The "Paranormal Activity" film series (was: What Did You Watch? 2026-06
From
Ian J. Ball@3:633/10 to
All on Tuesday, June 09, 2026 16:26:14
Subject: The "Paranormal Activity" film series (was: What Did You Watch? 2026-06-08 (Monday))
The "Paranormal Activity" film series:
I watched all the "Paranormal Activity" flicks over the weekend (on
Pee+, which has them all).
There are seven of them - 6 from the original series, and then a seventh straight-to-streaming flick from 2021 that can only be described as
being "very loosely" related to the original 6 films.
Overall, the third one is probably the best of the lot, with the
original being somewhat "groundbreaking" (it, much more than "The Blair Witch", should probably be recognized as kick-starting the "found
footage" film craze of the late 2000s and 2010s). I also enjoyed "4" and
"6", though for casting as much as anything.
Oddly, the one I disliked the most was "2", which is supposedly higher
rated than "3", despite being... not good.
In order:
Paranormal Activity - I think filmed c.2006, for $1.98, and starring "unknowns" (Katie Featherston, playing "Katie"!, and Micah Sloat), and
given a limited release in 2007, before being widely released in 2009 (2
years later!).
I got a kick out of this for a couple of reasons:
1) It's so old, it was actually apparently filmed in "standard
def"!!, and
2) It's set in San Diego!! (Specifically, it was filmed in Rancho Pe¤asquitos).
This is pretty simple stuff - young couple move into a new house. The
dude, who is clearly a nerd, buys a camera - it's not clear why at first
he bought the camera and is filming everything, but it soon becomes
clear it's because she thinks the place is "haunted".
Except it's not "the place" that's haunted - they bring in a psychic
dude (Mark Fredrichs, who does a fine job keeping this role grounded
instead of coming off ridiculous) and he confirms: it's not a "ghost"
haunting "their place", it's a *demon* that's attached to her!!
Things progress from there.
I liked how the boyfriend, Micah, is consistently portrayed as an
ass - he basically serves in the role of unintentionally egging the
demon on!!
Is this Shakespeare? No. But it's good, solid spooky, low-budget
horror film-making, and the ending does manage to pack a bit of a wallop.
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) - This follows all of the usual sequel
"tropes", but not in a good way:
Higher budget and better cinematography (e.g. this one, unlike the original, is all in high def)? Check.
Stronger cast? Check - This one stars Sprague Grayden (who had
starred in the TV series "John Doe" almost a decade before this, and had
done most of her significant TV work by 2010, so she was hardly an
"unknown" by 2010) as the younger sister of Katie Featherston's Katie character, and co-stars Molly Ephraim as her step-daughter (in Ephraim's
case, this was before she starred on "Last Man Standing", so she was an unknown when this was filmed - though still a 24-year old playing a high schooler!)
Contrived, derived story? Check. (It certainly doesn't help that
Oren Peli, the filmmaker behind the original "Paranormal Activity" never
wrote or directed any of the sequels!!).
Anyway, outside of Molly Ephraim, I didn't like this one, and think
it may actually be the weakest film of the original six (even weaker
than "5"!!).
One of the things I don't like about "2" is that it's basically a
(poorly thought out!) "prequel" to the original film (set in Carlsbad,
CA, this time!), positing that the "demon" was actually on lil' sis
(Grayden) first, before being transferred to Featherston's character
around the start of the original film. This is a purely-tacked on
contrivance after the fact, that only detracts from the (genius?) of the original film. And, honestly, the fate of one of the characters here
makes little-to-no sense in light of what is later revealed in the sequels.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) - This, OTOH, is much better than "2" and
may be the best one in the series, even though I think all of the past "revelations" in this one further drag down the premise set up in the
original (and fleshed out more in "2").
This one is a true "prequel" - set in 1988, and from VHS tapes!
(back to standard def!!), the film follows Featherston's and Grayden's characters, as young girls, along with their mother, and their mother's boyfriend, Dennis (who runs a business of making wedding videos, hence
an explanation as to why all these VHS tapes from 1988 exist in the
first place).
And Dustin Ingram shows up as Dennis's friend!
Anyway, soon the demon is on little sis as a child, becoming her "imaginary" friend. Increasingly sinister paranormal "wackiness" ensues.
This one is just a better film with a better story, and ratchets up
the suspense nicely.
And I will give them this - this flick may have one of the best fake "jump-scares" I have ever seen! LOL!
But this one manages a pretty chilling (if unsatisfying) ending.
(And I am not quite sure if the mother's fate here contradicts what was
said in the first two films...)
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) - I found this one to be a lot of fun, as
it stars a (then 15-year old!) Kathryn Newton, and co-stars (an older) Alexondra Lee as her mom.
This one ties in loosely to the first three (and does feature an appearance by Katie Featherston again), though this is maybe the part
that works against the film the most, as it might have worked better as
a stand-alone.
Anyway, in this one, Newton plays a teen with a younger brother. A
mother (it's Katie!) moves in across the street with her weird young
"son" (Aiden Lovekamp). The weird son across the street eventually is temporarily "moved in" with Netwon's family when Mom Katie "is
hospitalized". And soon the weird son starts... influencing(?) preying
on(?) Newton's younger brother. It doesn't take Newton's character too
long to get suspicious and start investigating with the help of her
boyfriend (Matt Shively).
This one wasn't deep, but I enjoyed it, and think it's probably
underrated (it originally didn't do well, probably because there was
fatigue with this film series setting in by the fourth entry). I
definitely think this film is better/more enjoyable than "2".
However, I think the big "revelation" in this one contradicts "2" (basically), and who the weird son is is never explained.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (or "5") (2014) - This was an
attempt at a "Latin"-targeted film, as it is set in a Latino
neighborhood, this time in Oxnard, CA.
This film only loosely ties into the first 3-4 films, which is fine
- I prefer it as a standalone.
But this one breaks no new ground, and doesn't really have much
original to offer outside of the setting. (Sidenote: I think it's the
only film in the series to have actual nudity, though.)
In the end, it does tie back into "3", a little, and directly back
into the first film in a way I didn't care for at all.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (or "6") (2015) - This film is
the conclusion to the original film series, mostly wrapping up the
original storyline.
I enjoyed this sequel more again. It helps that it co-stars Olivia
Taylor Dudley, and the actress who plays the mom in this one, Brittany
"Brit" Shaw, is cute.
Anyway, the wrinkle in this film is that this time they have a
camera capable of actually *filming* the demon/supernatural stuff! (You
never really see the demon in the previous films - just see stuff
rattling on its own or hearing loud bumps and bangs.)
In this one, the demon is after a little girl (again), and it's up
to the dad and mom, and their two friends (Dudley plays one of the
friends) to try to battle the demon and save the little girl. (If you've
seen the other films in the series, you know how this is going to turn out.)
I appreciated that they didn't go with the obvious twist on Dudley's character - nearly any other recent (horror) film would have had a
needless "twist" in regards to her character, so it was refreshing when
this film played Dudley's character straight.
Anyway, while I liked this one overall, the ending is very
unsatisfying, especially in regards to the entire film series.
Then, finally, there is a recent standalone, straight-to-streaming entry
in the series:
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021, a Pee+ original flick) -
Fortunately, this one is almost a pure "standalone film", sharing only
the demon of interest in common with the first 6 films.
What interested me about this one is that stars Emily Bader (Prime
Video so f*cked her, and the rest of us! when they pulled the plug on
"Lady Jane"!!), and co-stars Roland Buck III and Dan Lippert.
This one was clearly filmed in 2020, which makes it uncomfortable,
as the beginning takes you right back into the throws of COVID (a time I
would rather just forget about!).
It's also clear that this one filmed with a *lot* more focus on *cinematography* as this one contains more beautiful shots (of scenery,
etc.) than the previous 6 films combined!
Anyway, Bader's character discovers that she is adopted, and her biological family is in fact located in Amish country!! (This was
apparently filmed in the Hudson Valley of New York - there are, in fact,
no Amish there!!) She and her friends decide to film a documentary about
this whole circumstance/experience, which explains the "found footage"
angle in this one.
The Amish family is weird, and standoffish at first. But all of
sudden the patriarch does a 180 (mysteriously!) and becomes all
welcoming to her and the film crew.
However, the fate of Bader's mother is a constant point of friction,
as no one will give Bader a straight answer on where her mother is.
And then some supernatural wackiness ensues.
This one was OK. Again, Bader was the highlight here. And the story
was a little more interesting in this one (I liked the deep pit!!).
But this one suffers from being probably too long (it think it's
about 20 minutes longer than the other films, and comes close to wearing
out its welcome).
And, again, a downbeat ending, though at least this time, the "Final
Girl" (and Buck's character) get to survive.
So, overall, 1, 3, 4 and 6 are the most entertaining ones (probably 1
and 3 the most), with 5 and "7" being OK, and me not caring for "2".
It sounds like "Paranormal Activity [8?]" is about to go into
production, directed by Ian Tuason (who did the recent "Undertone"
film), and is slated for a mid-2027 release.
--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)