With the coming of each Paranormal Activity movie my brain starts swirling with questions - do I see the movie and miss out on sleep for months? Live in fear and jump at every little creak of the house? Do I actually enjoy being scared, or is it not worth the strife it causes me? Will this movie even be any good???
For the past two installments, I had been pleasantly surprised. I went into the first movie thinking this would just be another stupid Blair Witch type movie, only to find myself on the verge of vomiting throughout the entire film out of pure fear. I had never experienced anything like this before - a new take on an old concept. Not just a hand-held camera movie like Cloverfield, or a demonic possession movie like the Exorcist, but an amazing low-budget combination that was executed so perfectly it was almost believable. Unknown actors, home video cameras, and undetectable special effects. It was the perfect movie for a horror fanatic like me.
I thought there would be no way the second movie could live up to that, but sure enough it burned new haunting ideas and images into my brain that I still can't shake.
When I heard they were making a third one, I thought - why? Why not just quit while you are ahead? Then I read the little tidbit that the film is being directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (directors of the incredible documentary Catfish... if you haven't seen it, you should.) NOW I was excited. These guys know how to tell a good story.
So now that I've seen the movie, I can say I was a little bit disappointed, but still a little scared.
Okay more than a little scared I guess. I always let these movies get to my head. I woke up every hour on the hour last night thinking "What woke me up? Was there a noise? Did something pull my blankets off of me or did I kick them off in my sleep?" and so on.
Anyway that's all beside the point. For someone with a less ridiculous imagination than I, the movie is a bit of a let down. It takes a lot of the same scary "make you jump" situations from the first two films and plays them out again with new characters (or the same characters at a different age.)
There were a few scenes in the film that were REALLY well done. One that I will mention without giving anything away is the "Bloody Mary" scene, but it does NOT happen like the scene they show in the previews. Brilliant, by the way, to preview one thing but completely change it so you are still scared when you see it in theaters.
Otherwise the scares were all similar to those from previous films, and they didn't bother me as much the third time around. I expected more from Joost and Schulman - they had exceeded my expectations with Catfish and I was hoping they'd do it again - but alas, no. Overall a fairly bland addition to the Paranormal Activity series, BUT with a few scenes that really make it worth your while.
That's all I have to say about this for now! I urge you all to see it in theaters (maybe a matinee so it isn't expensive?) It's more fun on a huge screen with loud surround sound to scare the poop out of you. Let me know what you think!
By the way - they showed a preview of this movie before PA3. Looks amaaziiiiing! The Devil Inside. Check it out:
And now for some Halloween FUN:
Happy Halloween!
