Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Certified: 14
Duration: 84 minutes
Directed by: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Starring: Chloe Csengery, Katie Featherstone, Jessica Tyler Brown, Sprague Grayden, Lauren Bittner, Christopher Nicolas Smith, Dustin Ingram, Hallie Foote, Johanna Braddy
KRS release

The facts speak for themselves. Paranormal Activity has to be one of the most successful franchises ever, if based on cash returns.

This third film, made for only $5 million, has already grossed more than $200 million and once again delivers a mixture of frights and storytelling that keeps the audience hooked.

The result is a franchise that is beating the Saw series at its own game.

Like its predecessor, the film’s producers have once again taken the prequel route making this franchise even more unusual.

Set in 1988, Paranormal Activity 3 follows Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith), a wedding videographer, who lives with his girlfriend Julie (Laurie Bittner) and her two daughters Katie and Kristi (Chloe Csengery and Jessica Brown).

When Kristi develops an imaginary friend called Tobey, the happiness in the house is suddenly interrupted by a series of weird happenings.

Dennis places video cameras in different areas of the house to try to chart what is happening.

That is when Kristi is seen talking to her friend in the corner of her room. Slowly, Dennis and Julie start to realise something is wrong and that the strange occurrences in their house could be fatally dangerous.

This third outing improves on its predecessor by being more in control and tighter in its approach.

Fans of the mockumentary/ found footage genre who were left disappointed by the recent Apollo 18 will have a ball.

The reason for this being the film’s delivery, which is high on atmosphere and perceived realism accompanied by a very credible cast. Lauren Bittner, the young Jessica Brown and Chloe Cserngey make you believe that the strangeness of what is happening is actually real.

This all leads to another unpredictable ending, one that will have the series’ fans scratching their heads in an attempt at piecing all the events together.

The film differs from its predecessors by actually presenting one or two really weirded out and bizarre sequences that are meant to jolt you out of your seat.

The stationary cameras are used strategically and the audience strains to see what lies outside their field of vision, thus increasing the tension and curiosity.

A difference from the previous instalments must be the slightly higher budget which makes this third approach slicker and more polished.

Fans of this series will love this one and will definitely mark it as mandatory viewing.

The remaining question is: Will there be a fourth movie? It would be abnormal or paranormal for there not to be one...