Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 10/21/2011 Home Video Not Available MPAA Rating Rated R for some violence, language, brief sexuality and drug use. Running Time 81 Minutes Genre Horror Director Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman Writer Christopher B. Landon Cast Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Lauren Bittner, Dustin Ingram, Maria Olsen, Hallie Foote Studio Paramount Pictures |
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (2011)
SYNOPSIS
In 1988 sisters Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi
(Jessica Tyler Brown) seem to be enjoying a normal,
happy childhood at home. But when strange things
start going bump in the night, their father, a wedding
videographer, decides to use his cameras to discover
the source, especially since Kristi appears to having
conversations with an imaginary friend. While the
cameras do indeed reveal a flurry of supernatural
occurrences, the family is unprepared for the terror
that awaits.
In 1988 sisters Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi
(Jessica Tyler Brown) seem to be enjoying a normal,
happy childhood at home. But when strange things
start going bump in the night, their father, a wedding
videographer, decides to use his cameras to discover
the source, especially since Kristi appears to having
conversations with an imaginary friend. While the
cameras do indeed reveal a flurry of supernatural
occurrences, the family is unprepared for the terror
that awaits.
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY |
For all those fans of Paranormal Activity 1 and 2, the third installment in the series,
Paranormal Activity 3, hit theatres with a bang. This third prequel sequel takes us back to before
the activity of the first two began and tries to explain the source of the “hauntings”. It starts
with a scene from Paranormal Activity 2 and then it flashes back to 1988 when the girls were
being videotaped at Katie’s (Chloe Csengery) birthday party by their mom’s boyfriend Dennis
(Christopher Nicholas Smith), a wedding videographer with a passion for videotaping. It
moves on to show him videotaping other events around the house. In one of the tapings Christy
(Jessica Tyler Brown) mentions her imaginary friend “Toby”. Dennis starts wondering about
Christy’s imaginary friend and the weird noises in the houses and similar to the first two movies
he puts static cameras in the two bedrooms. The girl’s mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) thinks
Toby” is just “a product of wild imagination and will be gone in two weeks” and does not fully
give into the concept they are being haunted. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who
directed the blockbuster “Catfish” in 2010 made a brilliant addition to this low budget series by
having Dennis strap a camera onto an oscillating fan that panned the downstairs living room
and kitchen. This added a whole new effect to the static camera filming in the previous two
as the audience pans the screen for the next terror that awaits them. This constant waiting for
things to happen and the listening for the source of the noises is what keeps the audience on
the edge of their seat. The ending brings even more questions to the already chilling tale and
obviously leaves room for a fourth; however, this ending is not quite as haunting as the previous
two and ends rather suddenly. For those who don’t like the previous two this one offers no
surprises; however, those who have been a fan since the first one will not leave disappointed.
Paranormal Activity 3, hit theatres with a bang. This third prequel sequel takes us back to before
the activity of the first two began and tries to explain the source of the “hauntings”. It starts
with a scene from Paranormal Activity 2 and then it flashes back to 1988 when the girls were
being videotaped at Katie’s (Chloe Csengery) birthday party by their mom’s boyfriend Dennis
(Christopher Nicholas Smith), a wedding videographer with a passion for videotaping. It
moves on to show him videotaping other events around the house. In one of the tapings Christy
(Jessica Tyler Brown) mentions her imaginary friend “Toby”. Dennis starts wondering about
Christy’s imaginary friend and the weird noises in the houses and similar to the first two movies
he puts static cameras in the two bedrooms. The girl’s mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) thinks
Toby” is just “a product of wild imagination and will be gone in two weeks” and does not fully
give into the concept they are being haunted. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who
directed the blockbuster “Catfish” in 2010 made a brilliant addition to this low budget series by
having Dennis strap a camera onto an oscillating fan that panned the downstairs living room
and kitchen. This added a whole new effect to the static camera filming in the previous two
as the audience pans the screen for the next terror that awaits them. This constant waiting for
things to happen and the listening for the source of the noises is what keeps the audience on
the edge of their seat. The ending brings even more questions to the already chilling tale and
obviously leaves room for a fourth; however, this ending is not quite as haunting as the previous
two and ends rather suddenly. For those who don’t like the previous two this one offers no
surprises; however, those who have been a fan since the first one will not leave disappointed.
By Brenda S. Ladd
