Paranormal gives a taste of rising tension, sub-par horror

Alas, another year of mediocre frightening films this Halloween. However, the trend for these modern horror films is to give the audience some rising tension and jump rather than send them home frightened stiff with cold sweats and nightmares. The same goes for the fourth installment of Paranormal Activity.

This time around, the camera is still shaking, but the movie goers probably won’t be. The paranormal activity continues as Katie the ghoul (played by Katie Featherston) returns with a mysterious child named Robbie (played by Brady Allen) who finds himself staying with a family who Katie proceeds to haunt and terrify. Although Robbie is seen frequently throughout the movie, he really has no significant role.

Alex (played by Kathryn Newton) is the teenage girl in the family who starts to discover the unusual occurrences by recording video chats with her boyfriend. As the movie goes along, Katie seems to be hiding out at the home across the street as well as in the supernatural realm waiting for her next victims.

Sad to say, but the other Paranormal Activity films were much better. Apart from your mini scares here and there, the audience doesn’t get the chills until the actual closing moments of the film. Paranormal Activity 4 has no characters that develop interest. If this is part of a so-called popular franchise, then anybody can make a horror film.

This film could have been a lot better if the ghosts of Hunter and Toby were at least zombie-looking and gory. Paranormal Activity 4 ruined what could have been a solid trilogy. It fails to explain a lot of unanswered questions from the original Paranormal Activity films.

The film was rated R, but it felt as if the movie was intended for much younger viewers. The content was not graphic, and the profanity was kept to a minimum. It was more like a watered-down family horror film than another hyped-up franchise horror spectacular.

Paranormal Activity 4 wanted to be Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror and The Blair Witch Project all rolled into one film. However, it failed to do what these other films accomplished: tell a decent story. Let’s hope a fifth film of the Paranormal Activity franchise doesn’t come out—that would be the real horror.

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