Paranormal Activity 3 Review

Posted by Nolan Woodford on 10.23.2011

We can all hope that death finds us something better to do than haunt this family...



Dennis: Christopher Nicholas Smith
Julie: Lauren Bittner
Young Katie: Chloe Csengery
Young Kristi: Jessica Tyler Brown
Randy: Dustin Ingram
Katie: Katie Featherson
Kristi: Sprague Grayden

Paramount Pictures presents a film directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost. Written by Christopher B. Landon. Based off of characters created by Oren Peli.
Rated R for some violence, language, brief sexuality and drug use
Running Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Release Date: October 21, 2011

When your life is being threatened by some sort of supernatural force, at what point do you put down the video camera? For the extended family of those haunted in the Paranormal Activity series, the answer is never. As the franchise continues to be milked for the tens of millions of dollars it is sure to haul in at the box office, the notion that this is "found footage" becomes more and more preposterous. While I'm sure fans will argue that you're supposed to suspend disbelief in that regard, isn't the whole point that you're supposed to kind of think this may be real? Isn't that why the original was such a hit in the first place?

Paranormal Activity 3 is an origin story, taking place in 1988 when the two sisters haunted in the first two films were about six years old. Their mother (Bittner) is living with her boyfriend (Smith), who shoots wedding video and has an affinity for recording every little thing. After capturing something that he thinks may be a spirit while trying to make a homemade sex tape, Dennis immediately insists on keeping cameras running nearly 24/7 throughout the house. The "spirit" doesn't look like anything more than some particles falling from the ceiling during an earthquake. But it's enough for Dennis to devote his every free waking moment to the idea that the house could be haunted.

If you've seen either of the previous installments in the Paranormal Activity series (and if you haven't, why would you want to see this one?) you know how this is going to work. The spirit involved begins to slowly let its presence be known in the house by moving a door or breaking a light bulb. Since there is always at least one person in the house - in this case, the mother - who is convinced that their house isn't possessed, the spirit will do a little bit more as the nights progress until it can no longer be ignored. I won't spoil any of the actual "activity", but the fact that someone with access to these videos would find some of these events to be little more than a hoax is preposterous.

A fair number of the events are captured on the directors' favorite gimmick, a videocamera mounted to an oscillating fan motor that goes back and forth between the living room and kitchen. This allows for some events to be seen and not heard, which I will not argue with. It also allows for a lot of time to be spent panning across a brick column to help fill the barely-feature-length 78 minutes from when the film starts to when the credits roll.

That doesn't mean Paranormal Activity 3 needs to be any longer than it is. As with previous installments, not a lot happens until the last ten or fifteen minutes of the movie. Before its climax, the only scares are cheap and temporary. The legit "thrills" are no scarier than when someone jumps out to spook Dennis and make fun of his suspicions. By the time the film does reach its conclusion, you'll likely have more questions than answers. Perhaps they're being saved for Paranormal Activity 4 and another $12.00 movie ticket.

I haven't particularly enjoyed any of the Paranormal Activity films, but I understood the appeal of the original. Perhaps if I didn't find its main characters to be so unlikeable (especially Micah, who made me side with the demon) I would've been able to be more spooked. The formula has not changed one iota from the first to the third, taking away any of the "What if this is real?" appeal of the original. I don't blame Paramount for going back to the well every October, though. These films have made a killing at the box office, and this will surely be no exception. (It wasn't until Saw VI that fans truly started to give up on that franchise.) Had a few F-Bombs been left out, Paranormal Activity 3 should've garnered a PG-13 rating, ensuring an even bigger box office return. Perhaps the R rating makes it seem scarier.

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The 411: If you've seen one Paranormal Activity movie, you've pretty much seen them all. The third installment in the franchise stays true to its formula, which is one that I feel lacks the content and thrills to fill a feature-length motion picture. Any mystique the original had has long since dissipated, but that doesn't mean Paranormal Activity 4 isn't hitting theaters in October 2012. If you have to keep seeing these movies, they should only be seen in theaters with a large audience. Having a crowd to yell and speculate with is a must to pass the time.

Final Score:  4.0   [ Poor ]