It's another year and another "Paranormal Activity" film is out. The film franchise known for starting something fresh in the horror genre is literally destroying itself with its annual releases. And unfortunately, "Paranormal Activity 4" completely and literally validates that thought. This is the worst one yet folks. The film feels uninspired and riddled with inconsistencies with its presentation. While it does try to introduce technology into the mix, parts of it feel more like an advertisement for a certain games console than being as essential to make the film scary - if it is even scary at all.
On October 9, 2006, Kristi Rey and her husband are killed by Kristi's demon-possessed sister Katie (Katie Featherston) who also kidnaps Kristi's baby, Hunter. Katie and Hunter's whereabouts remained unknown until 5 years later. The next scenes show a teenager Alex (Kathryn Newton) living with her mother Holly (Alexondra Lee), her father Doug (Stephen Dunham) and her little brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). Alex soon discover a strange kid hiding in their treehouse named Robbie (Brady Allen). That same night, Robbie's mom falls ill and is taken to the hospital. Robbie is then taken care of Alex's family the next few days. Robbie soon shows signs of being different especially with him mentioning and talking to an invisible friend. As Wyatt and Robbie become closer, things are revealed that will prove to be dangerous for Alex and her family.
By now, whatever appeal a "Paranormal Activity" film may bring in is completely gone and this is more than validated by "Paranormal Activity 4". While the film may reveal more of what happened to the various characters of its predecessors, the biggest dilemma is do we even care? Is the story even worth considering? While the third film may have given us hope, this one is the complete opposite. We don't exaggerate when we say this feels uninspired. The story is pedestrian at best and one that proves to be too predictable from the get-go. The scares are nearly non-existent either because we already know how these films work or there's less creativity this time around. For us, it is a deadly mix of both. Also, while the film presents new ways on capturing video (using a Kinect and web cams), they still turn out to do the same thing as any previous cameras before. Don't let the technology gimmick lure you in. As you can see, there's really nothing good about "Paranormal Activity 4". The buck should have stopped a long ways ago for this film franchise. The fourth try clearly shows this fact. Avoid at all costs.
Rating: 1 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- fans may like the film as it continues the "Paranormal Activity" lore
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- nothing scary and feels uninspired
- this is the worst film yet
On October 9, 2006, Kristi Rey and her husband are killed by Kristi's demon-possessed sister Katie (Katie Featherston) who also kidnaps Kristi's baby, Hunter. Katie and Hunter's whereabouts remained unknown until 5 years later. The next scenes show a teenager Alex (Kathryn Newton) living with her mother Holly (Alexondra Lee), her father Doug (Stephen Dunham) and her little brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). Alex soon discover a strange kid hiding in their treehouse named Robbie (Brady Allen). That same night, Robbie's mom falls ill and is taken to the hospital. Robbie is then taken care of Alex's family the next few days. Robbie soon shows signs of being different especially with him mentioning and talking to an invisible friend. As Wyatt and Robbie become closer, things are revealed that will prove to be dangerous for Alex and her family.
By now, whatever appeal a "Paranormal Activity" film may bring in is completely gone and this is more than validated by "Paranormal Activity 4". While the film may reveal more of what happened to the various characters of its predecessors, the biggest dilemma is do we even care? Is the story even worth considering? While the third film may have given us hope, this one is the complete opposite. We don't exaggerate when we say this feels uninspired. The story is pedestrian at best and one that proves to be too predictable from the get-go. The scares are nearly non-existent either because we already know how these films work or there's less creativity this time around. For us, it is a deadly mix of both. Also, while the film presents new ways on capturing video (using a Kinect and web cams), they still turn out to do the same thing as any previous cameras before. Don't let the technology gimmick lure you in. As you can see, there's really nothing good about "Paranormal Activity 4". The buck should have stopped a long ways ago for this film franchise. The fourth try clearly shows this fact. Avoid at all costs.
Rating: 1 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- fans may like the film as it continues the "Paranormal Activity" lore
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- nothing scary and feels uninspired
- this is the worst film yet
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