Another October, another Paranormal Activity. Since the Saw franchise finished, i've been needing something to scratch that itch but does Paranormal Activity make the cut?
Let's start with the original; On such a low budget and marketing costs, it's amazing Paranormal Activity has come so far. I remember seeing it back in the day, just before it became big. I thought it was an alright horror film, not being a stranger to movies shot primarily with a handheld and made out to be 'true' stories. When the film became big, it was advertised to be the film that would
Let's start with the original; On such a low budget and marketing costs, it's amazing Paranormal Activity has come so far. I remember seeing it back in the day, just before it became big. I thought it was an alright horror film, not being a stranger to movies shot primarily with a handheld and made out to be 'true' stories. When the film became big, it was advertised to be the film that would
keep you up for days and i had to listen to kids everywhere daring each other to watch it and going on about how they couldn't sleep after watching it. When its successor was released, its slogan was 'your sleepless nights are about to return. ' it did partly annoy me that people who were generally ignorant of horror movies suddenly started acting like paranormal activity was the scariest thing in the world because really it's just some basic shots that you could probably make at home, with simple visual effects. Having said that, i did very much enjoy the film and the films seem to be getting better every year. I'm not saying Paranormal Activity didn't scare me; it had some reasonable jumps and tense scenes but i think the hype that surrounded it was way over the top. If you just read some of the quotes on the poster, it makes a horror fan sigh; there are so many good and genuinely terrifying horror films out there (and granted, a lot of terrible terrible ones that should just never ever be seen... ever!) but the hype surrounding the film almost makes me think it's a joke.
I thought the acting was very realistic and believable which held the film together well for me. The film was very slow starting as many of these films are but then kicked off quite fast and certainly the last ten minutes of the film make the slow beginning worthwhile. Seeing a possessed Katie smiling creepily at the camera was awesome although again far less scary than the shots of the audience acting like it was the scariest thing in the world, which was used to market the films supposed horror. Bottom line; good movie, very fun to watch, bound to get a few decent jumps out of you, NOT the scariest film ever made.
I thought the acting was very realistic and believable which held the film together well for me. The film was very slow starting as many of these films are but then kicked off quite fast and certainly the last ten minutes of the film make the slow beginning worthwhile. Seeing a possessed Katie smiling creepily at the camera was awesome although again far less scary than the shots of the audience acting like it was the scariest thing in the world, which was used to market the films supposed horror. Bottom line; good movie, very fun to watch, bound to get a few decent jumps out of you, NOT the scariest film ever made.
On to Paranormal Activity 2, which bounced back with a much higher budget and with a ridiculously big fan base, already awaiting its arrival. So it's not surprise that Paranormal Activity 2 did well at the box office. This film was very promising for me, proof that with good ideas and a good budget, there can be a sequel that doesn't just completely take the piss, because in my opinion this movie was a lot better than the first. This time with much less hype, i gave it a go and thought it was a decent movie. I watched it again about a year ago and thought about the same. Then i watched it this week, in preparation for the new movie and thought it much better than i had the first two times. Especially as i didn't miss the ending with Katie as i had in my *ahem legal *cough copy. Got to say, the ending was one of the most badass endings to a horror film i've seen. Not too over the top but left my gaping in awe as Katie *spoiler* snapped the dude's neck and threw her sister against the camera. The jumps in this film were definitely better; especially the shot where all the cupboards fly open suddenly. This was an all around solid flick; again not likely to make the top horror movies ever made but a sick, fun movie.
Not quite sure why the baby Hunter's reflection is missing in the mirror. Obviously intentional. Again the acting in this film was pretty reliable, i guess it's not like they're acting with much emotion, or acting at all, buuuuut it was good. What i liked a lot about this film was that it carried the plot on while being a good standalone movie. Unlike the following two, which i'll get to in a moment. PA2, if you didn't know is a prequel to the first movie, just before (and in the last scene following) the events of Paranormal Activity Uno. If i'm in the mood for a fairly generic but fun and well made horror movie, i may well put this in and give it a watch. Again though, not likely to keep you awake after dark.
Not quite sure why the baby Hunter's reflection is missing in the mirror. Obviously intentional. Again the acting in this film was pretty reliable, i guess it's not like they're acting with much emotion, or acting at all, buuuuut it was good. What i liked a lot about this film was that it carried the plot on while being a good standalone movie. Unlike the following two, which i'll get to in a moment. PA2, if you didn't know is a prequel to the first movie, just before (and in the last scene following) the events of Paranormal Activity Uno. If i'm in the mood for a fairly generic but fun and well made horror movie, i may well put this in and give it a watch. Again though, not likely to keep you awake after dark.
Paranormal Activity 3 is a prequel.... to a prequel. Yeah, it takes us back to when Katie and Kristi were lil' innocent children, well i wouldn't say innocent. So cute little Kristi has this imaginary friend called Toby right? Except he's not imaginary, and he doesn't like to be fucked with.
Despite being reviewed by many as the best yet, i felt paranormal activity 3 lost some of the punch that the second delivered and i felt at times the movie was much too predictable, except the ending of course (what the fuck?) So visually and in terms of special effects, again a big improvement. I really liked the slowly moving camera strapped to an old fan that created some very tense scenes. And although the film scared me a little more than the others, it was to me a bit dry and repetitive.
Okay so the third one would supposedly explain more about the origin of the haunting as the second one did, and it did a little but it confused me more than it clarified anything. It did leave potential plot lines very fertile and at this point, it seems as though we aren't going to see the last of Paranormal Activity for a few years at least.
Despite being reviewed by many as the best yet, i felt paranormal activity 3 lost some of the punch that the second delivered and i felt at times the movie was much too predictable, except the ending of course (what the fuck?) So visually and in terms of special effects, again a big improvement. I really liked the slowly moving camera strapped to an old fan that created some very tense scenes. And although the film scared me a little more than the others, it was to me a bit dry and repetitive.
Okay so the third one would supposedly explain more about the origin of the haunting as the second one did, and it did a little but it confused me more than it clarified anything. It did leave potential plot lines very fertile and at this point, it seems as though we aren't going to see the last of Paranormal Activity for a few years at least.
Oh shit, another one? Yeah that's right, this brings me on to the main focus of this review; Paranormal Activity, (what number are we on again?) fourrrrrr. I saw this in the cinema last night and came out a little unsure of what i'd just seen. I can't for the life of me say it was the best horror film ever, or even a particularly good one but i can't deny i did have a good time watching it.
So after a quick recap of the previous films, we're back into the films we know and... well some of us love them, some of us think they're alright. The majority of the shots are either from webcam's from the laptops dotted conveniently around the house or during the day sometimes we get a handheld. Te story focuses around Alex, her family and her boyfriend. A basic plot line is:
A strange woman and her child (Katie and Hunter) move in across the street and Katie is apparently taken into hospital and so Alex's family are forced to look after the kid for a few days but as soon as the kid moves in, strange shit starts happening. He wanders around the house at night talking to his invisible friend and creeping around in Alex's bed. What's more is on the kinect night vision, small tracking dots are projected across the room and the shape of a small boy can be made out but when the lights come back on- nothing. Creepy stuff right? He also makes a chandelier suddenly fall down and the viewers shit a brick. So one night Alex follows him into the street and there are a shit load of cars outside Katie's house and this weird woman comes out of nowhere. The film really starts to take off; the figure of a woman is seen in the kinect dots, sitting on the sofa. She gets up and wanders into the kitchen where she starts her killing spree. Katie kills the family and takes Hunter. The ending properly left me thinking what the fuck just happened? At the time i felt fairly satisfied with the ending but thinking back wasn't bad but certainly could've been better.
The jumps in this film were just ridiculous at times; it felt like they had completely run out of ways to make us jump and as for moving the plot along, this film brought nothing to the franchise. Bottom line- was a fun horror film but really had little in terms of plot for this movie and for the series as a whole. Really did lack in originality. Despite enjoying the film, i've got to lay down- if they don't come back with an awesome Paranormal Activity 5, they're going to crash and burn and the annual films are just going to become an annoyance. Paranormal Activity 5, which will no doubt be out October 2013 needs to bring back some originality and bring a dynamic and fresh plot to the film while staying true to the routes.
Overall, decent set of movies, really not the best but they can be fun. I hope they do something good with it and don't just drag it out because they can make more and more money out of it.
So after a quick recap of the previous films, we're back into the films we know and... well some of us love them, some of us think they're alright. The majority of the shots are either from webcam's from the laptops dotted conveniently around the house or during the day sometimes we get a handheld. Te story focuses around Alex, her family and her boyfriend. A basic plot line is:
A strange woman and her child (Katie and Hunter) move in across the street and Katie is apparently taken into hospital and so Alex's family are forced to look after the kid for a few days but as soon as the kid moves in, strange shit starts happening. He wanders around the house at night talking to his invisible friend and creeping around in Alex's bed. What's more is on the kinect night vision, small tracking dots are projected across the room and the shape of a small boy can be made out but when the lights come back on- nothing. Creepy stuff right? He also makes a chandelier suddenly fall down and the viewers shit a brick. So one night Alex follows him into the street and there are a shit load of cars outside Katie's house and this weird woman comes out of nowhere. The film really starts to take off; the figure of a woman is seen in the kinect dots, sitting on the sofa. She gets up and wanders into the kitchen where she starts her killing spree. Katie kills the family and takes Hunter. The ending properly left me thinking what the fuck just happened? At the time i felt fairly satisfied with the ending but thinking back wasn't bad but certainly could've been better.
The jumps in this film were just ridiculous at times; it felt like they had completely run out of ways to make us jump and as for moving the plot along, this film brought nothing to the franchise. Bottom line- was a fun horror film but really had little in terms of plot for this movie and for the series as a whole. Really did lack in originality. Despite enjoying the film, i've got to lay down- if they don't come back with an awesome Paranormal Activity 5, they're going to crash and burn and the annual films are just going to become an annoyance. Paranormal Activity 5, which will no doubt be out October 2013 needs to bring back some originality and bring a dynamic and fresh plot to the film while staying true to the routes.
Overall, decent set of movies, really not the best but they can be fun. I hope they do something good with it and don't just drag it out because they can make more and more money out of it.