Paranormal Activity 3 The third outing for the P.A franchise is a pre-prequel, being set in the late 1980's and centring on the same sisters from the original film and follow up. ( P.A 1 + 2 reviewed here and here ). We watch as the young sisters and their parents are subjected to the kind of haunting experience you would not forget in a hurry. But it seems that they did forget and therein lies the main problem with the film. Whereas the first two P.A films were nicely tied together, the third seems to have been tacked on in an attempt to justify another film. Did the normal, well adjusted sisters of the original film really forget about this kind of childhood? Me thinks not. Something about brainwashing or amnesia was put forward but, for me it was a little forced. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who brought us "Catfish" in 2009 ( reviewed here ), PA3 is more of the same uncomfortable silences, supernatural rumblings and loud bangs but has less tension and more comic edge to the shocks. Having said that, there are a few good scares to be had and the roving VHS camera worked well as a tension building device. If you enjoyed the other films and can ignore the holes in the plot, then PA3 has some good jumps and is worth a watch. If you haven't been a fan, then I don't think there's anything new to help change your mind.
5.5 out of 10.
Cert 15 (uk)
2011.
