![]() Unlike the rest of her amateurish castmates, Newton almost prevents us from trying to poke fat holes in the film's execution. ![]() Returning after of the success of "PA3," co-directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (they also made the polarizing documentary "Catfish") maintain the status quo, but they - presumably by way of screenwriter Christopher Landon - find a way to get much clever visual mileage out of the family's Xbox 360, using its Kinect motion-sensor technology as a way to suss out demonic presences like Toby, who you may remember from "PA3" as young Katie's not-so-imaginary friend.Īs central characters go, Joost and Schulman could have done much worse Newton does an admirable job of anchoring "PA4" as the engaging, vulnerable Alex, skillfully offering up the natural teenage mix of curiosity and trepidation at an unfamiliar situation. The frights start escalating in frequency and violence, leading to an expected and slightly silly but nonetheless manic denouement of flying bodies, slamming doors, and terrifying faces as the film sets up the next chapter. Oh, I don't know why I'm being so coy "PA4" is the same as it ever was. 1, November 6, 2011." It still sends a tiny chill up the spine as the film begins counting down to. Then those words appear on the screen: "Night No. And you can pretty much envision what happens: balls mysteriously bouncing down stairs, chairs suddenly moving, loud noises, kids talking to a seemingly empty room. It's Ben (Matt Shively), Alex's thick-necked doofus of a maybe-boyfriend, who sets up the stationary surveillance we now rely upon to provide the frights in the "PA" movies. ![]() Much of the footage in "PA4" is courtesy of the tech-friendly Alex, constantly connected to either her phone or her laptop.Īlex begins to notice odd things happening after Wyatt befriends the boy across the street, a pint-sized weirdo named Robbie (Brady Allen) who bunks with Alex and her family after his single mother (wink!) is carted off in an ambulance. Flash-forward five years to the fall of 2011, where we meet 15-year-old Alex (Kathryn Newton), who lives in suburban Henderson, Nevada, with her squabbling parents and little brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). (But if you haven't, then scram now, or learn some things the rest of us already know.) "PA4" opens with a brief refresher of scenes from the end of "PA2," with common-thread Katie (Katie Featherston) claiming her young nephew Hunter and padding off into the night in bare feet and blood-covered pajamas. Which brings us to the disappointingly utilitarian "Paranormal Activity 4," a film strictly for those who've seen 1, 2, and 3. The sequels followed the "If it ain't broke" rule, finding inventive ways of sticking to the formula while telling the evolving story. Oren Peli's original "PA," you may recall, became a surprise hit in 2009 a la "The Blair Witch Project," thanks to a lean, ingenious found-footage premise that delivered jolts from screwing with our tightly wound psyches rather than assaulting our eyes with torture and gore. The first three films in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise have banked a little north of a half-billion dollars worldwide, and in comparison with how much they cost to make, the gross is almost pure, uncut gravy. oh, I'm gonna guess exactly one year from now. Which is more than can be said for many movies I'v reviewed in the past.SPOILER ALERT! There will be a "Paranormal Activity 5" in. The mythology of Paranormal Activity (as well as the films themselves) become less gripping with every entry.Īctivity 4 manages to just scrape by enough points with all its merits put together to achieve a "not quite the most abominable crap I've been subjected to in my life" and somehow barely held a decent amount of my attention for up to ninety minutes. There is virtually nothing original about the piece, even the best element it has going for it (creepy kids) is completely blown out of the water by films the likes of The Children. Though I'm pleased that the marketing stratagems of Paranormal Activity 2 onwards have helped bring horror a little more into the mainstream, the issue is that its only garbage like this thats now being approved. Not physically the most boring film I've ever seen, Activity 4 does however manage to be one of the most shallow. A film series that started droll gets increasingly unbearable in Henry Joost's Paranormal Activity 4.
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