Paranormal Activity IV

Paranormal Activity 4 is the latest (and hopefully final) installment in the franchise that yet again, splices together home movies to show further evidence of a long standing family haunting. I've seen all three of it's predecessors and for most point, enjoyed them. None of these flicks have been ground breaking by any means but have at least offered up some cheap scares and realistic dialogue to paint a relatable picture in which this could happen to YOU! Even though this was not a planned franchise, writers have been able to create an ongoing story line that gives a little more information than the last but still keeps you a bit curious. No. 4 not only fails to provide ANY scares (cheap or otherwise) but also to make any logical use of the established story.

Unlike the previous 3 films, this installment focuses on footage taken exclusively by a 15 year old girl and her lovable loser boyfriend. Despite having multiple cameras throughout the house capturing the moves of an entire family, the teens are definitely the focus point and the only characters that push the story along. While it's clear that this was a ploy to appeal the a younger demographic, the tension created by the young girl is lacking and most of the dialogue is wasted on complaining that her parents won't listen to her. This was a risky move that did not pay off in two BIG ways. First, by changing demographics, filmmakers have removed the only consistently positive quality in the prior films, relatability. You simply must relate to your main character in a plot driven solely by their reactions to a situation. Second, this film is rated R, thus eliminating the targeted demographic right out of the gate.

I give this a 3/10 with points only awarded for overall production quality and giving me something to do on a Monday evening... Below is normally where I would embed the movies trailer but felt this to be more appropriate.

SINISTER

Sinister is the story of True Crime novelist (Ethan Hawke) who travels from town to town (with his family) following the trail of unsolved crimes to write about. The first half of this film is quite good, using horror which is deep and dark without being in your face or over-the-top. Filmmakers did a great job of mixing horror with mystery and suspense, never really coming right out and announcing that this is a supernatural thriller. 

Our protagonist moves his family into a house where a brutal murder took place years prior. While rummaging through the attic, looking for clues to help his book, footageof previous mass murders is discovered by Hawke and reviewed throughout the film. Despite investigating a single incident, each of these “home movies” depicts a different murder in which a different family is killed using unique methods in separate locations across the country. The only things all these films have in common is, they are all silent, you never see the camera operator, and an entire family is murdered sans one child never to be seen again. The vintage look of super-eight footage, great acting from Hawke, and gruesome nature of the footage left a lasting impression in my mind without making my skin crawl. The story up until the second half is mysterious and intriguing without being outright confusing, allowing for either a human or supernatural antagonist and really, either would have been alright at that point! 

The second half is another story. Almost immediately after some of the pieces fall together, the story takes boring turn and slaps you across the face with answers to questions that haven't been asked. This ruined any chance of an actual surprise or suspenseful ending. Despite this disappointing turn for the worse, the good aspects of this flick never go away for good. The original creep out factor remains along with a good performance by Hawke but instead of letting the audience use any part of their imagination, more and more blatant, annoying evidence is shoved down your throat. Unfortunately the downturn in storyline comes down a simple “less is more”. This movie was a disappointment to me not because I had high hopes, but quite the opposite. Going into this film I expected more B-rate horror (which is fine!) and instead was given a glimpse of hope only to be let down once again in the second act.

Using discovered footage in a real time story line is a bit of new twist on an old idea but worked well in this case. It allowed screenwriters to take the spookiest aspects of the POV horror genre and combines it with good 'ol fashioned WRITING to churn out a decent affect. 

 I recommend this film only because of how many things were done right for the genre but don't expect to be impressed with it as a whole. All in all I would rate this 6.5/10 with a few extra points for the musical score.