Review of Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) by Ty H — 24 Jun 2012

"Paranormal Activity 3" scares up big success.

Around two months ago, I wrote an article on the state of the horror genre. I stated the opinion, as I have done in many articles in the past, that the actual "horror" of the horror genre has been mostly absent for a long time, giving way instead to films about copious gore and high body count.

I'm not necessarily decrying movies like that. They have their audience. They are, however, not scary...at all. True fear is psychological, and has little to do with visible violence or cheap jump-out moments. Fear is something built. Something cultivated over time through atmosphere and ambiance, and seeing as how we're drawing close to Halloween, I figured I'd review a horror film.

I had high praise for the first "Paranormal Activity" film back in '09. It was a film that, in my opinion, embraced the idea of fear and horror, and not conventional violence or cheap thrills. It preyed on primal fears we have: fear of the unknown, fear of the dark and those noises at night.

I understand it was not a universally loved film. Some found it boring or didn't get it. I hold to the belief that the "Paranormal Activity" series is best viewed in a dark, crowded theater. Nothing can spread fear like being around other scared people. Even now with its third iteration, this series remains an excellent crowd participation film, and, as a bonus, manages to be pretty scary as well.

"Paranormal Activity 3" is a prequel, set almost entirely in the 1980's, following the two female protagonists from the first film when they were young children. Their mother's boyfriend, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith) is a videographer, who has noticed some odd happenings with the youngest daughter, Kristi, who has been conversing with an sinister sounding imaginary friend named Toby. You know the drill from here: the house gets filmed. Creepy things take place.

Let's get this out of the way first, if you did not like either of the previous films. If you thought they weren't scary or it was too boring for you and whatever your reasons, you won't like this film either. I came down pretty hard on the sequel when it came out last year, mainly because I felt it tried to outdo the original by just doing more of what the original did.

In retrospect, I was probably a little harsh. While I still say that the second film is indeed the weakest of the series, it still works well in the context of the films as a whole, and you probably won't get as much out of the plot without seeing it.

"Paranormal Activity 3" gets some great mileage out of the tension it cultivates. Events in the film snowball from fake scares to real ones, to outright moments of sheer horrific pandemonium. There are some truly memorable scenes in this film and I don't want to spoil a single one, because in truth that's where the heart of this movie lies. Even though this is the third film, this series is still finding ways to get new mileage out of its admittedly simple, premise.

Probably the biggest change-up this time is the embracing of something that many horror movies of late have done: creepy children. Let's face it; there are fewer things more unnerving than a kid acting oddly, even menacingly. Through the youngest daughter's interaction with the demon, we see for the first time a kind of character developing, from her perspective at least. And it's incredibly effective. Some of the scariest parts of this movie are the lines Kristi has about "Toby.".

The film actually gets some pretty good mileage out of the retro setting, too. For those who were kids during the late eighties, you may have some nostalgic memories about some of the toys. Clearly, someone in the writing or directing staff did to, because they remembered that Teddy Ruxpin was actually incredibly creepy. Also, a demonic symbol is created via Light Bright, which is complete genius, I have to say. It's the little touches like that, which make me really appreciate this series.

"Paranormal Activity 3" won't be winning any new converts to the series likely, but if you're at the third movie what do you honestly expect? If you liked the previous films, or even just the first one, I think you'll find a lot to like about the third. And whatever you do, treat yourself to a nice crowded theater with lots of chatty kids, because this is one time when that crowd makes the movie come alive with lots of great screams and giggles as well.

Clearly a good portion of the country did, as this film won big at the box office this weekend with a haul of $54 million and a new record for a September or October release. And when you consider how little these movies cost to make (a modest $5 million) I think you can safely bet they're going to do more. Eventually, I would guess, the story and ideas will eventually run out of steam, but it hasn't happened yet. So I'll be interested to see what they come up with next.

Grade: B+.

Entertainment Value: 8.5.