Paranormal Activity 3 Review (Minor Spoilers)

Not this shit again!

THE MOVIE: CRITIC'S TAKE

WHY?!?! Why are they doing another one? Not just another one but an origin story? The first one scared me to the point where I was looking around the house looking for anything strange, let alone sleeping with the lights on. The second one went too Hollywood for me and left me tasteless. I wasn't hoping for anything special other than being scared. Yeah there's a few jumps and scares here but nothing that you will take back home with you. It's better than the last one despite it going back to bull$hit land.

STORY

It begins with the second one. Katie brings her sister a box of old VHS tapes of them when they were little. After looking through the box they realize that they don't remember any of them. During the events of the second one the box magically disappears. We jump to a birthday party in 1988. Everything seems fine and the two little sisters are having a good time. The stepfather introduces himself to his new camera. He uses it for everything it seems. Videotaping his daily work, the kids, his wife smoking pot, and a little fun in the bedroom. Too bad an earthquake happened and they had to flee the room. Good thing the camera was still running because it caught the demon knocking off dust from it's body! It damn sure didn't look human either.

WTF!

This leads the husband to film the room, the children's room, and the kitchen/living room. He learns that Kristi has an imaginary friend named Tobi. He catches her talking to him in the dead of night. He asks her about him and she tells him that he's tall, humanlike, and friendly. Soon weird things start to happen like weird noises coming from through out the house, Katie being locked in the closet with a demon, the babysitter playing hide and go seek, which leads to her boobie being grabbed (you will see what I'm talking about when you see the film), and Katie's pony tail being pulled lifting her off the ground! Despite all of this the mother doesn't believe a single word from anyone. That all changes when see witnesses all of her kitchen appliances including the table fall from the ceiling.

I'm innocent I swear

This leads to her taking them to her Grandma's house. Too bad that Tobi didn't get the memo that he should stay put and follows them. Turns out that Grandma had a plan for them all. I won't give away the ending but it left me wondering "Why was this film even made?" I get that they wanted to continue the saga but the way it's going it's becoming ridiculous. When you run out of good ideas for a trilogy it's time to hang it up. I hope it's not the last piece to this movie puzzel because It shouldn't end like this. Having the girls do that with the demon is just plain disgusting.

Feel my pain

ACTING

The acting here is pretty decent at best. The parents felt like they were truly in love and cared for the children. The two little girls played their part well and it felt like they were truly scared. The girls made the movie believable and that's a hard gig for little children. I doubt many people will complain about this department. They do pull you into the movie which is a very good thing.

I will eat your soul

SPECIAL EFFECTS

I like the special effects. Much better than the last two films. The kitchen scene was a big surprise and a highlight of the movie. The way Tobi played around with the babysitter left the audience in awe. You barely get that reaction with horror films. I see good things in the future for this special effects team.

Sexy

WRITING AND DIRECTING

The directing here was decent. For handheld cameras you get to see everything you need to see. It's the writing I have the problem with. The parents reactions was unrealistic. The stepdad's friend gets clawed in the stomach and witnesses the wrath of Tobi and all he does is leave and tells him to watch the tape? If that was me I would have grabbed the little girl, left the camera, and high tide my ass out of there and never looked back... not clean up the mess Tobi made. The mother was just as stupid. I couldn't help but shake my head.


THE END

Overall the movie is a must see. It's better than the last films when it comes to special effects, acting, and directing. The story, however, wasn't better than the first. It raped away any redemption for this franchise to get better. See it for a good Halloween scare. Then go back to the cashier and ask for a refund. I heard many people in the audience say that on their way out.

OVERALL


STORY - 6 out of 10 (would have been 8 if the ending didn't suck)
ACTING - 7 out of 10
SPECIAL EFFECTS - 8 out of 10
WRITING - 5 out of 10
DIRECTING - 8 out of 10


OVERALL 7 out of 10 (MUST SEE)