Review: Paranormal Activity 4
A new
family experience unsettling and possibly paranormal things as they take care
of a neighbour’s kid named Robbie (Brady Allen). Teen daughter Kathryn Newton
is convinced that Robbie is a little bit creepy and ropes her douchy boyfriend
into helping her investigate. Meanwhile, Robbie and the family’s similarly aged
boy Wyatt seem to be bonding, and that’s when things get even weirder.
Real-life couple Alexondra Lee and the late Stephen Dunham (who died after
filming, tragically) play Newton’s parents, typical Doubting Thomas’s.
It’s not
supposed to be like this. Oh sure, I could say that “Friday the 13th Part
3” and “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” are
the best films in a crap series, but for the most part, sequels are supposed to
get progressively worse, not better. The first “Paranormal Activity” was
a pretty effective ‘found footage’ horror film that even managed to make me a
little uneasy during the middle of the day. The second one was appalling in its
blatant and lazy mimicry of the first film. I was never able to get into it
because I already knew to expect a whole lot of nothing before shit started
getting fucked up, and thus spent most of the film sitting on my hands. The
third one, well that was even worse, a shameful and frankly desperate cash
grab. So this 2012 film from directors Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman, and
writer Christopher Landon (the same team behind “Paranormal Activity 3”)
has to be the worst one of all, right? Actually it’s surprisingly watchable. I
know, I’m shocked too, but it’s the truth.
The funny
thing is, it’s not even all that different, it simply works better than the
previous too, if a long way from the first film’s effectiveness. The characters
are the most likeable since the first film, the cinematography by Doug Emmett
shows some really good shot composition, with creepiness turning up in the
corner of the frame silently, which is always creepier than some kind of loud
musical sting. Emmett also supplies relatively steady handheld camerawork
without it being so steady that it shatters the illusion. I also have to credit
a particularly brilliant piece of misdirection involving a chandelier. That one
got me! There’s also a legitimately upsetting and horrifying bit involving a
bathtub that thankfully turns out to be a fake-out. Sick bastards. Meanwhile, I
vaguely recognised Alexondra Lee but not in any way that I was able to pinpoint
where, so I just assumed I was wrong, until I saw her name in the credits. Even
then I had to check IMDb to see whether it was “Dawson’s Creek” or “Party
of Five” I remembered her from. Turns out it was the latter, and
probably “Boston Public” too, but boy that’s going back a long
way, unlike the previous two films that featured a fairly prominent cast member
of “24”. If lead actress Kathryn Newton doesn’t go on to something
else after this, I’ll be very surprised. She’s particularly good, and has
something about her that is very appealing. Brady Allen’s Robbie, meanwhile, is
the creepiest kid since “Orphan”. The little shit is unsettling
from moment one- but is he the one you need to keep your eye on? Cute “Shining” reference
involving a very familiar-looking toy tricycle, by the way.
It’s a real
shame that this is “Paranormal Activity 4” and not “Paranormal
Activity 2” because it’s a respectable follow-up. It’s nothing great,
and apparently everyone else hated it, but I was seriously expecting a turkey
and this is nothing of the sort.
Rating: C+
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