Not good - for Jesse or any of his friends. More seriously, “Are you my guardian angel?” Another beep: Yes. “Do you think I’m handsome?” he asks, laughing. ![]() Please note that the video below does contain minor spoilers for the film.Follow (Andrew Jacobs) wants to contact an unearthly spirit he thinks has begun to inhabit him, so naturally he uses the old electronic game Simon as a medium. ![]() It may not be perfect, and my head may still be spinning from all the new plot implications, but I do know one thing, it’s 2AM and all my apartment lights are still shining brightly – and they still will be long after I’m asleep. Wow, did I miss this feeling – the exhilaration of suffering minor panic attacks in a movie theater while anxiously awaiting each inevitable scare. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is an apology and re-establishing all at once, acknowledging how the last three sequels focused solely on camera gimmicks (surveillance cameras, rotating fan camera, XBOX Kinect camera) and lost touch with Peli’s horrifying source material – even if simplicity has transformed from a cut-and-dry paranormal story into a puzzling, dimension-spanning clusterbomb of wicken craziness. I think there’s some hypnotic voodoo malarky being used on me right now because something is happening that hasn’t happened in years – I’m excited for another Paranormal Activity movie. Looking into the future scares me to death, because some of the, well, some of the more “supernatural” occurrences are getting too magically powerful, but in this specific place and time, Landon has drawn me back into Peli’s franchise like a dumb, gullible moth to its shiny, inviting light. I guarantee you’ll walk away from Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones with a billion questions, not many answers, but a certain respect for a movie that owns every ounce of absurdity – but does it work? I’m still extremely skeptical about where Paranormal Activity 6 can go, but in terms of franchise lineage to this point, The Marked Ones makes Paranormal Activity 3 and 4 look like cheap filler material only used to build to Landon’s newest, eye-popping climax. So what does Landon do? He adapts the “go big or go home” mentality and cranks insanity up to 11, entering an entirely new mind-blowing era for the franchise. Honestly, I found the entire scenario much more horrifying when some unseeable demon was tormenting victims for what appeared to be his own pleasure, and this is probably why Paranormal Activity is still my favorite franchise entry to this day. In Paranormal Activity 4, we’re exposed to a full coven of witches, Hunter, a fully demonized Katie, and a large network of women embracing Katie’s cult. Being a fair reviewer, I won’t divulge how Landon expands upon existing mythology, but I will comment on what’s been done to this point. With all that said, I’m still not 100% sold on where the Paranormal Activity franchise is heading story wise. The Marked Ones keeps the screams flowing with a vibrant and shocking delivery, getting back to in-your-face, twisted, evil horror that quadruples your heart rate while the camera steadily focuses down a pitch black hallway – causing you to clench the nearest person in a fit of paranoid hysteria. ![]() Landon delivers jolting scares, tension-filled chills, and true moments of blood-curdling terror while avoiding lackadaisical cheapness that typically sinks such genre films. You’ll jump, squirm, and scream bloody murder – and have a blast doing so. Moment of truth – do we have a reason to be excited about Peli’s franchise again? I’m happy to report that Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones starts 2014 off with a horrifying bang! Yes, The Marked Ones is the best Paranormal Activity since Oren Peli’s original, getting back to the hardcore scares that turned so many horror fans into momentary insomniacs. Don’t you worry, the characters record every single second of pure, unfiltered terror – but you already know that by now. Staring directly into the unknown, Jesse and his crew embark on a dark journey no one is prepared for, but with a young boy’s fate in jeopardy, there’s no giving up on the selected individual – even if he appears to have gained a new “guardian” of some kind. Expanding upon the Paranormal Activity universe, Landon introduces us to Jesse (Andrew Jacobs), a high school graduate who encounters evil forces and becomes what is known as “marked.” Noticing a suspicious bite on his forearm, Jesse and his friends attempt to unravel the mystery behind his new “powers,” the rituals being performed below his apartment, and the increasingly terrifying events plaguing everyone he knows.
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