Review of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) by Brett B — 27 Mar 2014

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES is a marked (sorry...) improvement over part 4, and though it's got some effective moments, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The movie's strongest suit is its willingness to break from the formula of the previous films, and I give it credit for feeling - virtually - nothing like those entries, even as it continues to play with (and reveal more of) the ever-expanding mythology behind the supernatural occurrences.

Despite relying heavily on jump scares, the overall movie feels fairly fresh, which is something you can't say for most fifth entries in a horror series; since we're not quite as housebound as the last films, this one gets to open up in terms of scope, even if just a little bit, and show us some new things for this franchise.

The decision to have our leads be, essentially, a couple of teenage goofballs is an interesting one, and while their schtick does occasionally become tiresome, it's another way in which this film sets itself apart from what's come before.

The movie's central problems lie in its handling of the mythology, which - by the end of this film - has become highly convoluted (I feel like some charts would be helpful to keep track of the series' continuity and chronology), and in its ending; this is the third installment in a row to climax in almost exactly the same way (with one exception, which I can't talk about because of spoilers), and it's getting old, frankly.

Still, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, so I give the movie a marginal pass. Make no mistake, though: part 3 remains the best of the series by a considerable distance.