Paranormal Activity 3 cranks up the ghostly scares but narratively crumbles into franchise fatigue. Improvement alert, I repeat, improvement alert! I didn't see it coming, my TV didn't see it coming and I'm pretty sure the series itself didn't see it coming. This third chapter betters the previous instalments by a small margin, but it's substantial enough for me to claim this as "not bad". Serving as a prequel for the series, we follow Katie's childhood family as they experience supernatural encounters that prompt them to set up cameras and record the ghostly activity. The exact same premise, plot and execution as the previous two chapters. You could predict the entire film even before pressing play. What sets this apart though, much to my surprise, is just how genuinely creepy the scares are. Not once, not twice, but thrice! I jumped, squeaked and felt my heart pound on three different occasions. The use of heavy bass to signify the presence of the antagonistic ghost "Toby" justifiably heightened the tension. Then, rather cleverly might I add, attaching a camera to a broken fan to provide oscillating movement elevated the scares greatly. The slow panning, back and forth, was masterful. I never thought I would say that about a 'Paranormal Activity' film! The family members, particularly the parents, had some personality and actually resembled real parents. Small details like the flourishing love between them (where they attempt to make a pedestrian sex tape), jokingly frightening each other and cute parenting skills, made for a tiny slab of believability. Alas though, it conforms too heavily on the poor formulaic tropes that its predecessors set. Finished off with a horrifically generic and dull third act, where the film leaves a bad aftertaste of ectoplasm in one's mouth (I could've said ghostly residue...but y'all dirty minded). Seriously though that ending was atrocious. So whilst this is the best in the series so far, it's still not good. Perhaps "Toby" can just end this series in the sequel, or surprise me even more by making it scarier.
