Paranormal Activity 3

[aaroncupboard]

I saw this last night, and it was great fun! The story has been building nicely over the three films, with bits of information being revealed in each film. I love how they have managed to link each film so closely together and how they all tie in together.

However importantly, it was scary! Aside from the expected cheap jump scares, I found the film got to the genuinely creepy and scary stuff a lot quicker than the previous two films. You had a much better idea of what the 'evil entity' was doing and you could tell it was angry from about a quarter way through the film as events quickly escalated (whereas in the other two its just small, simple movements for ages!).

Oh and a special mention to the genius moving camera attached to a fan, terrifying!

Overall, a simple but effective scary film. I know a lot of people don't like these films but they do exactly what they are meant to do and are just great fun!

3 and a half out of 5

[Jeffbiscuits]

I gave in to my mild interest and went to see this a couple of days ago. Yeah, it's the best in the franchise so far but that's not saying much. The 'home video' aspect seems like less of a burden as the film feels more cinematic and plot-driven than previous films. The scares seem to have more of a purpose too and the final scenes actually feel like they would fit quite well in a decent Hammer Horror film. This time round the main protagonists are more relatable too making it a bit easier to sympathise with their plight. It's all just so tedious though. So boring. I spent most of the film praying for some decent frights and when they came they were wasted for the most part. It's a shame that this only really changes in the bloody mary scene and the too short final scene. Anyone who enjoyed the first two will no doubt love this as more of the same. For me though, it hinted at an improvement on a franchise that I dislike from the outset, then never delivered. 1.5/5

[Grinch11]

It didnt provide me with the underpant Maltesers of the first film but was sooooooooooooo much better than Paranormal Activity 2: Adventures of a robotic pool cleaner.

Some neat camera work (the aforementioned fan), a franchise rarity in that the characters were actually quite likeable, but not enough to make me want to sit through another one.

Enough!

[Lizhawkins]

Here's a link to Total Film's 3 star Paranormal Activity 3 review. Added by Liz. Thanks.

[gordonmclean]

Finally saw this and while it's far superior to the second one (let's pretend that one never happened, shall we?) it still trembles in the shadow of the original.

For the first hour I was loving it. Engaging characters and some great scares (especially the Halloween-esque 'who's under the bed sheet?' scene). But then they screw it up at the end by going too big and bringing in the evil cult. I think these sorts of film work at the best when they keep it small and minimalist - it's more realistic, easier to buy into the 'found footage' premise. The cult/demon bride aspect was so OTT and a stupid addition - didn't they learn anything from The Last Exorcist's crappy finale?

[Jeffbiscuits]

I thought the final scenes were the best thing about that film. There's a more cinematic feel to them and the devil worshipy cult aspect was like a modern Hammer film. The good finale didn't save a terrible movie though.

[gordonmclean]

It's all a matter of taste, of course. I hated it because it explained too much (I believe less is more when it comes to horror and knowing too much about the situation/monster/killer etc detracts from the 'fear of the unknown' that fuels the scares) and felt like a shift into a more traditional horror film.