Review: Paranormal Activity 3

[Note: This review is based on the cut screened during Fantastic Fest, which we were told was not final, and which might feature differences from the theatrical release.]

Just two years ago, on an impossibly small budget, Oren Peli started the biggest new horror franchise of the decade. The writing of this marks the first year of my contributing to Slackerwood which began with a review of Paranormal Activity 2, a clever prequel penned by Christopher Landon. Now Landon continues to extend the franchise and expand on the mythos of Katie and Kristi with another prequel set this time in the 1980s: Paranormal Activity 3. This time, his script is directed by Catfish filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.

This setting provides a challenge for a series of found-footage films, as the home security camera technology featured in the first two movies was not yet available back in the Eighties. (However, large, clunky B/W cctv options were available and could have been used.) To work around this, the girls' father is written as a professional videographer who just happens to have a studio full of the newest VHS camcorders he can bring home to record the strange events that have been occuring around the house. In a very clever feat of duct-tape engineering, he even fixes up one camera on top of an oscillating fan so it can cover both the living room and the kitchen. (Through a feat of magical engineering, these VHS cameras are also able to capture widescreen high-def images.)

The strength of Paranormal Activity 3 is the weakness of the series. The "events" are more aggressive, more powerful and scarier than ever, but with each movie we're moving more into the past. Thus, looking at the events in chronological order, the demon that's tormenting Katie and Kristi is apparently growing steadily weaker even as it appears to grow angrier until at the end someone has to die. While we learn a little more about the sisters and their family with each film, Landon is painting himself into a corner. If there is ever to be a Paranormal Activity 4, it can't stick to the same formula and try to extend even deeper into the past. Yet an attempt to jump the story forward in time could present some difficulty in reconciling with the events seen in previous films.

As a fan of the series, I really hope Landon has some kind of master plan worked out that will work around the weak spots in Paranormal Activity 3 and tie everything up neatly. Preferably, that package will include some real explanation for the demon's origin and desires. The long and short of it is these movies are meant to scare you out of your seat, not make sense. If you liked the previous two installments, you should have a good time with Paranormal Activity 3. If not, or if you're on the fence, probably best to sit this one out.