Oh Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, you had such promise.
I feel a bit like Obi-Wan at the end of Episode 3, screaming at Darth Vader: “You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to save the found footage genre, not make it laughably boring through repetition!”
Of course, I’m paraphrasing a bit, but at the same time, Paranormal Activity had just enough promise and scope to have me hold out hope, but with this, it’s 6th and apparently final instalment, it becomes clear that nobody really tried that hard to finish with a bang.
Aside from its initial premise, which was quickly milked, the main strength of Paranormal Activity was in its mythos that it was building. All the movies interconnected across decades and settings, and there was much for a dedicated fan to enjoy as they filled in the pieces. However, the series seemed unable to fully embrace this, and the chance to build on and create anew has just fallen back instead on old formulas. For instance, once again we have a dim-witted suburban family plagued by a demon that is revealed through overuse of home cameras. Once again we have a slow build up followed by an impossibly over anxious finale. Once again we have vaguely creepy demonic children. We’ve done this so many times at this stage.
While Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension manages to fill in a few of the plot holes left, I think they could have been a lot bolder and pushed the envelope a lot more. The execs clearly feared alienating a fanbase that wasn’t so involved in the plot so far, so kept it accessible, but by doing so, tore off any teeth this instalment might have had.
In doing so, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension commits the worst crime a horror film can: it’s just pretty boring.
