Paranormal Activity 4

Director(s) - Henry Joost (Australian Psycho, Nerve) and Ariel Schulman (Project Power, Viral)

Starring - Stephen Dunham (The Mummy, Savages), Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity, Psychic Experiment), and Matt Shively (The Purge, Santa Clarita Diet)

Release Date - 2012

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "All the activity has lead to this"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I guess every franchise has a turning point. Most of the time that turning point takes a beloved film series and turns it into a quick cash grab. We can physically see the change in quality and most of the time these films are rushed. While the third film is debatable among genre fans, it’s undeniable that Return of the Living Dead 4 and 5 is the turning point in the RotLD series while Pumpkinhead 3 is where that franchise went off the rails. However, it looks like Paranormal Activity 4 is the turning point for this franchise with the film being better than the previous installments. Sadly, it didn’t take much to achieve this feat and PA4 is nothing special, but it is a superior film up to this point. I would never subject myself to this torture again but it’s nice to see something that resembles an actual movie with this film series. 

      The film follows a wealthy teenage girl and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is very intrusive and records her without her knowing which results in some creepy happenings when their neighbor’s son stays with them while she is in the hospital. Things only get stranger when they find strange symbols painting on her little brother and the talk of an imaginary friend before it’s revealed that his “mother” is Katie from the first three films and they need virgin blood to complete a ritual. 

      I went into this one thinking it was going to be just as half assed and dull as the first three films. I was wrong. While the movie doesn’t have many redeeming qualities but it does find a way to actually deliver a story that is coherent and leagues above the previous films. I will not be watching this one again but I can tell this is the turning point for this franchise. The acting in this one is a little more grounded and less awkward than other installments. The dialogue and interactions here are more traditional and something you would find in a normal movie. The small talk and banter normally found in a found footage film is not a prominent here. I liked the cast and the characters they brought to life. They have more personality than any other PA film up to this point and the cast nailed it. The story for this one is a much bigger look into the lore that has barely been touch upon in the other films. We learn a little more about the coven and the blood sacrifice while still keeping the found footage aspect intact. The story we do get could have filled the movie’s run time a little better than it did but it’s a step in the right direction for the franchise. I like the demon and coven angle and really hope we get more of this in the follow up. Finally, we once again get several jump scares and cheesy visual effects that honestly do nothing for the film. Jump scares can be fun if the story works but they missed their mark here and the visual effects are extremely dated and does not really fit the found footage angle like previous films. Overall, Paranormal Activity 4 is a start in the right direction for the franchise, but it still has plenty of room for improvements. I can’t recommend it but it does give me hope for future films in the series.