I know what you’re thinking, “Paranormal Activity 3 is not an indie film!” But when has that ever stopped me before? The franchise did start as an indie film, with Paranormal Activity (2007) being crafted for $15,000 and Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) being made for $3,000,000. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) was made for $5,000,000. While the latter two films were made for a couple million dollars, this is still considered a small amount for a major motion picture. So, I would consider these films low-budget, not indie.
Paranormal Activity 3 is a prequel to the first two films, happening somewhere close to 18 years before their events. Kristi and Katie are young girls living with their mother and her boyfriend, Dennis. Kristi begins talking to an invisible friend named Toby and soon afterwards strange things start happening in the house. As the events intensify, so does the fear that Toby may not be make believe – he may be real…and very evil.
Paranormal Activity 3 is written by Christopher Landon and directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. It stars Christopher Nicholas Smith (“Fake It Til You Make It”), Lauren Bittner (Bride Wars), Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, and Dustin Ingram (“UnFabulous”); with featured performances by Johanna Braddy (The Grudge 3), Hallie Foote, and franchise staples Katie Featherston and Sprague Grayden.
At this point, the Paranormal Activity franchise is very, very well-known and it definitely caters to its audience. The films’ biggest and best quality is its hooks – to expect the unexpected and the fear of the unknown. Fans and audience members go to these movies knowing they are going to see something completely creepy and frightfully spontaneous. Every moment you are anticipating a scare. Ever new angle change you are expecting a jump. Paranormal Activity 3 only adds to this fear and terror because the main targets are young children. It can sometimes be hard to watch people get chopped up, but violating the innocence of children and ruining their minds is even scarier. The fact that young Kristi and Katie are young girls makes you invest more emotion in them as well. Think about… How many times do you see grown adults dying on the news and you don’t bat an eye lash. Then, how many times do you see children suffering on the news and you feel great sympathy and empathy? Paranormal Activity 3 was smart to do a prequel involving the children because this opened the gate for a whole new batch of emotions in this already terrifying franchise. Let’s face it… Paranormal Activity series is like Poltergeist and The Blair Witch Project on crack, and it is not getting old just yet.
My only gripe with Paranormal Activity 3 is the Halloween 6 turn they took with it. By that I mean [**SPOILER ALERT**] entering the concept of the cult and giving the film a Wiccan theme. The demonic spirit terrorizing this poor family was much scarier to me when I didn’t know its back story. Again, the fear of the unknown can sometimes be the most frightening thing of all. Although I understand pieces of the puzzle need to start coming together three films into the series, I would rather have left out the cult aspect and just focused primarily on naming the demon and giving it an almost Biblical background story as with The Exorcist.
But, definitely, I would recommend this movie! Get yourself some snacks, turn off the lights, and enjoy! In my mind, I can remember two instances that made me jump and two WTF moments! Hope you enjoy Paranormal Activity 3 as much as I did. Bring on the fourth!
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