Paranormal Activity 3 (2011, R)

To an extent, this review can apply to all three of the films in this franchise that have been released so far.  I recommend seeing them in order of release if you do want to watch them, though at the time of this writing only the second film is available to stream on Netflix.  I'm not normally a fan of "found footage" movies because the visual aspect is so limited as is the range of what they can (have to?) show the audience.  I think it's a lazy technique that, after the huge monetary success of the almost budgetless Blair Witch Project, filmmakers often turn to in order to make quick easy money.  However I do like the Paranormal Activity franchise and few other found footage movies because they still work well and get the job done.  This franchise (which I will consider one film for the purpose of this statement) is one of the top few that scare the poop out of me.

This third installment continued back in time with the mythos that the first film began and the second film established (they take place in reverse order and explain more as it goes on).  A friend of mine had a some people over for a viewing party (to get everyone caught up for when the fourth film is released next week) so we got to see it on a huge high-definition TV on bluray.  I don't know if it was the hardware setup that caused this or if it was actually shot in higher definition, but the "home video" footage in the film was shockingly clear, especially since it was supposed to have been shot in 1988.  I'm torn on how I feel about this because normally the bad picture is one of the things I don't like about found footage films, but it's sort of necessary to support the illusion of being found footage.  In the end, I think I approve of the clear visuals (by the time they make a third movie, we kind of have to go with the flow on a few things).  In some of the scenes, the presence of the camera felt manufactured, but for the most part it made sense.  There were a couple jump-scares (which a friend describes as the filmmaker "fishing with dynamite"), and one in particular, but I think it was actually organic to the plot.  The film had the same method as the first two, in that it slowly presented more and more examples of something spooky going on until things come to a head at the finale.  The way in which the film presents the not-rightness of the situation just tickles my scary-bone.

One of the things that made the whole franchise work is that the only faces you see are from actors you don't recognize from film or television in the past (which on its own is a part of the found footage method) but they still felt natural and unforced (which is a risk with inexperienced actors).  The particular paranormal presentations tend to work pretty well, because it's often a slow quiet thing you just notice and get creeped out by.   If you don't like the style of the first one, then obviously don't continue with the franchise.  If you have ADD or a similar temperament, then this movie will not be for you.  But if you like tension horrors (and not just action horrors/slasher films), then this could be right up your alley.