Chances are you won't read very far into this review. In fact, most of you have stopped. Why read a review about the fourth movie in a horror series that uses the same gimmick (found footage) each time? I don't blame you, I blame the game. So you're off the hook.
For the rest of you, I'll lay it out simply. The fourth Paranormal Activity movie isn't bad, just not the classic that the first one was or even parts of the next two were. This is not uncommon with horror franchises (Saw). It is worth seeing in the theater (although probably not IMAX), as long as you're invested in the series and have indeed seen the preceding three.
The theme of the day is, again, possession. We've learned a few things from prior PA movies and, without giving them away here, I can note that the events in this film take place approximately six years after the events of the second film (the third was more of a prequel about the childhood days of Katie and her sister).
As you may recall, the movies are shot as if we're seeing them through a camera (camcorder, laptop, camera phone, etc.), with the intent being to place us directly in the perspective of the particular character (or room). This lends quite a bit of verisimilitude to the proceedings, but it's a trope that can be overdone pretty quickly.
To account for this, directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman use laptops and the established video chats between plucky teen Alex (Kathryn Newton) and her boyfriend Ben (Matt Shively). A recorded chat shows something weird about the kid who lives across the street, Robbie (Brady Allen); Robbie quickly comes to live with Alex and her family when his mother needs to be hospitalized, a malady that's never explained.
Strange things are afoot in the house. Knives disappear. Chandeliers fall. Robbie is as lifelike as a Village of the Damned kid, although he gets along well with Alex's younger brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). Meanwhile mother Holly (Alexondra Lee) and father Doug (Stephen Dunham) don't get along, and the kids notice. Well, Alex does. Hard to know what's going on in Robbie's head, and suddenly Wyatt is more withdrawn.
The shock factor is in full play here. By now, you've become inured to things skulking in the background or people being dragged by unseen forces. The use of a night-vision feature on a laptop camera does break up that tedium, though, as you can see some presence sitting on the couch next to Robbie at one point. What is it? Viewers of the first three movies might have a good idea.
I remember seeing the first in the series. I saw it at home, well after it'd become a huge phenomenon. It frightened me, I have to admit. For a day or so afterward, I tracked creaks and other noises in the house. That's a pretty effective film. I saw the other three in the theater, and although I became more used to the tricks of the found-footage trade, I wasn't less scared. This fourth one, although a little slower than its ancestors, is still pretty scary, and I think it all has to do with the perspective, usually of young Alex. What she sees, we see. That involves us, and we jump when she jumps and are trapped when she's trapped.
Of course, we don't see just Alex's adventures; thanks to Ben's placement of laptop cameras in various rooms, the movie switches to different areas of the house when something's a-happening. This is helpful, because if your lead character is trapped in a room and all you hear is noises, you as audience member kind of want more of the story.
Some may disagree with this with some validity, but I liked the ending. From the end of the previous films, we know the history of our characters, so we know what's behind all of the supernatural goings-on. I'm reminded of the great Spanish horror film Rec, which had a final scene that is utterly unforgettable; Paranormal Activity 4's isn't quite as ferocious, but it's still a ghastly, dread-inducing coda. I'm sure there'll be a fifth, and as usual I'll be there to see it.
For the rest of you, I'll lay it out simply. The fourth Paranormal Activity movie isn't bad, just not the classic that the first one was or even parts of the next two were. This is not uncommon with horror franchises (Saw). It is worth seeing in the theater (although probably not IMAX), as long as you're invested in the series and have indeed seen the preceding three.
The theme of the day is, again, possession. We've learned a few things from prior PA movies and, without giving them away here, I can note that the events in this film take place approximately six years after the events of the second film (the third was more of a prequel about the childhood days of Katie and her sister).
As you may recall, the movies are shot as if we're seeing them through a camera (camcorder, laptop, camera phone, etc.), with the intent being to place us directly in the perspective of the particular character (or room). This lends quite a bit of verisimilitude to the proceedings, but it's a trope that can be overdone pretty quickly.
To account for this, directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman use laptops and the established video chats between plucky teen Alex (Kathryn Newton) and her boyfriend Ben (Matt Shively). A recorded chat shows something weird about the kid who lives across the street, Robbie (Brady Allen); Robbie quickly comes to live with Alex and her family when his mother needs to be hospitalized, a malady that's never explained.
Strange things are afoot in the house. Knives disappear. Chandeliers fall. Robbie is as lifelike as a Village of the Damned kid, although he gets along well with Alex's younger brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). Meanwhile mother Holly (Alexondra Lee) and father Doug (Stephen Dunham) don't get along, and the kids notice. Well, Alex does. Hard to know what's going on in Robbie's head, and suddenly Wyatt is more withdrawn.
The shock factor is in full play here. By now, you've become inured to things skulking in the background or people being dragged by unseen forces. The use of a night-vision feature on a laptop camera does break up that tedium, though, as you can see some presence sitting on the couch next to Robbie at one point. What is it? Viewers of the first three movies might have a good idea.
I remember seeing the first in the series. I saw it at home, well after it'd become a huge phenomenon. It frightened me, I have to admit. For a day or so afterward, I tracked creaks and other noises in the house. That's a pretty effective film. I saw the other three in the theater, and although I became more used to the tricks of the found-footage trade, I wasn't less scared. This fourth one, although a little slower than its ancestors, is still pretty scary, and I think it all has to do with the perspective, usually of young Alex. What she sees, we see. That involves us, and we jump when she jumps and are trapped when she's trapped.
Of course, we don't see just Alex's adventures; thanks to Ben's placement of laptop cameras in various rooms, the movie switches to different areas of the house when something's a-happening. This is helpful, because if your lead character is trapped in a room and all you hear is noises, you as audience member kind of want more of the story.
Some may disagree with this with some validity, but I liked the ending. From the end of the previous films, we know the history of our characters, so we know what's behind all of the supernatural goings-on. I'm reminded of the great Spanish horror film Rec, which had a final scene that is utterly unforgettable; Paranormal Activity 4's isn't quite as ferocious, but it's still a ghastly, dread-inducing coda. I'm sure there'll be a fifth, and as usual I'll be there to see it.