This dull “Paranormal” entry is strictly for fans of the film
series
Wes’s Grade: C
 |
| Kathryn Newton |
When the first “Paranormal
Activity” debuted in 2009, it became a phenomenon that launched the “lost
footage” genre style of horror films. To its credit, this genre adds an element
of decent realism not found in conventional horror films, but on the downside
it quickly becomes annoyingly calculated. “Paranormal Activity 4” continues
this thin cycle of home video, lost footage style of scares and it provides a
handful of decent scares but otherwise mines this formula (no pun intended) to
death, making this entry strictly for die-hard fans of this horror film series.
This one takes place a few years after the second installment, following Alex
(Kathryn Newton) and her brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). They meet one of
Wyatt’s friends named Robbie (Brady Allen) and his mother Katie (Katie
Featherston), and strange things start happening once more. Directed by Henry
Joost and Ariel Schulman, who directed the third entry, the lackluster,
unoriginal “Paranormal Activity 4” continues to exploit the formula that made the
first one so much fun. This is essentially more of the same, with weird things
happening and things falling all over the house, but with less of the jumpy realism that made the first so good. You know what to
expect with these films and by now it comes as no big surprise. There are a
handful of the obligatory jumps that come with this, but otherwise if you’ve
seen the other “Paranormal” films you’ve seen this one too. The “Paranormal”
series was a bit flimsy to begin with (but still moderately scary) but this one adds up to
nothing until the tense final act, becoming this generation’s version (but much less gruesome) of the
“Saw” or “Friday the 13th.” There are many seemingly strange things
or signs that happen in “Paranormal Activity 4” but the only ones for the movie
studio folks are dollar signs as they find a way to continue this limp film
series.
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