Optiluiz here once more with another (Not So) Weekly Movie Review. This week, I review Paranormal Activity 3, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, and based on a true stor- Oh come on, what kind of sucker falls for that these days? You'd think people would be less gullible a decade after Blair Witch. Oh well. Anyway, this film is"found footage" from the 80s regarding mysterious events in the same family from the other Paranormal activity films.
I actually do like the Paranormal Activity series. I actually like the whole "Found-footage" genre (when it's used right), mostly because it adds a layer of immersion that's very hard to emulate with regular movies. I think that it's slowly starting to stagnate, but that doesn't mean there can't be anymore Blair Witch Projects in our future.
I've seen all the PA movies in theatres (As of 2015 this is no longer the case, I missed the 4th one, and I don't regret it). I loved the first one and found the second one to be just watchable. I went into this one expecting more of the same, but in a good way. I guess that's exactly what I got. These films are very formulaic, but the demented game of "Where's Wally?" that they play with the spectator is quite the experience. Yes, this movie is scary. Yes, you will hear screams in the theater. Or laughs, if that's how they deal with that kind of thing. Maybe both if it's a weird day.
What I loved about the first Paranormal Activity was the mystery aspect of it, and how unexpected the events taking place were. The second film was scarier, but lacked that sense of expectation, and the wish to know more about what is going on. This film, however, finds a nice balance between the two, though it never quite lives up to the first one. The story is fine but, with some revisions, and a better ending, it could have been better. At least it's better than the Poltergeist rip-off that was the second film.
The acting is believable and the effects are used subtly enough to seem realistic most of the time. The overall execution may be fuzzy overall, but this is a solid movie. I think the series should just give it a rest now, though. I doubt it could survive another round of sequelitus. It may not be that original, but I think Paranormal Activity 3 deserves a watch, if not in theatres in your living room, as this is one of the few franchises that doesn't lose impact when watched at home. I still think that there were some themes in the film that could have been explored a bit better, but all in all, I give it a 7/10.
That concludes this week's review. I'll leave you now with Paranormal Activity 3's trailer. Have a nice week.
-Optiluiz out...
PS: Most of the scenes from the trailer aren't in the movie. Go figure.
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