By Kyle Osborne
In the new movie, “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones,” the first two words of the title have become a kind of “Quentin Tarantino Presents.” It’s a form of branding, rather than a continuation of something. In this case, that’s good news for movie goers, because ‘The Marked Ones’ is fresher, funnier and a significant improvement over the previous Paranormal Activity films, all four of them, which have been released at regular intervals since 2007.
The characters of those films were suburbanites living in middle class stucco homes that never really seemed all that scary. Most of the jolts came from just a few (way too few) moments of punctuation in an otherwise eventless slog. Pretty boring stuff, actually.
The new release changes locations to a working class Latino neighborhood (presumably L.A. or nearby) and features an all Latin-American cast. There’s something very cool about that. It could be any neighborhood, but without making a big deal about it, this film is set in a Latino area where the characters, mostly 18 year old kids who have just graduated and their siblings, are smart and, yes, pretty ‘All American.’ Not to say there aren’t a few jokes about gang bangers in the hood, but that’s reality. The film also puts in more ‘boo’ moments than its predecessors, although, true to the rhythm of the franchise, it still waits until the very end before it amps up the scares and the pace.
Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and Hector (Jorge Diaz) have just gotten their high school diplomas and, importantly, access to a camcorder on the same day. The camera essentially becomes the storyteller, as they use it to spy on a weird lady who lives downstairs. What’s going on in her house? Strange noises at night have them curious. A peek through an air vent shows the spooky neighbor lady performing some sort of ritual on a fully nude young woman. She appears to be writing something in blood on the girl’s abdomen.
Check Out My Best Films Of 2013
Just that quickly, the boys are hooked. With their friend Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh) in tow, they discover that the rituals are more sinister and widespread than anyone could have guessed, and that’s as much plot as I’ll give.
The constant shaky cam didn’t need to shake that much—movie goers have seen this device (gimmick?) since, what, 1995? We get it—but no one shakes the camera that much—take it easy—we’re getting sea sick here.
What works is that the characters are utterly believable—they really do sound like ordinary teenagers talking, not actors delivering lines. Jesse’s grandmother, a short stick of dynamite, is also authentic, speaking only Spanish without subtitles (most folks at my screening could understand her perfectly well) and adding to the sympathetic cast.
My main complaint is that it just isn’t very scary. And, although vastly improved, it still moves at too deliberate a pace. But I’m not mad at it. For a January release it’s actually better than it had to be, and better than expected.
It’s no secret: the studios make movies like this for a narrow demographic—from those just old enough to get into an R rated film to about 25 years old. And they have hit their target with a perfect bulls-eye because the movie goers who are peers of the characters will enjoy this the most. 2 1/2 out of 4 Stars
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is rated R. Watch the official trailer below: