[31 Days of Halloween] Day Twenty-Five: ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ Delivers Fun Scares in the ’80s
This is it; the final Franchise Friday in our 31 Days of Halloween. That final spot goes to Paranormal Activity 3, one of the best entries in the popular found-footage series. Like the Saw franchise, you could count on a new entry to release in October, perfect for the Halloween season. All, except spinoff The Marked Ones, anyway. Aside from being one of the more entertaining and creative sequels, or prequel rather, Paranormal Activity 3 is also neck and neck with the original in terms of most profitable of the franchise. Fitting, considering it’s chronologically the first installment of the overarching saga of Toby the demon.
Synopsis: In 1988, wedding videographer Dennis has begun to notice strange things happening around the house ever since his girlfriend Julia’s daughters Katie and Kristi have befriended an imaginary friend. In an effort to figure out what’s going on, Dennis sets up cameras all over the house to capture any activity at night while everyone is asleep. To his horror, he discovers there really might be an entity haunting their home, and it’s only getting warmed up.
Key Players: Chris Smith plays Dennis. Lauren Bittner is Julie, Dennis’ girlfriend and mom of Katie and Kristi. Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown play young Katie and Kristi, respectively, while Katie Featherston and Sprague Grayden reprise their roles as the adult version of the characters. Dustin Ingram plays Dennis’ friend Randy.
Why It’s on the List: By going the prequel route, it allows the story to expand the mythology behind the demon plaguing this family in a very interesting way. Written by Happy Death Day’s Christopher Landon, this prequel gives us characters we actively root for, too. Unlike the first film’s Micah, who antagonized to the point of deserving his fate, Dennis is genuinely likable. Then there’s Randy, one of horror’s smartest characters; the first real sign of demonic activity and he gets the hell out of there so fast, never to return. Good move, Randy. Above all, though, is the scares. If you thought the ‘80s camcorder era would diminish the scares, you’d be wrong. It turns out that an oscillating camera is a pretty clever way to build tension and craft new scares.
Bloody Mary: Poor Randy is stuck on babysitting duty. He’s watching over Katie while the rest of the family is away, and she’s determined to play Bloody Mary. Playing that game in horror never goes well, and it gets creepy fast. Props to Randy for trying to hold it together, though.
Where You Can Watch: Paranormal Activity 3 is available to stream on demand through internet TV app Fubo TV, to rent on digital, and of course, Blu-ray.
