review by Josh Keown Pro
Paranormal Activity 3 2011
Rewatched Jul 17, 2012
Josh Keown’s review:
"Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary..."
-Katie (Chloe Csengery)
Part 3 of the Paranormal Activity Marathon.
Alas, it is time to round off the Activity-athon with the third entry into the franchise (Well, at least till the inevitable next twenty sequels.). Once again, I find myself at a loss for points to raise that have not already been covered in the previous two entries. Perhaps the most intriguing fact about this entry, aside from it being a prequel this time round, is that film-makers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman take the helm (Whose debut documentary, Catfish, more than proved their ample talent.).
There is nothing really new here to the franchise, bar the fact that it chronicles the childhood of haunted siblings Katie and Kristi. It’s very much a re-tread in all other aspects, but the directors do just enough to engage the audience and not make it feel repetitive. The two also manage to achieve more scares, certainly than the second entry. Novel scenes such as the Bloody Mary game make this one slightly more memorable, at least.
So, everything concerning the other two films applies here; namely horrible cinematography (That fails to look genuine for 1988 too), average script, believable enough acting, reasonably tense atmosphere, etcetera. It's all been done before really, but that has done nothing to dent my expectations for the 4th installement, where we'll hopefully get some real answers.
VERDICT; Another solid entry into the franchise, that walks a very fine line by almost becoming tiresomely repetitive, but Joost and Schulman add just enough to avoid it. It’s got a couple more scares, but is generally generic. Watch if you’re a fan, otherwise no need to bother.
3/5 or 6/10
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