying one yet, the following will explain why it isn’t and maybe why people think so.
The story takes place five years after the second one (the third one being a prequel to the first) and seeming disappearance of Katie and Hunter. The focus is now on a different suburban family with Alex (Kathryn Newton), the daughter, in particular. When their next door neighbor’s mom is mysteriously sent to the hospital, the family takes care of the woman’s strange son, Robbie (Brady Allen). It is after this that strange things start to happen, with the footage being taken with skype on computer screens around the house.
Each film has something cool and admirable about it, this one has a couple of things that don’t save it overall. The boyfriend Ben (Matt Shively) is hilarious, the acting overall isn’t as bad as expected with a new cast, and we get to see the Xbox Kinect’s green tracking dots throughout an entire living room to show some of the activity. Between the almost-scares turned into immediate comedic relief from Ben and the family cat – there aren’t any real scares in the movie until the ending. One of the strong suits on the other films is that they built up with suspense until a scary ending – this one tries a little too hard and then crashes to an end like all of the other “found footage” disappointing endings.
For some viewers the last 5 or 10 minutes are enough to scare them and make them think they had a good time throughout the entire thing, but overall it doesn’t save the whole film at 1 hour 28 minutes. Beyond that, there is little or no addition in the story of Katie and Hunter, which has kept the series alive and interesting – a reason to keep watching. This “final” installment is just another film that has killed a decent trilogy that was already nicely contained. Now the biggest question is when everyone else will want the activity to stop, if they continue to be made.
Also, there is a scene after the credits – but it has nothing do to with anything in the series at all. It seems to be a wannabe’s try at his own paranormal short of some kind with a shaky camera that isn’t worth waiting for or seeing. The fact that it is also in IMAX is another reason this one is a trick to make money.
“Paranormal Activity 4” is now playing in theaters everywhere.
