Paramount Pictures

You would think that after three go rounds, the creators of the Paranormal Activity franchise would have run out of scare tactics. In some ways you would be correct. On the other hand, producer Oren Peli seems to have adopted an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset, recognizing just how lucrative – and genuinely frightening – the found-footage format is.

In case the PA timeline has become confusing, here’s a rundown: the first film occurred right before the ending of the second, with a possessed Katie kidnapping her infant nephew Hunter after murdering her boyfriend, sister and brother-in-law. The third movie was merely to provide information about Katie and her sister’s history with otherworldly forces.

The fourth film picks up five years after the events of the second. A new family, seemingly unrelated to those of the other three movies, begins experiencing strange phenomena when a mother and her young son, Robbie,  move in across the street. To anyone with a basic understanding of horror films, the rest of the film should be self-explanatory.

PA4’s teenage protagonist Alex (played rather convincingly by newcomer Kathryn Newton) and her boyfriend Ben (Matt Shively) are the first to notice the occurrences once Robbie begins spending an uncomfortable amount of time with Alex’s younger brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). Ben, a stereotypical high school male who “accidentally” figures out he can record all of his video chats with Alex, decides to install the recording software on every laptop in the house, effectively establishing the film’s camera setup. Similar to the surprisingly creative oscillating fan-mounted camera from the third film, Ben also plants a night-vision camera alongside the family’s XBox Kinect, making for some eerie moments involving tracking dot software. Add to that Alex’s iPhone camera, and we’ve got ourselves a good ol’ fashioned scary movie, folks.

While PA4 doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the table, there’s no denying the film’s visceral chill factor. Even the most hardened moviegoers may be ashamed at how high they jump at something as harmless as a house cat leaping into the frame out of nowhere. Needless to say, tension is the film’s greatest ally, producing enough nail-biting to justify the 88 minute runtime.

Whatever you do, though, don’t make the mistake of shelling out $15 for an IMAX ticket – the added spectacle is wasted here. That being said, as long as your movie-watching experience with PA4 is as low-budget as the film’s thrills, the latest installment in a consistently successful franchise should satisfy your craving for shameless late-October fun.

RATING: 3/5 stars

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