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Sunday, November 4, 2012
MOVIE REVIEW
Paranormal Activity 4
When Things Go Bump In The Day, Early And Often
Kathryn Newton as Alex in "Paranormal Activity", directed by Henry Joost and
Ariel Schulman.
Paramount Pictures
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Sunday, November 4,
2012
The demons are tired of Southern California, and have
decided, in this fourth go-around for the
"Paranormal Activity" franchise born
in 2009, to head next door to Nevada, specifically to the town of Henderson,
where mopped-haired Robbie (Brady Allen), a mysterious boy, seems to have
dropped in solo out of nowhere amidst soccer moms.
Katie (Katie Featherston), demon alumna, is seen at the start with baby nephew
Hunter, whom she abducted during
last year's film. We are reminded that
the whereabouts of Katie and Hunter are unknown, but where "Paranormal Activity
4" is going is hardly a mystery.
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, directors of the near-appalling and overrated
"Catfish",
return to direct "Paranormal Activity 4", a huge step down from their effort on
the third installment. A new family is the testing ground for demonic
activity, with Alex (Kathryn Newton), an adolescent who has the typical teen
strife with her self-absorbed and uninvolved parents. Her boyfriend is
tethered to her, mostly via the camera on her laptop, which she carries around,
and whose perspective we see her, mainly in close-ups. Alex's stepbrother
Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp) is going through changes of his own, likely prompted by
the presence of Robbie, who is virtually mute throughout, except in key moments
when he's not.
There was a very recent time when "Paranormal Activity" meant something fresh or
interesting, but the
second, third and this fourth effort are all about dodging
the audience's expectation of being scared, and placing scares where one least
expects them. The problem is that screenwriter Christopher Landon isn't
able to elude audiences either with a story that is interesting independent of
the horror genre in a sufficient way until the conclusion where the sole genuine
fright occurs. By then however, what has transpired before has been empty,
disengaged and mundane. The demons have become bolder, striking more often
during the day, rendering the repetitive "Night #1" count-ups redundant.
The video camera clock has become a relic. The franchise needs to freshen
up and shake it and the audience up.
Making ordinary household scares scary for audiences isn't as scary as it used
to be. The problem with "Paranormal Activity 4" is that to not be scared
is to be numb, yet the film's garden variety of fearfest has been diminished and
blunted with repetitive red herrings and is even more numbing than scary.
So what is one to do? End the franchise? Get a better story
together? One thing is true: "Paranormal Activity" has become an instant
parody of itself, and that isn't good news.
Also with: Alexondra Lee, Stephen Dunham, Brian Boland, Sara Mornell, William
Juan Prieto, Sprague Grayden.
"Paranormal Activity 4" is rated R by the Motion
Picture Association Of America for language and some violence/terror. The film's running time is
one hour and 28 minutes.
COPYRIGHT 2012. POPCORNREEL.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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