What I loved about the first three installments of Paranormal Activity was that the scares were subtle and tension was built over time. Unfortunately, the fourth and now fifth installments of the franchise have fallen by the way of generic horror films of our day. The 4th movie had so much potential but fell completely short, and the 5th movie relies on all of the tried and tired possession plot lines.
You will definitely find some great "jumpy" scenes. Some you know are coming because they managed to create the tension, but some are completely unexpected. I also found the main characters very likable and funny...character development did not fall short at all like it did with the 4th film. The very best aspect of the movie is the highly touted surprise ending, which ties up all of the loose ends of the franchise.
I think some people are very confused by the progression of the Katie/Kristi story so I want to explain this a bit better. The story really begins with the prequel (PA3), showing Katie and Kristi's family being terrorized by "Toby"...a demon with whom the girls' grandmother has made a pact (to deliver the firstborn son of the family line). She is the leader of a coven of witches. It continues with PA2, which intertwines a bit with the first movie. Kristi has the firstborn son and the demon comes after him. Trying to ease the family's strife from the demon's presence, Kristi's husband performs a ceremony to sic the demon on Katie instead. The original movie follows Katie's terrorization and eventual possession. At the end of the movie we hear Katie screaming downstairs and Micah running down to help her. Moments later, Katie throws him bodily into the camera. Cutting back to PA2, we see Katie leaves her house and goes to Kristi's. She kills both Kristi and her brother-in-law (Kristi's stepdaughter Ali was on a school trip), and steals Hunter. This is why the 4th movie doesn't make much sense when you first view. Hunter has been adopted by a new family and Katie moves in across the street with a random little kid who introduces Hunter to the demon "Toby". That movie ends by the coven repossessing Hunter and killing his adoptive family.
I hated the 4th movie and thought that it was just filled with potholes, until seeing The Marked Ones. Jesse's downstairs neighbor is a part of the same coven as Katie and Kristi's grandmother, and her job is to create an army of demon children (marked ones) who will "activate" when they turn 18. When she dies, they investigate her apartment and find a journal that talks about a portal to dark places. Turns out Jesse was a "marked one", and is slowly possessed by a demonic force. To complete the possession, however, the coven must take him to their headquarters (Katie and Kristi's grandmother's house) and perform a final ceremony. Having consulted Ali from PA2, his friends know where the house is and go after him to stop the final ceremony. As his best friend is trying to run away from a fully possessed Jesse, he enters the portal and we find ourselves back in Micah and Katie's house, with Katie walking down the stairs in a trance and pulling a knife out of the kitchen drawer. The friend approaches her hoping for help and Katie starts yelling for Micah. Micah sees the friend and goes after him, but Katie stabs Micah instead...now we know exactly what happened downstairs in the first movie and why. It also answers the questions I had in the 4th movie. The random little boy living with Katie was obviously a "marked one".
So, is it a good film for the scares? Not so much. Is it good for understanding the franchise? ABSOLUTELY. If you're a loyal viewer, you have to watch it.
You will definitely find some great "jumpy" scenes. Some you know are coming because they managed to create the tension, but some are completely unexpected. I also found the main characters very likable and funny...character development did not fall short at all like it did with the 4th film. The very best aspect of the movie is the highly touted surprise ending, which ties up all of the loose ends of the franchise.
I think some people are very confused by the progression of the Katie/Kristi story so I want to explain this a bit better. The story really begins with the prequel (PA3), showing Katie and Kristi's family being terrorized by "Toby"...a demon with whom the girls' grandmother has made a pact (to deliver the firstborn son of the family line). She is the leader of a coven of witches. It continues with PA2, which intertwines a bit with the first movie. Kristi has the firstborn son and the demon comes after him. Trying to ease the family's strife from the demon's presence, Kristi's husband performs a ceremony to sic the demon on Katie instead. The original movie follows Katie's terrorization and eventual possession. At the end of the movie we hear Katie screaming downstairs and Micah running down to help her. Moments later, Katie throws him bodily into the camera. Cutting back to PA2, we see Katie leaves her house and goes to Kristi's. She kills both Kristi and her brother-in-law (Kristi's stepdaughter Ali was on a school trip), and steals Hunter. This is why the 4th movie doesn't make much sense when you first view. Hunter has been adopted by a new family and Katie moves in across the street with a random little kid who introduces Hunter to the demon "Toby". That movie ends by the coven repossessing Hunter and killing his adoptive family.
I hated the 4th movie and thought that it was just filled with potholes, until seeing The Marked Ones. Jesse's downstairs neighbor is a part of the same coven as Katie and Kristi's grandmother, and her job is to create an army of demon children (marked ones) who will "activate" when they turn 18. When she dies, they investigate her apartment and find a journal that talks about a portal to dark places. Turns out Jesse was a "marked one", and is slowly possessed by a demonic force. To complete the possession, however, the coven must take him to their headquarters (Katie and Kristi's grandmother's house) and perform a final ceremony. Having consulted Ali from PA2, his friends know where the house is and go after him to stop the final ceremony. As his best friend is trying to run away from a fully possessed Jesse, he enters the portal and we find ourselves back in Micah and Katie's house, with Katie walking down the stairs in a trance and pulling a knife out of the kitchen drawer. The friend approaches her hoping for help and Katie starts yelling for Micah. Micah sees the friend and goes after him, but Katie stabs Micah instead...now we know exactly what happened downstairs in the first movie and why. It also answers the questions I had in the 4th movie. The random little boy living with Katie was obviously a "marked one".
So, is it a good film for the scares? Not so much. Is it good for understanding the franchise? ABSOLUTELY. If you're a loyal viewer, you have to watch it.