Intense suspense makes Paranormal Activity 3 a must-see

Chrissy Springer

November 4, 2011

The third installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise opened in October. Credit: Paramount Pictures

I slept with the lights on after watching Paranormal Activity 3. As the trailer advertised, “the last fifteen minutes will mess you up for life.”

The trailer was right.

In this prequel to the other two “Paranormal Activity” movies, directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman explore Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristie’s (Jessica Tyler Brown) very first paranormal encounters with “Toby,” the same demonic spirit that haunts the girls as adults in the previous movies.

Their mother (Lauren Bittner) and her boyfriend (Christopher Nicolas Smith) set up two cameras in order to capture the strange and violent occurrences happening around the house. They find that the more attention they pay to the spirit, the stronger it gets.

The film’s most thrilling aspect was the “security camera” point of view, a creative technique used in all three films. The 1988 setting limits the technology to two static, eye-level angles. The characters set up one more camera on the base of an oscillating fan to cover a large room. For the audience, not being able to see what was happening on the other side of the room as the camera movedwas absolutely terrifying.

The director’s careful attention to detail truly made the film a success; the audience had to pay incredibly close attention in order to see and understand the demon’s actions. I found myself obsessively scanning the screen all 91 minutes, afraid to lean back in my seat or put my feet on the ground for fear of what might be lurking below me. This state of teeth-chattering terror was interrupted only by unexpected fits of screaming whenever “Toby” arrived.

Like the other two films and all good horror movies, Paranormal Activity 3 slowly builds during the first two acts and explodes into rampant paranormal shenanigans in the third. Without this prolonged build-up of suspense, the film would have fallen flat. The intense action in the third act is what really fulfills the goal of the movie: scaring the audience witless.

Rarely have I seen a horror prequel that hasn’t led me out the door in utter confusion. But surprisingly, Paranormal Activity 3 was an exception. Although the film can stand alone, viewers who haven’t seen the first two movies are left with a few questions about the plot.

However, Paranormal Activity 3 can hardly be defined as a “horror” film. The storyline lacked the complexity characterized to true horror movies, and relied purely on petty scares and pure suspense instead. But I’m not complaining; any more of a storyline would have taken away from the film’s true thrills, and the shocking twist at the very end forgave all other lapses in the plot sequence.

Paranormal Activity 3’s complete lack of music made the events much scarier and far more realistic. In a typical horror movie, the audience is usually able to discern when something frightening is about to happen by the tempo and style of music. That luxury is not granted in this film, leaving every moment vulnerable.

Several jump scares turn into lighter moments over the course of the movie, which also keeps the viewers from being able to predict when the truly bad moments will happen. By the end of the second act, I found myself jumping at the ringing of a phone or the small bubbles from a fish tank in the corner.

The small cast is surprisingly strong, as well. Instead of a large array of demon fodder and a highly sexualized damsels-in-distress, a realistic family with realistic reactions to un-realistic circumstances makes the movie all the more frightening. The performances of Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown were especially notable for their incredible authenticity.

Paranormal Activity 3 is a must-see; it’s by far the best out of all the Paranormal movies and definitely one of the best horror films of 2011. Five out of five stars.

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