PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 Review

"Paranormal Activity 3" (2011)

It still works. Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, the directors of last year's controversial pseudo-documentary "Catfish," take the reins of the third installment in the highly popular found-footage horror franchise. And as much as the series has definitely set its own formula by now, "Paranormal Activity 3" does not feel derivative and still gives viewers something to be terrified about. It's clear Schulman and Joost have a sense of humor because this installment gives us new scare tactics that play with audience expectation.

The best of these clever devices is a camera mounted atop the base of a rotating fan. It pans at a deliberate and painfully slow pace between the kitchen and living room giving us a lot of anticipation to chew on before we see the other end of that camera's range. It's a dastardly trick. Along with this camera, there are only two others mounted in bedrooms unlike the second installment which had a whole security system of cameras to watch. The movie is a prequel to the events of the first taking place in September 1988, which explains the lack in technology. This aspect, though, is about the only thing that's period piece material. The high-vaulted ceilings and overall look of the home make it look incidentally quite modern, and the babysitter's outfit is a bit obvious.

But decade accuracy isn't the point here. The story follows Katie (Chloe Csengery) -- of the first film -- as a young girl living with her sister Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) and her parents, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith) and Julie (Lauren Bittner). The setting of a prequel is meant to show how Katie initially had an encounter with the evil forces that drove her to the activity of the original movie. Consequently, a lot of the action focuses around Katie and her sister. These girls, however, aren't your typical creepy young girls in horror movies. They're ordinary, everyday young girls. Except when Katie wants to play a scary game of "Bloody Mary," saying it three times could actually bring horrific results. And Kristi's imaginary friend "Toby," who she talks to with intimidated obedience, is the one making noises at night.

"Paranormal Activity 3" causes a larger sense of unsettling dread than even the first two installments. It might be because the looming presence in the house feels more personal and malicious -- and from Kristi it even gets a name. The second movie enlisted jump-out scares to utmost effect. And while this outing still toys with that, it even more effectively finesses pure suspense in moments where nothing even happens. Take the last 15 minutes, for example, which had me literally shaking with anxiety.

These films are, if nothing else, a lesson in restraint when it comes to eliciting scares. Sure there's no restraint when it comes to the number of sequels they're going to keep churning out -- "Paranormal Activity 4" is inevitably on its way -- but I would much rather see eager audiences sitting down to spooky ghost stories than the glib and vile "Saw" splatter-fest which previously dominated Halloween movie season.

My review of Paranormal Activity
My review of Paranormal Activity 2

"Catfish" (2010)

The hook of "Catfish" is its surprise ending, one that you absolutely must not let anyone spoil for you before heading in to see this wildly intriguing and fascinating portrait of a betrayal of the contemporary Internet age. Similar to "The Social Network," this new style of documentary plays out like a Facebook cautionary tale but to a different extent in that a person could very well not be at all who they at first appear to be within the realm of web pages.

The filmmakers Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost were all supposedly subjected to intense interviewing at this year's Sundance premiere to make sure their documentary is true in its facts. Though skeptics there may be, I believe this tale to be truthful. These people are exactly who they portray themselves to be.

It all starts when Nev, from New York, strikes up a relationship with a young girl named Abby from rural, upstate Michigan who begins sending him her paintings of published photographs he's taken. This innocent relationship then expands to one with Abby's entire family on Facebook. Things get most interesting when an intimate relationship unfolds between Nev and Abby's older sister, Megan. If the shooting of this documentary started the way they claimed it did, through sheer curiosity of how this Facebook relationship would expand, then these filmmakers lucked out and found themselves one hell of a story to share. It also helps they know how to share it as this is well done storytelling through footage, Google maps, GPS navigation and, of course, Facebook.

To call "Catfish" a gimmick wouldn't be too far from accurate, but it's a gimmick that is a rewarding and affecting experience that can only be had once in viewing this film. Knowing too much before seeing it would ruin the experience entirely, and so, as many have already been stating, don't let anyone ruin it.

I will say this about it, however, in hopes of not giving too much away. The foreboding build of suspense in discovering who exactly Megan from Facebook is and meeting her in person with Nev and his filmmakers is excellently nerve-jangling. It's full of anticipation, humor and, ultimately, compassion. This is a movie that transforms as you watch it. Once that revelation hits--rather early on, I might add--it hits you in a way you couldn't imagine. It's expectedly discomforting but even more so unexpectedly thoughtful, poignant and even sad.