Paranormal Activity 3 Has Over Played It's Hand

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

Directed by HENRY JOOST and ARIEL SCHULMAN

Starring CHLOE CSENGERY, JESSICA TYLER BROWN, 

LAUREN BITTNER, and CHRISTOPHER NICHOLAS SMITH

Somehow I don't think the filmmakers intended for most of the audience to laugh their way through Paranormal Activity 3. Admittedly I was in a college theater with a primarily college-aged audience, so perhaps the audience laughed when they weren't supposed to? The more likely scenario is that the audience got it right.

Written by returning screenwriter Christopher Langdon and directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, Paranormal Activity 3 is promising at first. Set in 1988, we're quickly introduced to Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith), a wedding videographer and new live-in boyfriend of Julieplayed by Lauren Bitner. Julie just so happens to be the mother of the doomed sisters, Katie and Kristi. Of course in 1988, Katie (Chloe Csengery ) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) are kids and not the adults knocked around by invisible entities in 2006.

Back in 1988, Dennis starts to hear unexplainable noises in the house. Dennis' occupation as a videographer is the writer's quick and dirty explanation as to why these poor folks are, yet again, video-taping themselves. Not finding a logical explanation, Dennis suspects ghostly activities. So what does a wedding videographer worth his weight in salt do? It goes without saying that he sets up his trusty 1980's camcorders. I believe they were called handy cams or Video8's. (That's a great piece of 80's trivia.)

Dennis soon enlists his spooky and paranormally-inclined friend, Randy (Dustin Ingram) in his investigation. Randy is supposed to be the film's comic relief, but since the majority of the film is so laughable it's a moot point. The relationship between Dennis and Randy is actually one of the more interesting relationships of the film.

Needless to say, as in the previous films, Dennis gets more than he bargains for and the activity escalates. Kristi talks to unseen imaginary friends, things move around and go bump in the night, and a baby sitter gets scared out of her wits. These are the more entertaining aspects of Paranormal Activity 3. The first clue that the film is in a downward spiral are the cheap scares.

Unfortunately the slow and steady build-up of the previous two films are lost in Paranormal Activity 3. In it's place are people jumping out of closets, in front of cameras, and the old "don't turn around" routine. This is lazy writing and it seems to be the rule, not the exception, the higher up the sequel ladder you go. Paranormal Activity 2 was unique in that it was a semi-decent follow-up toParanormal Activity. You should have no such illusions with Paranormal Activity 3.

One could believe the Blair Witch shenanigans the first two times, but a third time? With VHS tapes no less? After the film's over, the viewer is left to wonder if the ill-fated family is cursed to film themselves for posterity's sake or perhaps insurance purposes?

Another negative is the nostalgia or lack thereof. The 80's set design was weak and could have been stronger. Save the 1970s, the 80s was perhaps the worst fashion decade most of us lived through. Why not amp up the nostalgia and make this film totally 80's-riffic? The babysitter was rocking the look, but the mom could have been styled better, as she was far too modern. Simply put,Julie should have been in 'mom-jeans.' If you want to see a great science fiction throwback, watch this summer's blockbuster Super 8.

But I digress, Paranormal Activity 3 is truly an exercise in excess. When the original Paranormal Activity came out it was psychologically terrifying and a welcome relief to the blood-drenched mayhem of the Saw franchise. That said, the previous two Paranormal films sufficiently tied up most loose ends, rendering a third film utterly useless. Despite this, I entered the theater thinking that perhaps there was more story to be told, specifically about the sister's luckless childhoods via VHS tapes. I was wrong and more importantly so were the writers and producers. Save yourself some money and wait for it on dvd.

Words of warning: Many of the scenes shown in the trailers are not in the movie. In fact, several teaser scenes that hooked the audience are either absent or filmed differently.

I really liked the first two, but I was not impressed with the latest installment in the franchise. You can see my review of the second film from 2010 here. Please don't be one of those folks waiting at the theater at midnight. It's not worth it. See it at the $1.50 or wait for it on dvd.

Review - http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-raleigh/paranormal-activity-3-is-laughable-and-not-the-good-way-review

Katie (Katie Featherston) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden) all grown up in 2006.

TWO OUT OF FIVE STARS