Movie Review – Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Like 2009′s Paranormal Activity, 2010′s Paranormal Activity 2 was also a hit in the movie theater.

The first film was a straight-up paranormal horror film where a demon terrorized a young couple.  We knew that the young woman, Katie, had something mysterious in her part, but it really wasn’t explained.  Paranormal Activity ended with Katie being possessed by the demon and killing her boyfriend, Micah.

Paranormal Activity 2 takes place a couple of months before the events in Paranormal Activity.  The sequel stars Katie’s younger sister Kristi as she and her family are terrorized by a demon.  We learn that people can make deals with demons and exchange a first born son for wealth and power.  We also learn that Hunter, they baby boy in the film, is the first male son on Kristi’s side of the family since the 1930s.  Paranormal Activity 2 ended with Dan, Kristi’s husband, sending the demon out of Kristi’s body and to her older sister, Katie.  The next night after Katie kills Micah, she kills Dan and Kristi and then steals baby Hunter.

Enter 2011′s spooky horror film Paranormal Activity 3.

Set mostly in 1988, Paranormal Activity 3 explains why the adult versions of Katie and Kristi are so fearful of demons and the darker side of spirits.  We see clips from a collection of VHS tapes and learn more about the family’s past along with the girls’ connection to a certain demon.

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, Paranormal Activity 3 stars Chris Smith as Dennis, Lauren Bittner as Julie, Chloe Csengery as Katie, Jessica Tyler Brown as Kristi, Dustin Ingram as Randy, and Hallie Foote as Grandma Lois.  The film also brings back Katie Featherston as Adult Katie, Sprague Grayden as Adult Kristi, and Brian Boland as Daniel.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Paranormal Activity 3 begins in 2005 as Daniel (Brian Boland) records himself and Kristi (Sprague Grayden) preparing the nursery for the unborn baby Hunter.  Katie (Katie Featherston) is visiting the home, and at some point she drops off some boxes of old VHS tapes.  She claimed that they were in Grandma Lois’s possession for the longest time, and Katie acquired them after Grandma Lois died.  Katie, in turn, is passing them to Kristi.  It’s not mentioned if Katie has viewed the tapes or not.

About a year later the family is out having fun and their home is ransacked.  Nothing of value was taken.  In this film it’s revealed that the box of VHS tapes was stolen by the mysterious intruder.  Perhaps something interesting was on those tapes . . .

Paranormal Activity 3 jumps back in time to September of 1988 as we begin to preview those lost VHS tapes.  Katie (Chloe Csengery) is celebrating her birthday and there’s a big party for the girl.  We meet her mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) along with her new boyfriend Dennis (Chris Smith).  Dennis is the main person behind the camera in this film.  We also meet Katie’s younger sister Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) along with Grandma Lois (Hallie Foote).

Dennis works as a film editor and has an editing studio in the house’s basement.  He and his partner Randy primarily film weddings and compose souvenir videos for the family.  We later learn that he doesn’t make a whole lot of money with his business.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

One day after Katie’s birthday party, Dennis is working downstairs when he hears a strange sound in the house.  He brings along his video camera and records himself investigating the house, searching for the source of the sound.  Nothing seems out of place until he reaches Katie and Kristi’s bedroom and notices an open door leading into a small crawlspace.  It’s strange but Dennis doesn’t really think anything of it.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Later, Dennis and Julie try to make a sex tape.  Things are starting to heat up in the bedroom when a small earthquake strikes the area.  The home shakes and Dennis and Julie run to check on the girls as the camera is knocked to the floor.  The earthquake finally stops and a last bit of dust falls from the ceiling.  As we can see, it looks like the dust lands on an invisible person standing in the bedroom.

Julie isn’t thrilled with the results of the makeshift sex tape, and she wants Dennis to erase it.  He agrees, but when he’s watching the earthquake that his camera caught on tape, he sees the dust hitting an invisible figure in the bedroom.  Randy (Dustin Ingram) arrives, and both of the guys are thrilled with the “ghost” caught on camera.  Randy encourages Dennis to place a couple of cameras in the house so they can catch more paranormal activity on tape.  Dennis does so and he places a video camera in the girls’ bedroom and another in the master bedroom.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

That night, the video camera in the girls’ bedroom catches Kristi crawling out of her bed in the middle of the night.  It looks like she’s sleepwalking until the girl approaches the door to the crawl space and starts talking to somebody off-camera.  Kristi carries on a conversation for a few moments before returning to bed.

Dennis previews the tape later that day and discovers Kristi’s night time activity.  He asks the girl about who she was conversing with in the bedroom, but she’s reluctant to talk about her friend.  Kristi reveals that her friend’s name is Toby and that he’s tall and as old as grandma.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Dennis reports Kristi’s conversation to Julie, but she doesn’t want to hear stories about ghosts in the house.  She’s convinced that Kristi is just behaving as a normal little girl, complete with sleepwalking and creating her own invisible friends.  Julie thinks that Dennis’s video camera experiment is a waste of time.  Dennis returns to the basement and is editing videos with Randy when they both hear a strange sound.  Randy records and follows Dennis as he explores the house.  They follow the sound to a bedroom closet where Julie jumps out in a scary mask and gives her boyfriend a real scare.

The next night, Katie and Kristi sleep outside in a tent.  Julie wakes in the middle of the night and hears some strange sounds.  She has Dennis investigate, but he doesn’t find anything.  He and Julie wake the girls and have them spend the rest of the night in the house.

Dennis wakes in the middle of the following night, and he takes his video camera to investigate the house.  A light is mysteriously swinging from the ceiling by the front door, and when he’s in the kitchen all of the shutters suddenly close.  It’s starting to get spooky in there but Dennis isn’t showing any signs of being scared.  In fact, the guy is becoming more and more fascinated with the strange phenomenon inside the house.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Randy urges Dennis to keep recording the events in the house.  Dennis wants to record both the living room and kitchen at the same time, but he doesn’t have a wide enough camera lens to cover both rooms.  Randy gives him the idea of mounting the video camera to an oscillating fan base, and using that to keep panning between the rooms.  It works and he now records two more rooms.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Later, Randy gives Dennis a book about demonology, and Dennis enthrals himself on the subject.  Upstairs, Katie takes a video camera into the bathroom and convinces her sister to play the game Bloody Mary.  They say the name three times, but their mother opens the door before anything happens.  She kicks them out of the bathroom but leaves the video camera recording.  We watch in the mirror as the door behind the camera slowly opens and then slams shut.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

A couple of days later Kristi is playing tea party.  Dennis brings along a video camera and records as he joins Kristi’s tea party.  One of the “empty” chairs is supposedly occupied by Toby.  Dennis keeps trying to get Kristi to talk about Toby, but the girl doesn’t want to, especially with the ghost allegedly sitting right there at the table.

Dennis leaves the tea party and Katie arrives.  She picks up the camera and begins taunting her little sister, calling her a baby for having an imaginary friend.  Kristi insists that Toby is real and that he’s in the crawl space.  Katie calls Kristi’s bluff and enters the crawl space, taunting both Kristi and Toby.  The small door slams shut and locks, and Katie pounds on the door and calls for help.  The door opens just as Julie arrives in the room and stops the girls from fighting.  After everybody leaves the room, the video camera records the door as it gently closes on its own.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Dennis and Julie leave for a night out and have a teenager named Lisa (Johanna Braddy) babysit for Katie and Kristi.  The three of them have fun and Lisa puts the girls to bed.  She then goes to the kitchen to work on some homework.  As we see, a small figure wearing a sheet and dressed as a classic ghost is first standing at the front door and then right behind Lisa.  We never see the “ghost” actually move between rooms as it just appears when the camera pans back and forth.  Just as Lisa turns around and notices the “ghost,” it vanishes and the sheet falls to the floor.

Lisa heads upstairs to check on the girls when something by the crawl space catches her attention.  Just as she bends over to take a look, a blast of air pushes her back and spooks the girl.  She waits downstairs for Dennis and Julie to return, and when they do she quickly leaves the house.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Later that night, Kristi is wide awake and playing with Toby again.  This time the little girl walks along a railing and then jumps downstairs.  Toby catches the girl and she climbs the stairs back to her bedroom.  The oscillating camera missed recording the spirit catching the girl.

The next day, both Dennis and Randy are thrilled when they see the video tape of the “ghost” behind Lisa in the kitchen and then the blast of air that hit Lisa in the girls’ bedroom.  The events are escalating, and Dennis is determined to keep recording and capturing the phantom spirits.

Kristi has another encounter with Toby the next night.  Kristi walks to her parents’ room and stands in the doorway for a while, debating what to do.  She then returns to the crawl space and talks to Toby.  Kristi tells her friend that she doesn’t want to play with him any more, and then she returns to bed.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

The next morning, Dennis discovers a mysterious symbol drawn on the ceiling of the crawl space, and Kristi is very ill.  They have to take the girl to the hospital.  Randy arrives and agrees to babysit for Katie.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Katie convinces Randy to play Bloody Mary with her in the bathroom.  Randy agrees to but turns on the light too quickly and ruins the game.  Katie won’t let him leave until he plays again and does it correctly.  They both say the name of the spirit three times and wait in the dark for the ghost to appear in the bathroom mirror.

There’s a loud sound and Randy is scratched across his abdomen.  As Katie is looking at the scratch mark, a large, black blur runs past the bathroom door.  It runs back across the door and now Katie and Randy are both scared.  Their fear turns to terror as the bathroom door violently shakes and rattles.  The shaking stops and everything seems fine, so Randy peeks into the girls’ bedroom.  He takes a few steps and then is horrified as some of the furniture is violently thrown across the room.  Randy retreats to the bathroom and stays in there for a few moments.

Randy and Katie slowly emerge and make their way across the bedroom, stepping around the furniture that was thrown across the room.  Randy heads downstairs and is packing his gear when Dennis returns home from the hospital.  He tells Dennis that something powerful is in the house, and he’s leaving.  It’s too much for him to handle.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Dennis researches the symbol in the demonology book and makes a discovery.  He brings Julie into the basement and shows her an old photograph with women wearing the same symbol around their necks.  He explains that the women belonged to a witches’ coven.  The women were brainwashed into birthing and then giving away their sons to an unknown force, most likely a demon of some sort.  Julie thinks that Dennis is being paranoid and doesn’t want to hear about ghosts, demons or witches in their house.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Meanwhile, Katie is chasing Kristi in their bedroom when she suddenly stops and stares at a corner.  She’s paralyzed with fear while staring at a horrific being.  The demon is invisible to us as it walks around Katie and then yanks up her hair, lifting the girl by her hair.  She’s ultimately released and goes crying to her mom.  Julie uses that as proof that Dennis’s paranoia is causing problems around the house.

Dennis stays up late working on his videos while Julie and the girls are all in bed.  The demon crawls into Katie’s bed and then torments the girls, making things move around the room.  Katie calls for help but Kristi urges her sister to just ignore “it.”  The demon yanks away Katie’s blanket, and when she tries to run away, the girl is pulled twice to the crawl space.  Katie’s torment continues until Kristi tells Toby that she’ll “do it,” whatever “it” means.  Julie slept through the attack and Dennis was wearing his headphones, so he never heard anything.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

The next morning, Kristi asks her mom if they can go stay at grandma’s house.  Her mom refuses and Kristi returns to her bedroom.  Julie is downstairs talking on the phone when there’s a knock on the door.  She answers the door but nobody is there.  When she returns to the kitchen, Julie is shocked that there’s nothing there.  The table, chairs, items on the counter, and the whole bookcase is empty.  Julie takes a few steps forward and suddenly everything that was missing falls to the floor in a tremendous crash.  She doesn’t need any more convincing.  The family leaves immediately for Grandma Lois’s house.

They arrive at Grandma Lois’s house (more like a mansion complete with a guest house) all safe and sound.  The family settles in and tries to get their minds on things besides the demon at their old house.  Grandma and the girls play dress up, and Kristi is dressed in an old wedding gown.  When asked who the groom is, Kristi replies that it’s Toby.  This spooks Julie, and she sends the girls to bed.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

A sound in the middle of the night wakes Julie, and she gets up to investigate.  When she doesn’t return several minutes later, Dennis takes the video camera and investigates the house himself.  As he gets out of bed we see one of the girls standing in the doorway, looking at him.  He doesn’t notice and begins looking for Julie, Katie and Kristi.

The girls aren’t in their bedroom.  Dennis heads downstairs and continues his search for the girls.  He passes a bird cage and notices that the bird is dead.  He then notices the silhouette of a girl in a neighboring room, but when he enters the room it’s empty.  The paintings are down on the floor and it’s revealed that they were hiding more demon and occult symbols.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Dennis continues investigating and follows some lights to the guest house.  He opens the door but the room is pitch black.  He’s shocked when turning on the light and seeing a bunch of old women standing in the room and wearing dark clothing, including Grandma Lois.  They start to follow him and Dennis retreats to the main house.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

Back in the house, Dennis finds Julie standing at the top of the stairs.  Only she’s not standing but rather levitating a few inches off the floor.  He starts walking up the stairs and Julie is tossed onto him.  They both tumble down the stairs and land on the floor.

While lying on the floor, Dennis sees Kristi walking into the hallway.  He manages to get up and quickly take the girl into a closet.  The two of them hide in there as a terrifying force growls and bangs on the door.  Dennis slowly opens the door but closes it quickly when a dark mass rushes down the hallway.  He waits a few moments before opening it again and taking Kristi out of the closet.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

He takes the girl through the house and pauses for a moment at a window.  Out in the yard a few of the old women are standing around a bonfire.  He and Kristi then find Katie crying near the body of her mom.  Dennis cautiously approaches the girl and gently places a hand on her shoulder.  Katie spins around and growls at Dennis, throwing him backwards and injuring his legs.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – (c) Paramount Pictures

The camera records the action as Dennis crawls across the floor towards Julie’s body.  Grandma Lois walks into the hallway and stops in front of Dennis.  Suddenly, Dennis is pushed down by an invisible force and then bent in half backwards, breaking his back with a sickening crunch.

Paranormal Activity 3 ends with Katie and Kristi joining Grandma Lois, and the three of them heading upstairs.

So is Paranormal Activity 3 any good?

As a whole, Paranormal Activity 3 is a good supernatural horror film and a great addition to the Paranormal Activity franchise.  From the setting in September of 1988 to having the demon interacting with the young girls to the witches’ coven, PA 3 feels like it offers viewers quite a bit of fresh ideas despite this being the third “found footage” style of film in the series.

Paranormal Activity 3 adds a great deal of back story about Katie and Kristi being terrorized by a demon when they were young girls.  Though as many of the questions have been answered, it seems like this film, in turn, asks even more questions about deeper events in the history of their family.

For example, why did this particular demon begin interacting with Kristi?  Was there a trigger event that caused her to begin communicating with “Toby”?

Did Julie have a paranormal history involving demons?  What happened to the girls’ real father?  All we know at this point is that Dennis began dating Julie a few months before Katie’s birthday party at the start of the film.

Was it Grandma Lois who made a pact with a demon for wealth?  Was she one of the witches in that old photograph from the 1930s?  We know that Grandma Lois clearly has money, but we don’t know anything about her past.  We also know that Julie also has access to money (passed down from her mother?) despite Dennis not making a whole lot with his business.  Did Grandma Lois make a deal a long time ago, and was that demonic curse ultimately passed on to baby Hunter and Katie at the end of the previous two Paranormal Activity films?

What really happened to Julie that night at her mother’s house?  After she left the bedroom to investigate a strange sound, we didn’t see her again until she was possessed and levitating at the top of the stairs.  After that she and Dennis rolled down to the main floor.  Was she killed?  Did she survive but go insane and sent to an asylum?  All we really know (at this point in the film series) is that something bad happened to Katie and Kristi’s mother, and after her mom went crazy some people came to live with them for a while.

I don’t know.  Perhaps I’m looking too much into the story.  Regardless, it’s still a fascinating subject to me.

Paranormal Activity 3 had a semi-refreshing feeling to it despite it being the third film in a series.  The “jump” scenes were great, the setting back in the 1980s was fun, and this time around the lead male character actually respected and had an interest in the paranormal.  Micah was a jerk towards the spirits and Daniel didn’t want to hear about it until the evidence couldn’t be ignored.  Dennis held the interest this time and he had to convince his girlfriend Julie that there was a phantom in the house.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – movie trailer

I still wouldn’t classify these Paranormal Activity films as truly horrifying or scary movies, but they’re definitely fun and interesting if you’re into that subject material.  PA 3 ranks right up there with the first PA film.  Make sure you watch this one if you liked the first film.

Be warned though.  Paranormal Activity 3 will leave you wanting more of the story.