Paranormal Activity 4... So earlier today, I finally got around to seeing the fourth installment in the 'Katie the Demon' film series (I made this term up), and needless to say, where are Sam and Dean Winchester when you need them? I, of course, am referring to the demon-hunting brothers of the hit CW Network TV show Supernatural...as Paranormal Activity 4 continues to chronicle the exploits of a woman (Katie, played by Katie Featherston) and how her possession by a demon due to a long-standing family curse causes her to wreak death and destruction on those around her. Whether it's against Katie's own sibling (as in the case of Paranormal Activity 2), her mother's boyfriend (in Paranormal Activity 3) or a poor unsuspecting family who made the unfortunate decision of adopting a child with a dark secret (this latest film), the demon doesn't discriminate in eliminating those who stand in the way of the pact it made with other women in Katie's bloodline a long time ago.
In terms of the question that most of you are probably asking (Was the movie scary?), it has its moments. What makes Paranormal Activity 4 (and the previous installments in this series) interesting is that you wanted to see frightening stuff going on—but not to the point where you actually had to cover your eyes or look away. A lot of the violence is implied or held back, as in the case of one kitchen scene in the movie. The mom (Holly, played by Alexondra Lee), is slicing vegetables at a cutting board when something nearby causes her to briefly look away. As she does so, you see the knife suddenly shoot up towards the ceiling...with Holly wondering where the utensil went when she focuses her attention back to the vegetables again. In a tense moment, you're cringing that the knife will suddenly fall from the ceiling and impale the top of her head as she is trying to locate the sharp object. Needless to say, the scene ends with her unscathed but unable to find where the knife went. You think the knife will play a crucial role later in the movie, but no, it merely falls back to the cutting board as a way to scare another member of Holly's family in a subsequent scene.
As I said in the previous paragraph, Paranormal Activity 4 is scary (with occasional bouts of welcomed humor)...but not as scary as the previous movies (especially Paranormal Activity 2). With the earlier films, the audience does not fully know why Katie's family is being haunted—making the mysterious paranormal activities occurring in their house all the more frightening. By the fourth film however, it's clearly obvious that only those unfortunate enough to cross paths with Katie will face the wrath of the demon (or demons). So the gist of Paranormal Activity 4 is that you should be careful when adopting kids (for they may be demon spawns), and that the latest web cameras carry a cool night vision function that allows you to see aforementioned spawn about to possess a hapless child. Freaky stuff. That is all.
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