Horror movies scare me— especially ones that include paranormal-type content. So naturally, I went to go see Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.
This sequel was pleasantly surprising, with a dynamic array of genres packed into its 84-mintue runtime.
The story line surrounds a young man, Jesse (Andrew Ja cobs), who had just graduated high school. In the film’s ex position we learn that the boy and his siblings were raised by their grandmother, and later in the movie it’s revealed that the mother died during childbirth.
A short time af ter his graduation, he finds a mark on his arm looking similar to a bite. Thereafter, pecu liar, unexplainable things start happening to his body. He can do things such as levi tate and push people far dis tances without laying a finger on them.
Though the beginning is rather slow, the movie pro gresses rapidly. It takes an obvious drop from humor ous to bone-chilling rather seamlessly. Facts from the film’s exposition intertwine toward the conclusion, creat ing plenty of ah-ha moments that serve as a nice pepper to season the flow of the movie.
The cast provides effective, believable performances, which is surprising consider ing the subject matter of the film. I wouldn’t say anybody in the film deserves an Oscar, but they play their roles ap propriately for the genra that this is. They are meant to be normal, everyday people, and they convey just that.
The chilling acting and emotion the actors express make for a satisfyingly in tense experience. However, if you have heart issues, don’t watch this movie unless you want to make a pit stop in the emergency room after leaving the theater. The last 10 min utes will throw you for a loop, as it sent me into a full-blown panic attack.
Nevertheless, there are a few noticeable f laws that the film possesses. For one, it is rather predictable. The ending was the only part that wasn’t predictable. The setup is fairly cliché, which makes it easy for viewers to predict where the movie will go, which characters are go ing to die and which will be possessed by an evil spirit.
Another problem is that it moves far too slow in places. Several scenes come across as rather useless and irrelevant and are only there to take up space. This is a problem many film series face once they reach their fifth installment. It’s obvious that the series is still profiting from these se quels and as long as they con tinue producing profit they’ll keep making sequels.
Don’t go into this movie ex pecting to be blown away— ou’ll be sorely disappointed if you do. If you approach the movie with the attitude that it is simply supposed to enter tain and probably scare you, then it’s an enjoyable film.
Overall, Paranormal Activ ity: The Marked Ones is an en joyable thrill ride, mixed with both humorous moments and others of heart-pounding in tensity, which will most likely leave audience members on the edges of their seats.
