Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin

Whether by attaching itself to the Paranormal Activity franchise or some other reason, this film commits itself to being a found footage style horror film. This works great for most of the Paranormal Activity films, and even works out nicely for many parts of this film.

The problem is that this film was unwilling to fully commit to this, and thus ends up making some really stupid camera decisions that completely draw you out of the immersion of the film and even prompt laughter.

The film itself is straightforward: a woman, Margot, who is adopted discovers her birth family is apparently Amish and goes to visit them, all the while bringing a camera, boommike, and two friends, Chris and Dale, to film for a documentary. Who she is and why she apparently warrants a documentary is unclear and ultimately irrelevant.

It follows the typical routine of Our Dumb Heroes getting themselves in trouble by ignoring pleas and orders to not do stupid stuff and go exploring forbidden areas, all to further the plot.

None of it was particularly interesting. What really stuck out horribly for the film is that, despite the aforementioned commitment to the Paranormal Activity franchise of found footage, the film goes and does so many stupid things that break the format.

The most blatant and stupid incident, which I had to rewind just to make sure it actually happened and wasn't me misinterpreting something, involved the cameraperson backing away from "something" in a dark hall. They are alone and have the ONLY camera. The camera then cuts to an object BEHIND the "something", a location the cameraperson was nowhere near and completely unable to film at any point in time.

These sorts of impossible camera cuts start to pile up closer to the end, until at one point the camera just seemingly disappears, and we get conventional movie-style shots.... only for the film to somehow return to the "camera"'s framing, as if the camera had been on and filming everything the whole time despite no one holding it.

These stupid camera decisions constantly ripped me out of the immersion of the film, and there was one incident in particular where for no reason at all the camera went into a gratuitous slow motion sequence during a scary bit that was too laughable to take seriously and absolutely should have been cut.

This franchise was loved or hated by the fans. Still it was original in it's concept and due teens being afraid of the first entry it became a succes.

So 14 years after number one we are left with this one. Why it's called paranormal activity is still a riddle for me. It's more about some myth surrounding the Amish and it's there that the story starts. A crew staying at home with an Amish family but they have a secret.

The score used is the same as in the franchise. But it isn't a found footage like the franchise was all about.

It isn't bad at all, do has some scary parts but another title would have been better.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5.

'Paranormal Activity' films used to be the staple of every Halloween. They were remarkably consistent right up until the very unfortunate 'Ghost Dimension' which killed the series. Now, years later, we have another entry in the 'Paranormal Activity' series. The only problem is that it is a part of the series in name only. It has no connection to the previous films and it has nothing that demands it be a 'Paranormal Activity' movie. It could be any old found footage film - and not a very good one at that.

The original series was so good because it was set in an ordinary looking house like yours or mine. And the thought of your partner spending hours through the night standing over you and staring was simply terrifying. A film set on an Amish farm isn't scary in any way, because who of us is ever going to go to one?

A couple of things I did like. They were able to recreate the feel of the series in the first half of the film. It was actually building up quite nicely for a while there until it decided to go well off the rails at the end. The other thing I liked were the main three characters. They were very likeable and people I could get onside with.

I feel like I'm mentioning it a lot in films lately, but it needs to be remembered that less is more. This film goes so hard and in your face that it can't possible be scary. What we don't see is always scarier than what we do. This film completely forgets that at the end.

I so desperately wanted to like this movie, with the hope that it would reignite a series that I love. This wasn't the storyline to do it with though. This feels like a random found footage film that needed a selling point, and so chucked 'Paranormal Activity' in front of its title. Very disappointing. 5/10.

I won't go into it too much because it would be basically a repeat of what has already been said. This is not a Paranormal Activity movie, it just borrows from the name for promotional purposes. For that, I was disappointed.

I thought the acting was fine. I didn't dislike any of the characters like you eventually do. I thought story was fine, although not exactly new. It was definitely creepy, so I can't knock it for that. I was entertained. Of course there is a lot of footage where they would have never been filming, as per the norm, but I get that they have to tell a story through the camera. Personally I can't stand reviews that tell you to watch something or not to watch something. Reviews that tell you to ignore the positive or the negative reviews. I mean that the purpose of reading reviews, to eventually form your own opinion, then make up your own mind whether to watch it or not. You decide.

I mean it's not bad, it creates a good found footage atmosphere a few elements are just a bit too cheesy and some of the shots detract from the ambiance. Maybe 15 min less chopping some of the cheesiest parts and a few of the camera cuts would have made this a really decent movie. As it stands it's kinda long. It's still entertaining enough and just creepy enough to make a good watch for the Halloween weekend.