DVD Review - Paranormal Activity 3

When the first Paranormal Activity was released, it played opposite the latest Saw film. It was the under dog. It was an independent film that offered an innovative take on the horror genre and the found-footage genre. With it being such a smash hit, Paramount greenlit a sequel to try to maintain the momentum, which worked. With the third film though, the momentum may still be there, but the novelty has more than worn off.

This movie is basically a regurgitation of the first and more of a rip off of Poltergeist (1982). It echoes the Steven Spielberg-produced horror in that it revolves around a little girl who is the focus of hauntings. Eerie things begin to happen like strange noises and things moving by themselves. There is one such scene that is a total callback to the kitchen scene in Poltergeist.

What stretches credibility is the notion that the characters, even in times of outrageous crisis, would stop to pick up  a video camera. Yes, the filmmakers justify the insane amount of recording, but it gets to a point of ridiculousness. There's also nothing more or new to the narrative. It hits all the same beats as the first. As such, it's so predictable and so not scary.

One Star out of Five.
Rated R for some violence, brief sexuality and drug use.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 23 mins