Review: 'Paranormal Activity 4' Dries of Ingenuity

"It doesn't last forever."

When the first Paranormal Activity came out, I made pretty sure of myself that this is one contemporary horror franchise I'd like to follow. It is lo-fi, inspired, inventive and the most important thing, I suppose: scary. Activity's small beginning became a major cinematic fare involving bigger budgets and - sadly - lesser inspiration. You can guess if I'm still as enthusiastic in keeping eye on the franchise. Good thinking. Oren Peli pioneered the ingenious and durable franchise and in the second movie Tod Williams took over. Directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman did the movie after that, and this: Paranormal Activity 4. The only movie in the franchise that had scares unusually tepid it's respectful to call it Normal Activity 1.

Set in the middle is Alex (Kathryn Newton) whose family begins to experience strange things when they let a troubled teenager named Robbie (Brady Allen) in their home. The usual things are on the movie's radar: things bump at night, doors creak, objects move by themselves and a heroine filming everything that is happening even when a possessed - and five years older - Katie (Katie Featherson) chases her for dead. There's very slim continuity to the film that if you would even notice, the movie will begin to feel on the contrary. Exhibit a.) In the first movie, we learned that the tapes are from the "authorities", so why aren't their any efforts in taking the possessed Katie's in custody? Exhibit b.) Why would Katie wait for a lengthy five years before taking Hunter as sacrifice? I could go on, but it will take a little too longer to enumerate.

The movie, to it's own respects, has a couple of things that gave the franchise a newer feel. Newton, as the young, outgoing, intermittently dimwits and unsuspecting neighbor is immensely likable, especially in scenes which involve her and un-DTR'd (define the relationship, duh!) beau Ben played by Matt Shively, flirting back-and-forth doing fun things together. They would dance to an imaginary tune and film themselves while dots of light produced by an XBox Kinect beam across their figures. These dots feel fresh and have sprung some real creepy moments to add up to the very few efficient ones to be found in the film. It will always have scares, but we are given some that are half-cooked, unlike its predecessors's tense atmospherics and downright frightening elements. 

Scribes Christopher Landon and Chad Feehan have failed in bringing anything new and interesting in the durable - but somewhere in the journey, will not possess such invincibility - franchise and has only exacerbated things. Paranormal Activity movies are usually innovative, terrifying and "paranormal". This movie, of course, belongs to the "unusual" ones.

Like I've said, "It doesn't last forever."

VERDICT: B-