Paranormal Activity 4
Financially, Paramount’s low-budget, found-footage cash cow is still going strong, since they’ve not only slated a fifth film for next October, but also a Latin American spinoff (WTF?!). Creatively, however, the franchise is starting to hit a roadblock.
The reason for that, I think, is that the filmmakers are starting to move the focus away from the family of Katie (Katie Featherston), the young woman who, when she was a child, was tormented by supernatural entities along with her sister, Kristi. Twenty years later, the demon returned, and possessed Katie, who kidnapped Kristi’s son, Hunter. Five years later, Katie and Hunter have not turned up, until they move in across the street from a family in suburban Nevada. Now, Katie calls Hunter Robbie, and he makes quick friends with Wyatt, whose family takes “Robbie” in when Katie supposedly takes ill. That’s when, like clockwork, strange things start happening, and Alex, the daughter (played by Kathryn Newton), sets up cameras to try and figure out what’s going bump in the night.
From there, you can figure out where things lead. Newton’s Alex is a strong central character for this type of film, and writers Zack Estrin and Christopher B. Landon, and directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have some sly tricks up their sleeves when the lights go out at night. Unfortunately, the series is starting to get fatigued, especially considering how the first three films seemed to come full circle in giving us the bigger picture when it comes to Katie and Kristi’s story. To be fair, the finale gives us room for more “Activity” in this franchise, but personally, I’d like to see things come to an end. There’s only so far they’ll be able to stretch this series before it’s irreparably broken.
