Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Director - Christopher Landon (Freaky, Happy Death Day)

Starring - Andrew Jacobs (Lasso, The Wrong Boyfriend), Jorge Diaz (Arrested Development, American Carnage), and Gabrielle Walsh (Lucifer, The Flash)

Release Date - 2014

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "You're one of us now"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)(Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I finished Paranormal Activity 4 I was ready to take a deep dive into The Marked Ones. I was actually excited after seeing how story focused 4 was. I know 4 was far from perfect and still difficult to finish but it still had a solid story that I could get behind. However, as soon as I hit play on The Marked Ones I knew this one was going to be different in a good way. This was the film that the franchise needed and the movie they should have started with. 

      The film follows two friends who find themselves graduating high school and preparing for the real world when one of them finds themselves in possession of a camera. He starts recording everything and eventually records a former classmate running from his apartment building. Soon it’s revealed that a woman in the building was murdered and he had footage of the killer fleeing. They decide to break into her apartment when the police leave to investigate where they uncover more than they expected with one of them having a closer connection to the deceased than they realized. 

      The Marked Ones is one hell of a story that is able to pull off the found footage aspect while giving viewers something they can follow. The movie gives us an even deeper look into the coven and the first-born sons that was previously only mentioned in the films until 4. I really like this story especially now that it is being explored more. The acting in this one is probably the best in the franchise, at least up to this point. The characters are really likable, full of personality, and the cast does one hell of a job in their roles. The dialogue is a lot smoother than previous films and the awkward scenes are non-existent. The story for this one explores the blood cult and the first-born sons who are called the marked ones in this one. I absolutely love this and how it was approached. It gives us so many layers to the story that the first 3 films lacked while opening the door to the possibility of even more expansion in subsequent sequels. Finally, the film has some jump scares, a few visual effects, and that’s about the end of it. We might get a little blood but that’s it. Overall, The Marked Ones is the peak of the franchise and I seriously hope the follow up explores what was established here. Hopefully they learned a lesson and that genre fans don’t want to watch rich white people scream over pots and pans falling. I can recommend this one so check it out.