Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

There is one thing about the Paranormal Activity series I have never liked, and that is the involvement of demons, witches and all things evil.
That is a bit of an over-generalisation, I don't mind the evil stuff, but the over-the-top body-possessed-by-a-demon thing does not usually do it for me.
That kind of bias could have had a negative effect on my opinion of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, but it was still an all right film.
It retains the same formula as the previous four films in the franchise by being shot on a handheld camera and developing the characters' backgrounds through every day events and general conversation between the leads which ends up giving us an even greater insight to their lives.
The story follows recent high school graduate Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and his best friend Hector (Jorge Diaz). They play around with a handheld camera and GoPro (which involves goofy stunts, as young men tend to enjoy), and even spy on Jesse's downstairs neighbour Anna who they believe to be a witch.
One day Anna is found mysteriously murdered, and the following day Jesse wakes up to a bite mark on his arm. Fans of the series would recognise the mark as it is identical to the one sustained by lead Katie in the first film.
Jesse begins noticing changes and learns new abilities, and it is not long until things take a turn for the worse.
The idea of the handheld camera is to add to the realism; to make us believe they are recording extraordinary events in their lives using the same piece of technology you use on a day out with family.
While being an innovative means of adding some tension to the cinematic atmosphere, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is not as effective as previous chapters.
Whether the series is growing tired or we are more prepared for them than ever, this film is not nearly as scary as its predecessors.
There is nothing wrong with the way tension is built up throughout the film; Jesse's transformation from fun-loving high school grad to the demon-got-my-soul creep is one that drags you in for the ride.
You can, however, pick out the scenes where director Christopher B Landon intended to extract a few screams from the audience. Mysterious power failings, flickering lights - they have all been done before and are not executed as well as they could have been.
If you have seen the previous four films you will notice Landon's nods to each film: set features, actor/character cameos and the final few scenes at a familiar location. Those little bits and pieces of detail are some of the things that help this chapter find its place in the series, even if it is merely a "Latino spin-off".
It is not the worst movie you will ever see, but it is nowhere near the best.


For the record, I only jumped twice.