Starring: Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, Dan Gill, Ivy George, Olivia Taylor Dudley
Studios: Blumhouse Productions, Paramount Pictures
Release Dates:
Plot: A family must protect their daughter as a satanic cult tries to use her in a ritual to give life to a demon.
Personally, I was a big fan of the Paranormal Activity franchise. It is one of the best horror series to ocme out in recent years, focusing on low-budget scares. The first one is the reason why I love the franchise. I remmber watching it when I was in third or fourth year in high school. I was at a friend's house, and all of us were glued to the monitor of their television, watching as a mysterious entity possess Katie and kill her husband Micah. I was terrified as hell after watchign the film, believing that it was real. But then, the sequels came out, confirming that it was all just a film.
I kinda liked the rest of the sequels that followed, but the one that stood up the most was the Latin spin-off, Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones (2014). It added the fun of playing with video cameras as the two teenage boys go around the neighborhood, videotaping everything, which actually made sense (unlike the rest of the sequels). The first one and this Latin spi-off are actually my first and second most favorite in the franchise.
Now, the time has come to end the series. And Jason Blum decided that the best way to end the series would be to release it in 3D. Although I didn't get to watch it in that format since all theatres here in the Philippines doesn't really buy that it will be a hit in the third dimension. So here's my review of the final installment of the horror franchise that has quite shaped the horror genre for this generation.
I'd like to start off with the story of the film. Although the story is same old, same old, like a guy likes to document everything he does with a video camera (I mean, seriously? ). But what I liked the way that this film fits perfectly into the world of the franchise. This is the exact same way that I liked The Marked Ones, since both films binds the rest of the series together.
Being af ound-footage film, there are times that the film suffers a lot from it's slow pacing. I mean, you sit there for an hour and a half, watching things move around the house that span days of footage. In 3D. No wonder theatres here in the Manila showed it only in regular 3D. There were a lot of boring moments in the film that as a viewer, I really can't help but loose my focus into the film that I'm watching because I feel like my eyes were about to close. I remember the original film and The Marked Ones not being this boring. I don't know why but I guess the way that the story is presented is just too boring. There weren't any humor at all (aside from one joke about two reindeer decorations on top of each other). Aside from this, there is another aspect that made this film boring which I will talk about later on.
The leads in this film were okay. They not really bad that they distract you from focusing on watching the film. They're just normal people acting on camera. But I must say that the real star of this film was Ivy George as Leila Fleege, the little daughter of the Fleege family and whom they must protect from the evil cult that wants her badly.
She was really good. She looked innocent yet scary at times. I wonder how these low-budget films get these good actors and actresses. We need more of them in big-budget films in Hollywood right now.
If there's one last thing that I commend about the film, it's the jump scares all throughout the movie. I think the director did a great job in this aspect because if you're the type of horror guy who likes to jump out of your seat a lot, then this movie is for you. From fyling balls to ghostly apparitions and other in your face effects, this film will do and use anything to surprise you. And that's also another reason why it falls flat.
Why? Because the film suffers from lack of tension. If focuses more on the jump scares during the first and second half of the film, giving way to lesser suspense and dread. This is the reason why I found a large chunk of the film kinda boring. Basically I'm just waiting for the next Peek-A-Boo!
Final Verdict:
Focusing on all on making audiences jump instead of really scaring them, this final installment of the Paranormal Activity franchise kinda feels flat, though the last five minutes were somehow enjoyable and suspeseful.
Rating: ✰✰✰
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