Review of Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) by Writefilmlive21 — 01 Feb 2013

"Paranormal Activity 4" is easily the weakest yet in the series, lacking much of the innovation and fresh tactics of its predecessors and posing none of the answers it promises to deliver. This sequel was marketed to shed some light on the last movie's plot mess of a conclusion, but instead only gives us the same questions after 90 minutes of old hat sound effects, jump scares, and failed attempts at keeping the formula fresh.

I'll give the film credit for its use of webcam surveillance, which although is likely not possible under these circumstances, does give us some new perspectives apart from the tired handheld video. But setpieces like a certain kitchen knife and the XBox Kinect are promising lodes of suspense cut short of their full potential, and the characters range from likeable (the main chick) to barely present and mostly moronic (the parents).

It just feels more like the hollow shell of a "Paranormal Activity" movie, rather than what we've grown used to over the past films so much so that, unless the next sequel proves otherwise, this franchise has likely proved itself to have already passed its prime.