PARANORMAL ACT... DAMN, I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE! (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 REVIEW)

     In 2009, America was introduced to one of the newest entries in a long line of micro budgetedfilms that are released every year. Paranormal Activity was a small film that was made for around $15,000 a a group of creative filmmakers. The idea was simple, and they did everything they could with the money they had. It was a special idea that deserved attention because it once again established the idea that anyone can succeed in great film-making as long as they work within their means. Although a lot of people are not really aware of the journey that this film had in its path to the big screen. The mainstream public hears very little about how the original film was actually completed in 2007, picked up by Paramount, strongly considered for either a small straight-to-DVD release/big budget remake, and eventually left to die in a the confines of an extremely limited release a whole month before the Halloween season. However, thanks to the great minds in the Paramount marketing department, the original Paranormal Activity was given a new life with a strong "Demand it" advertising push on the internet. Hype started building up around the internet. Their were claims that the movie was the "scariest movie everconceived." Claims of people "passing out in the theaters" were posted all over the internet. Even the trailer for the damn film focused on the idea scared audience members in footage of a live screening.
    Out of seemingly nowhere, the movie began filling up more theaters around the country. Paramount seemed to have a winner on its hands. The film was making a lot of money around the country. It had even become one of the most profitable movies of all time in terms of raw dollars. The film even did the impossible by not only beating out the sixth installment of the Saw franchise, but also effectively putting that particular franchise in the grave due to substantial profit decline. The country was booming about Paranormal Activity. It was a great win for Paramount and independent film-making alike. It wasn't long until Paramount released a statement officially announcing a quick follow up to the first movie, and a new division in which Paramount would give independent filmmakers a chance a $100,000 dollar micro films for the big screen. All seemed right with the world.
    The only problem I am having with this story is that it makes no sense to me! Maybe it is because I was one of the few to wait and see Paranormal Activity on the small screen because I wasn't seeing what everyone else was. (I understand this. Movies are made to be seen in big groups of people.) Personally, I view the original Paranormal Activity as that boring cult film that every hipster is supposed to love. A movie that someone is supposed to endlessly suggest to their friends but never have any luck. The type of movie nobody really wants to watch because it is boring and has a paper thin story (Really...isn't that what people complain about when discussing the quality of horror films? Where are all the critics on this one?) but thenangrily admits that it wasn't as bad as they thought. (Even though they still don't understand what the big deal is about.)
    So, as you may have guessed, I wasn't a really big fan of the first film. I will argue that it was a good film solely because the creative minds of the filmmakers. Anyway, I rarely argue over the idea of sequels anymore. (If the film has the potential to be good than it is okay in my book.) I decided to check out Paranormal Activity the opening weekend last year. Everyone was talking about it in length. People were even claiming that it was "the Godfather: Part II of horror movies." There seemed to be something about the newer one that the older one was lacking. (Naturally, I assumed it was simply more story.) However, the movie was set as a prequel. Naturally this was a hard thing to grasp. (How was the story going to advance through a prequel? The simple answer...IT DIDN'T!!! They didn't even try! The movie never tries to explain why it deserves to be seen, and nobody seems to care.) The only noticeable difference was the obvious self-awareness of the "story". Except this time it was far worse... I was in a crowd of my peers viewing the same movie as them, and everyone still seemed to like it. Again, the claims of the sequel being the scariest film that had ever been witnessed began to repeat themselves, and my faith in the movie going public began a steeper decline than anything seen in years prior.
    This second film went on to gross less than its predecessor, but it was still enough money to justify continuing the franchise. Then I told myself, "at least the second one ended in a very good way. There is a lot of story to be told there!" No... the third movie once again goes for the prequel idea. I comforted my thoughts with hope that this prequel would explore the cause of this "activity" that has taken up so much of my time. With that in mind - I headed to the theater still trying to figure out what all the hype is about... In short - I still don't understand it.
    The third movie plays out like the previous two films in the franchise. The only major differences are darker tone and a quicker feeling. In all honesty, I would argue that this is in fact the best film in the entire franchise. There seems to be an understand of what exactly is going on within the world after you view this friend. The only real problem is that it doesn't really makes sense in terms of the franchise. Like I have said, you can't advance your story by going backwards. There will always be problems that occur. (The mysteriously disappearing tapes that were present throughout the franchise...the things that could have enlightened everyone around this from the very beginning? How are these girls okay after what they witnessed at the end of this film? Honestly, I'm not really asking these questions, I'm just ranting.)
    In general, horror films are a breeding group for lazy film-making. I'm not a hater of horror films, but it is common knowledge that horror films rely on placing theirscary moments on tightly focused areas. In this way - the audience has no way of actually knowing what waits around the corner for the hero of the story. Nosubgener plays more heavily on this than the found-footage genre. Paranormal Activity might actually be the worst at this in the business. The films constantlyrely on making the audience wait for a big scare to come. Basically reducing the thrills of the films to nothing more than a spooky internet scary face pop-up effect. The third film doesn't attempt to break this habit. In fact, it makes the whole experience of not knowing what is going to pop out that much worse. The reliance of this technique is the source of every single scare in this entire franchise. The only problem is that it stunts the growth of the story. In order to keep the scares coming, the filmmakers have to keep the audience in the dark as long as possible. This has resulted in production of the same movie three different times. (How strange to me that both audience and critics alike don't seem to mind this fact. They are simply happy with claiming wild opinions of the movie without highlighting the fact that it revolves around a very weak plot. Nobody really knows exactly what is going on within these films...not even the filmmakers. The only goal here is to pump out as many movies as possible until people wise-up to the situation. The fact that people haven't lashed out on the lack of story yet makes me sick!)
    (I'm I the only one getting tired of the idea that the men in Paranormal Activity have literally nothing better to do than watch boring ass tape of people sleeping all day until they killed at the every end? Lets change this stuff up! Its getting so old.)
    I'll give one last quick note. These are my opinions about not only this movie but the franchise as a whole. However, I firmly believe that this franchise has nothing to offer in terms of real storytelling. While I wouldn't argue that the SAW franchise was of better quality than these films. I would argue that at least the filmmakers tried hard to tell a complex story that could be followed with a little dedication. (Maybe I am missing this aspect within the Paranormal world, but I don't believe I am.) Personally, i believe that the argument that SAW was a weak franchise because it had no story is something that can no longer be claimed. In fact, the success of the Paranormal Activity movies is the demand from viewers that Hollywood should focus solely on visual pleasures for the eye and forget about story. I wish everyone would think about this hard because Hollywood will. The message cannot be that the American public simply wants eye candy. The heart and soul of great film-makinglies in the art of great storytelling. The success of Paranormal Activity remains just one more nail in the coffin of truly great film-making.