PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (2011)

(Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman)

"Still spooky, but it is beginning to get a bit old."- Signed by MartialHorror. 

Plot: This is a prequel to the first two films that chronicles the heroines of the previous films first encounter with a demonic terror.

Review:

The more I think about it, the more I realize that "Paranormal Activity" was a bold and daring movie, possibly even being marginally innovative even though it wasn't the first found footage film. Most horror films imitate "Halloween" in terms of suspense (build up with creepy music and freaky imagery) and "Friday the 13th" in terms of pay-off (startling violence and intense atmosphere), and that's if we're lucky because most fail at it. But "Paranormal Activity" is just 90 minutes (or however long it was) of mysterious sounds (house creaking, door slamming) and mysterious happenings (things moving slightly). I loved it because it let us draw the horror from it. Nothing in that film is objectively scary, but our imaginations are allowed to run wild with it. This is of course why so many hate the film. Many want a movie to be as objectively scary as passable. John Carpenter's "The Thing" for example is universally loved due to the film delivering eerie suspense with intense pay-offs. It gave us those elements, where "Paranormal Activity" makes us work for them. It certainly broke the trend of conventional horror and I found it engrossing. Like it or not, it was fresh, which makes "Paranormal Activity 3" so disappointing. It often catches what I love about these films, but it's devolved the franchise into conventional horror. I often felt like I was watching a normal movie that just happened to be found footage. Actually, now that I think about it, that might be why critics have given this reasonably positive reviews.

The film opens with Katie (Katie Featherston) and Kristi (Sprague Graydon), the protagonists of the first two movies, revealing that when their grandmother died, they inherited a bunch of tapes. Cue forward to the events of the second film, when it's revealed that the tapes were stolen during the presumed robbery. We then see what was on the tapes, filmed in the late 80's by Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith), the boyfriend of Julie (Lauren Bittner). Julie is the mother of young Katie and Kriti (Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown) and this is the story of their first encounter with the supernatural. Dennis begins to suspect that their house is haunted so sets up camera's to catch the action, but as time goes on, it becomes apparent that he cannot deal with whatever is haunting them.

"Paranormal Activity 3" is a conventional film dressed as a found footage movie based on it's typical use of foreshadowing, delivery of exposition and it's revelations about the story. Personally, I prefer it when foreshadowing and exposition are subtly handled and I especially prefer the story to be mysterious when it comes to this type of movie. "Paranormal Activity 2" wavered, but the first two films more-or-less kept everything a mystery. This prequel suffers for the same reason every prequel suffers. Aren't things best kept mysterious? At least the second film ran parallel to the first. Oddly, despite being the movie that's supposed to answer 'all of our questions', it failed to answer a single one. Instead, it confuses things more and adds to the questions. Example, in the first two films they make a big deal of the house burning down. Despite what the trailers show, no house burns in the course of the movie. In fact, 90-95% of the trailer's footage fails to appear in the movie, making me wonder what the hell went on behind the scenes. Have studios failed to figure out that lying trailers never work? Or maybe a majority of the plot was left on the editing room floor. Who knows, regardless, by 'explaining' everything, it makes the film too conventional...too Hollywood...which takes away from the mysteriousness of the original. But it also somehow manages to explain nothing, making the prequel angle rather useless.

Luckily, while the script may have been a mess, I thought the directors did a good job at keeping things spooky. I liked how it went to the basics and brought back one of the key aspects of the original that was sorely missed in the sequel. The camera focuses mainly on the doorway and the bed- like the first film- so we never know exactly where to focus our eyes. For me, it made things edgier as you never knew what exactly to watch out for. Here, they add a mirror which is a nice touch. I also loved how they use the base of a fan to hold the camera, so it slowly moves back and forth. This ploy lead to the films two scariest moments and they are wonderfully executed. The finale freaked me out, but somehow culminated in one of the most disappointing final scares EVER. Damn, I've never seen a movie fall on its face so hard with a final scene...Actually, I've seen plenty of movies that did that. But in a franchise where the number one scare comes from the final scene, this one was rather weak. I also missed that rumbling sound that was prevalent in the first two. But still, the scares worked on me a majority of the time.

The acting is solid, with everyone coming across as realistic (more or less). I felt that Julie and Dennis were more generic than Katie/Micah and Kristi/Dan, but they also tended to be more amicable. Yes, there is one grating moment where the skeptic refuses to watch the tapes that contain proof of a supernatural entity and Dennis seems to take the supernatural angle in stride a bit too much. I also didn't buy why he'd use the camera once they arrive at Grandma's house, but I never found myself wanting to punch anyone this time around, which is something. Amusingly, both actors are upstaged by the children, who are naturals. They reminded me of my nieces and they are both adorable too.

“Paranormal Activity 3” is just as scary and unsettling as the first two films- and yes, if you didn't find those two scary, keep that in mind- but the script feels messy and conventional. I respect the movie for trying to do more, but in the end, I have to say less was better. I didn't need to know 'how it all began' and hope that if they make a “Paranormal Activity 4”, it moves on from this family. The final scare was uninspired and drew more attention to the fact that I was watching a movie. Obviously I know none of this is real, but found footage films thrive on their believability and “Paranormal Activity 3” was not very believable. I'm not even more confused than I was before! But it delivers enough jumps (it does have top notch boo scares), enough chills and finds new and creative ways to spook us out using the camera. But unfortunately, I'm beginning to feel that the franchise has begun to run out of steam. What was daring and unique once has become a bit of a cliche by this point.

Violence: Er, it has its moments I guess. If it wasn't for the language, I'd say the movie would be PG-13 worthy.

Nudity: I find it off that the first attempt at a sex tape in these movies occurs during the 80's, lol. They're interrupted before it happens and you only see them in their underwear.

Overall: As a fan of the previous two, I enjoyed “Paranormal Activity 3”. I would recommend it for fans of the first two and say wait till DVD if you're mixed on the first two. Naturally, it won't win over detractors, so don't bother if you dislike them.

2.5/4 Stars