'Paranormal Activity 4' movie review: Scary-movie franchise is ...

'Paranormal Activity 4' hopes to continue where the found-footage franchise left off. (Photo by Paramount Pictures)

OK, don't move. Don't move. Just sit there. Sit there and read this. Are you reading this? OK, keep reading. Don't move. Just sit there reading this, and reading this, and then when you...

Boo!

Pretty scary, huh? Well, OK, maybe not.

But lulling people into a false sense of security and then jumping out at them has made billions for horror-movie directors -- and a very nice chunk of change for the smart minds (and studio) behind the "Paranormal Activity" franchise.

They took that old idea and ran with it, inventing a bare-bones chiller about a couple living in a bland house where suddenly things go bump in the night. So the shutter-bug hubby sets up some security cameras, and while the couple sleeps, we watch. And jump.

By the fourth-go-round, though, the story (an angry demon, a possessed young woman) and the gimmick (people with camcorders who film everything, even when they're being chased by said possessed woman) are getting a little lifeless themselves.

Yes, there are still shocks. There will always be shocks when you've been lulled into a slightly dulled, unsuspecting state and all of a sudden ...

Boo!

See what I mean?

But there's nothing very new to the shocks. (Even the sound of them is the same.) And at this point the "mythology" (OK, who was behind this cult again, and why did they call up this demon?) is getting a little hard to keep track of.

It's nice that Katie Featherston is back as the demon lady; with her sweet, baby-round face, she's not the sort of person you expect to go around cracking necks. And young Kathryn Newton is lovely as the unsuspecting neighbor girl. (Hmm, did someone say "sacrificial virgin"?)

There's also, in its own weird way, a certain kind of avant-garde twist to this kind of moviemaking. Since the time of Griffith, directors have literally directed where we look with editing, camera movement and closeups. Watch her. Pay attention to this.

By relying heavily on static points of view, however, (this time, cleverly, incorporating webcams and Skype) the "Paranormal Activity" series seemingly removes that directorial authority.

Someone's still in charge, of course, but we're not conscious of it. We have to scan the frame ourselves, constantly, looking for clues, warnings, danger. And that both deeply involves us in what's happening, and refuses to provide the comforts of an obvious structure.

There's a truly experimental edge to that kind of filmmaking and one that might be worthy of some real study. Or certainly of more exploration by a better filmmaker, with a more ambitious aim of examining different ways of seeing. But instead, it's been taken over by a bunch of pranksters with no larger goal than jumping out regularly and shouting "Boo!"

Note: Newhouse News movie critic Stephen Whitty wrote this review.

___________

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4
2 stars, out of 5

Snapshot: The latest in the jump-out-and-say-boo horror franchise, put together, as usual, out of "found" footage (in this case mostly pulled from webcams).

What works: The young cast of unknowns is fine, and the series gets points for not relying on gore.

What doesn't: The novelty of the gimmick wore off long ago.

Starring: Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton. Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman. Rating: R, for language and some violence/terror. Running time: R for language and some violence/terror. Where: Find New Orleans showtimes.

Source: http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/10/paranormal_activity_4_movie_re.html

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