By Daniela Coe-McNamara
Staff Writer
A happy American family moves into a beautiful suburban home with their elementary aged son or daughter, who begins to talk to a “friend” that no one else can see. Weird things happen around the house until the child is possessed and pretty much every character is killed. Sound familiar?
For every prior “Paranormal Activity” film, it has been tough to keep up with the expectations of plot, filmography style, and scare factor created by the first film. But “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension,” repeats the entire basic plot structure, film tactics, and supernatural entities of the previous films, only incorporating slightly more frightening effects through touches of 3D visuals.
With the initial “Paranormal Activity” release in 2007, the film utilized the found footage style that continues through the following five movies, each a documentation of a different haunted family. Each film focuses on a different family that battles with varying supernatural forces. All six of the films are centered around the same storyline with modified characters and effects.
While “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” is the sixth, and hopefully last, film in the series, it is almost identical to the first “Paranormal Activity,” with the exception of a few added characters. The daughter, Leila (Ivy George), befriends a supernatural figure that takes on a parental role, as the parents struggle to rid their daughter of this demon. It sounds like the exact plot of not only other “Paranormal Activity” films, but also many other horror movies, including “Insidious” and “The Possession.”
Not only is the plot repeated from previous “Paranormal Activity” films, but the film also incorporates the typical jump scare of every horror movie, repeating it over and over again until the audience is simply tired of the redundancy. Every time there is a noise, the character walks straight to it, despite obvious human logic that would tell a real person to run, leaving the audience frustrated and irritated with the characters’ stupidity.
The addition of extra characters, a hipster brother (Dan Gill) and an attractive, feng shui loving friend (Olivia Taylor Dudley), creates practical videographers for the found footage style of the film. But, these characters are almost absent throughout the second half of the film, making it obvious that they were added purely as functional plot devices.
The actors themselves seemed disinterested in the storyline, as the parents (Chris Murray and Brit Shaw) constantly leave the daughter alone despite her demonic playmate and strange new habits. Even when they are around, the adults’ concern seems insincere. The acting is half-hearted, making it clear that the “Paranormal Activity” series was ready for its finale.
It seems logical that a paranormally focused film would utilize the technology of today by releasing a 3D film, yet the “Paranormal Activity” series waited until the final film to take advantage of this sensory intensification. Even after waiting years to release a 3D film, “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” hardly employs the surround sound effects and in-your-face projection.
Despite previous success with the five other “Paranormal Activity” films, “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” is practically a remake of its predecessors, with the most simple plot and bland characters. The film even lacked visual effects, something that could have been taken to another level with the 3D visuals.
“Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” is rated R and is playing at theaters nearby.
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