Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Dec 14, 2011 21:57:52 GMT -5
Plot:In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.
Cast:
Christopher Nicholas Smith
Lauren Bittner
Chloe Csengery
Jessica Tyler Brown
Dustin Ingram
Maria Olsen
My Thoughts:Already smelling weakness?
Review:Is the "Paranormal Activity" franchise already getting weak? After two films, "Paranormal Activity". The smash hit of 2009. And "Paranormal Activity 2"...the equally smashing-hit...of 2010. Now, this fall we received "Paranormal Activity 3". My thoughts? This second sequel needed some of the cobwebs cleared from its "old haunt". This time around, we get taken into prequel land. Where we go back to the 80's with Katie and Kristi. The two sisters from the first two movies.
Sucks because, after a possessed Katie snatches baby Hunter at the end of "PA 2"...I was looking extra-forward to seeing how part 3 would shake out. But for some reason (mostly financial)...they decided to cash in on the franchise by making us wait, squirm, and wretch for part 4. Which would continue on from where 2 left off. Come on Paramount. How "douchie" can you be? So the third movie takes us to the 80's where Katie and Kristi are little girls. And begin their would-be, nightmarish encounter with Toby.
The invisible demon who is also the franchises big star. Go figure. Toby however this time around is a lot more subdued than usual. In the first two films. He is extra aggressive. But in the prequel, he seems to love just scaring the crap out of Katie and Kristi. And their parents. But this is explained quickly within the films story arc. Which informs us that Toby feeds on fear. Obviously, he apparently takes quite awhile to "charge"...his battery. But that doesn't mean "PA 3" doesn't have some scary moments.
Just not enough, to measure up to the absolute and sheer terror of the first two films. But then again...when has a prequel ever been as good as its predecessors? Prequels are the new Sequels! People have always said "sequels suck". But in the current horror genre. It is the prequel, that is now the "epic fail". Of most genre franchises. "Paranormal Activity 3" brings back the same old camera tricks used in the previous 2 movies.
Except, this time around...we get a more generic camera attached to a fan device. Since after all, it's the 80's. So we get a cool motion camera, from side-to-side thing working. Problem is, the camera tricks in part 3 just are not as strong, suspenseful, or intense as the past 2 movies. In fact, a lot of what makes this franchise work is absent in the prequel. No infamous stomping up the stairs, the vintage low rumble before the demon does something scary is also missing.
And the creeping fear just is not here this time around. Part 2 had me on edge. Part 3? Had me intrigued. But not much of a rush beyond that. The video camera stuff made the movie feel real enough. Beyond the typical horror films these days where soundtracks are blaring and pop stars are making lame cameos. But the third movie forgets what brought it to the dance. Instead, it tones down the scares and dread.
I guess because it's going back 3 whole decades to tell a prequel story. But in all actuality. I felt a film that returns to the 80's era, should've been even scarier. And while "Paranormal Activity 3" wasn't even close to being awful. That doesn't mean by its own franchise standards. That it was great. The movie never gives you that one memorable freak-out moment. And you keep waiting, but you never get it. Instead, you get one creepy moment involving the two sisters running upstairs. And one moment involving the babysitter.
Both of which try to be scary on a level 10. But only crack about the 7 range. The films main goal it seems was to explain the background of the demon haunting. And the demon itself. Well, the film fails at that. Nothing new is explained here really. And it seemed that by act 3, the movie loses a lot of its originality. And goes for cheap thrills and popcorn scares. And within all of that, there were some scenes (again)...missing from the movie yet seen in the trailer.
A big let down, considering this franchise has never dabbled in that kind of deception before. I would hate to see it become a habit. By the time ending comes though. Things are still creepy and intriguing. But can get bogged down and annoying at times because of the randomness of many things. All in all, it felt like what should've been a 2hr film. Was compressed and crammed into an hour and 20 minutes. Big mistake? Probably. But I've seen worse.
Positives:Three stand out scare moments in the movie work well enough for the genre this film plays in.
Negatives:The sense of fear was not with this particular installment. It seemed too relaxed. Too chilled and laid back. As if it felt it had scared us the first two times. So it's earned a much needed holiday. I beg to differ however. The ending was over the top at times, and the story never served its ultimate purpose of dropping some more knowledge on us about Toby and the haunting. And it ever had the audacity to raise more questions about other unrelated issues! Go figure!
Overall:Two stars out of four.