Paranormal Activity 4
DIRECTOR: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
CAST: Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively
CLASSIFICATION: 16 V L
RUNNING TIME: 98 MIN
RATING: ***
The spooks, the unexplainable activities continue. When Paranormal Activity first hit the screens, it was a huge craze – it being shot and portrayed in such a real way and on a puny budget. It was scary and had you biting your nails in anticipation as you witnessed random events in a couple’s home.
The fourth edition to the horror franchise sadly disappoints. The spark that lit the debut, in deliver-ing a story and scares has faded. The frights and jolts take too long to get there.
In Paranormal Activity 4, we see that it has been five years since Katie and Hunter’s disappearance. In this edition we welcome a new family, with a daughter, Alex, as the protagonist and her younger brother, Wyatt. They have a neighbour, in the form of Robbie, who comes to stay with them for a few days after his mother goes to hospital – and strange things happen.
Viewers’s hearts might still get racing once they see that familiar clock on the bottom of the screen and feel paranoid once the clock slows down, pausing in an eerie anticipation of what’s to come.
But their patience will be tested for up to an hour with jolts that feel too preconditioned.
Nothing new is added to the concept of the series.
The film- makers struggle to continue with the same momen-tum. I guess the paranormal activity bus stops here. However, you’ll still manage to get your horror chilled fix, but just be patient.
• If you liked any of the Paranormal Activity movies… you might like this.