Business rating: 1.5/5 stars
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Star cast: Jessica Tyler Brown, Chloe Csengery, Lauren Bittner, Christopher Nicholas Smith.
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What’s Bad: The slow pace; the flaws in the script; the drama which remains insipid most of the time.
Verdict: Paranormal Activity 3 will do below-average business at the Indian box-office as it lacks the punch of the previous two films.
Loo break: None.
Watch or Not?: Watch Paranormal Activity 3 if you are scared of getting very scared, but still want some chills.
Blumhouse Productions and Paramount Pictures’ Paranormal Activity 3 is a prequel in the Paranormal Activity series, in which two sisters are haunted, and eventually killed, by a ghost.
Paranormal Activity 3 is about the childhood experiences of the two sisters, Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi Rey (Jessica Tyler Brown). The sisters stay with their mother, Julie (Lauren Bittner), and her boyfriend, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith) in a bungalow. Dennis, who earns his living by shooting weddings, installs a couple of cameras in the house one day when he hears weird noises from the kids’ room.
Using his two handy cams, he painstakingly watches all the video footage till he discovers the presence of some force in the house. He suspects that Kristie, the younger sister, knows something about this, as she often sleepwalks around the house. Kristie confirms that she has a friend called Toby who is present in the house at all times and that she is afraid of her. However, when the two kids are alone, Katie asks Kristie not to talk to Toby and also claims that Toby is imaginary. Their mother discourages all talk of the same outright, even when Dennis manages to grab on tape proof of the ghost’s existence. What happens next? What or who is Toby? Does Dennis succeed in his mission of establishing what is happening? What about Julie? The rest of the film answers these questions.
Christopher B. Landon’s story is wafer-thin and uni-dimensional. However, like in the other films of the series, the placement and movement of the stationary camera (put in place by the characters themselves) create a lot of scope for excitement. Especially, the meek among the audience, who jump at every scene that is unexpected (as predictable as it might be) will enjoy the film to a large extent. On the flip side, those who have not seen the previous films in the series will react to the film but not understand the significance of the incidents that happen in the drama. The screenplay, also penned by Landon, moves at a slow pace. Of course, there are a few high points in the film in the form of scary scenes. The negative part is that the audience is never really scared out of their wits because it is already told that the sisters have had contact with the ghost, even considered him as a friend. Hence, when in the end, they are attacked, one does not really feel scared. The climax should have been more impactful. Overall, the story and screenplay are neither very scary nor very boring.
Jessica Tyler Brown and Chloe Csengery portray the roles of the haunted sisters very naturally. They are especially good in the scenes where they are attacked. Lauren Bittner and Christopher Nicholas Smith do well in their small roles. Katie Featherston and Sprague Grayden, that is, Katie and Kristi from the previous films (when they are grown-up), have a little footage in the prologue. Dustin Ingram (as Randy) and others support well.
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s direction is alright as they manage to grab the audience’s attention and maintain to hold it for most of the time. However, the flaws in the script make the thrills less impactful. Magdalena Gorka Bonacorso’s cinematography is good. Editing, by Gregory Plotkin, is okay.
On the whole, Paranormal Activity 3 will find some appreciation with the multiplex-frequenting audience. However, the poor promotion and the average product will seal its fate at the Indian box-office.
Paranormal Activity 3 has been released simultaneously in the US.
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