October, once know as the month the Saw franchise owned has relinquish it’s hold and the Paranormal Activity franchise has taken over. Following the success of the first two films, many fans left wanting more and to know exactly what this demon/ghost was that was haunting this family. When news originally broke out that Paranormal Activity 3 would be a prequel to the prior films, many felt cheated and disappointed because they wanted to know how the original story would end (much like the Saw films). Die hard fans or new fans of the franchise have nothing to fear because Paranormal Activity 3, though a prequel, answers a few of the questions from the first two films, but opens up an entire new batch at the same time.
The film takes place in 1988 to show how the sisters, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden) were traumatized at an early age by a demon/ghost. Featherston and Grayden do make a appearances in the beginning of the film, but are soon replaced by their younger selves Chloe Csengery (Young Katie) and Jessica Tyler Brown (Young Kristi) through the rest of PA 3. Dennis (Chris Smith), the girls’ wedding videographer step-father/mom’s boyfriend (It’s hard to establish), becomes obsessed with discovering the source of late night noises after an earthquake hits the home. He begins setting up cameras throughout the house in hopes of catching what those noises might be. He also learns that Kristi has an imaginary friend named Toby who might not be so imaginary afterall. In fact, he might be the one making all the noises in the house. After reviewing some of the footage, Dennis begins investigating demonology and also comes across strange symbols which he traces to an occult led by a group of women. When he tries to show/tell the girls mother Julie (Lauren Bittner), she becomes upset and doesn’t believe anything Dennis is saying and blames him for the girls acting the way they are.
The film was Co-directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish), while the screenplay was written by Paranormal Activity 2 co-writer Christopher B. Landon. There was a bit of hesitation when it was announced Joost and Schulman would be helming this film because of their lack of experience, but I will tip my hat to these guys because they pulled off some of the most suspenseful scenes ever in the Paranormal Activity franchise and really make the first person point of view remain effective.
Some of the scariest moments of the film are captured by a camera Dennis has placed on top of the base of an oscillating fan. This camera shot makes the viewers wait nervously while it pans from one side of the room to another in a very slow manner. During this time you have to just sit there thinking and wondering what is going to be in the next room when the camera pans back to it. The technique that
will get you though is that sometimes the camera won’t show anything so you know that it can’t be good on the next come around.
I really don’t want to spoil the film so I won’t go much into the the film’s story lines but I will say that the last 15 minutes of the film will leave you on the edge of your seat. You never see what happens at the end coming and it’s about 10 times more intense than the ending of the first film.
Lets go back to the stars, the girls themselves are the reason why the film is so creepy. There is something about little kids that just makes any horror film that much creepier because, lets be honest, little kids are freaking creepy! The girls do an amazing job in their roles and really convince you that this might actually be real footage (Although we know it’s not). I’m not really sure about the ages of the girls but regardless, they put on a performance I could/would never have been able to do. The most impressive scenes occur when Kristi talks to Toby off camera, she really makes you believe someone or something might actually be there out of frame of the camera.
Paranormal Activity 3 is, in my opinion, the best film thus far in the franchise and I really like the fact that they decided to do a prequel in this stage of the franchise. It adds so much more to the mythology and it will have you craving for another film next October. Will they continue the prequel route and show the girls as teenagers or will they move forward with the story and show us who keeps finding these tapes and why they are so interested in this family? Only time will tell. But if you love suspenseful/horror films and want to be creeped out by little kids for the rest of your life, then I strongly suggest you see Paranormal Activity 3 this weekend when it opens on October 21st nationwide.
Rating: Same technique for the scares but with little kids and what looks to be a very interesting backstory for future films 8.3/10
P.S I really didn’t want to go to sleep last night after seeing the film, so be warned!
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