jaguiar313 Review of Paranormal Activity 4

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Weaker entry but ,still spooky fun and with some good chills

[6/10 · 18 October 2012]

I'm a fan of this series and I have to say I liked Paranormal Activity 4. It's not one of the strongest entries in the series but, I still had spooky fun with it and the last act delivered the goods. I think there still is enough of what fans like about this series to entertain but, next entry better start cranking things up and taking risks. This entry opens up in 2011. A family in Nevada gets new neighbors across the street. A strange boy named Robbie (Brady Allen) and his single mom, Katie (Katie Featherston). When his mom is suddenly taken to the hospital, the family takes creepy Robbie in. Once there, teen Alex (Kathryn Newton) starts to notice strange occurrences as Robbie befriends her little brother, Wyatt (Aiden Lovecamp) and so she and boyfriend, Ben (Matt Shively) set up cameras and set the household laptops to record to get to the bottom of things that are going bump in the night…and bump in the day, too. Soon Alex begins to believe Robbie is not the only new occupant in the house. The first act seems to be a bit choppy and there are a few odd edits throughout and it is in act 1 in which the film has it's strongest feeling of déjà vu but, things start to pick up steam during the middle act and the movie really starts to click and become more it's own thing. Then the third act locks in and delivers the goods up to and including the spine-chilling climax. Sure, along the way there are some familiar elements but, you wouldn't remove Jason's hockey mask would you? There were enough new wrinkles in my book to keep things going, as well as, some subtle hints as to where the mythos might be headed. Not to mention a surprising reveal, too. The cast are all fine. The parents get the least screen time and character development but, the teens are likable, Wyatt is sweet and Robbie is very creepy. Series regular Katie Featherston gets a bigger role then early screenings suggested and without spoiling things, I liked how the character was used and Katie Featherston did a good job with her role. All in all there is some definite 'been there done that' but, I think fans will enjoy this entry enough to want more and that's what the filmmakers will have to deliver next time to keep this series going. It's time to really take some chances and give us something to really bite our nails over. Paranormal Activity 4 is a nice snack to hold us over till then but, it's time for Katie and company to give us a full meal of new frights and new surprises. More like 6.5