Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  2 / 10

  Paranormal Activity 4 is essentially a product placement for Microsoft's Xbox Kinect. A horror film designed to showcase the motion-sensing peripheral by having a CGI demonic ghost blur some tracking dots occasionally. Aside from that minimal use of ingenuity, this sequel in the ever-flailing low-budget snooze-fest may just be the worst. The stupidity, the frickin' low level intellectual brain capacity, that these characters have acquired is mind-boggling. It's like watching a couple of patients from a sixteenth century mental asylum try to figure out how a door works. That's the level of incompetency on display here. After the events of 'Paranormal Activity 2', a neighbouring family look after their neighbour's son when the mother falls mysteriously ill. Creepy shenanigans ensue, and I've set my alarm ready to be woken up in an hour and a half.
  
  You've seen how these films work three times before, if you didn't like any of them well sure enough you will hate this with a passion. Cameras are set up in every room 24/7 (this time just camcorders and MacBooks) to document objects slowly moving, knives casually being thrown up into the air for a few nights and horrific child actors talking to "themselves". Anyway, the gimmick is the recording devices right? Great. So why, with the greatest of respect to Landon, do you force these characters to record everything only for them to never actually watch the damn videos? A chandelier mysteriously falls and nearly crushes the daughter. She attempts to explain the event to her parents, which predictably backfires on her as they believe her to be crazy. Hang on. Stop right there. Just show them the frickin' recording! You whipped out your smartphone so you could document it! God damn use it!
  
  Never mind the one-dimensional characters and transparent jump scares, it's the lack of common sense that truly irritates me. Locked in the garage and car is spewing exhaust? Don't wait five minutes to smash the window and casually reverse out, ripping off the garage door in the process. Do it immediately. Walking around alone at night after hearing a noise? Turn some damn lights on! Don't even get me started on the whole levitating scene. The daughter typically wakes up to the lightest of creaks in the house, but doesn't bat an eyelid when the duvet covers are flung off of her on brute force and she is hoisted by wires to make it look like she's floating. Why did the demonic ghost thing put the duvet covers back on? I mean it was nice of him, but what the hell! What happened to Robbie? Was I supposed to care for these characters? Why did the film cut to black and think that was a satisfying ending? Why am I even questioning this?
  
  It baffles me. It really does. How such an incompetent horror film has spawned a franchise that slowly becomes more inept with each sequel. Could it be money? It must be, because there is no artistic integrity for these films. And I for one hate this sequel. Hate it.

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