Another October means more scary movies, people preparing for Halloween, and another Paranormal Activity.  Coming out as fast as they can produce them, much like the Saw series, there are no new surprises in filming technique or presentation.  The lack of originality is what ultimately dooms the movie.

“Paranormal Activity 4” starts out with a recap of what occurred in Paranormal Activity 2 with Katie and Hunter, which will be important throughout the movie.  We follow the lives of a family in Henderson, NV, after the neighbor’s young son comes into their lives and house.  With the new temporary addition to their family, weird supernatural activities start affecting the life of Alex, the daughter.

Convinced that it is the new boy, Robbie, bringing these bad omens into the house, Alex and her boyfriend Ben set up cameras throughout the house with the families’ laptops.  Robbie admits to having a special friend that only he can see, and later gets upset when Ben says he can see Robbie’s friend, telling him later that he will pay for everything.

Unable to convince her family of something going on in the house, the movie takes a dark and surprise twist at the end leaving the audience jumping out of their seats in fear.

Having an ability to be a scarier movie, and not pouncing on that, really affects the overall movie. The setting up of “scary” sequences with something popping out or happening is not ominous enough.  In today’s world of horror movies it takes something else to scare a crowd, while many will scream and grab onto others when these happens, delving into the fears of moviegoers is necessary for a good horror movie.

There are shocking scenes, but watching the movie felt like a recycle of the last three, with new characters and maybe a couple new tricks in the demons’ hauntings.

Like the prequels, the movie is shot through a handheld video camera, and laptop cameras replace those of security cameras.  Paranormal’s storytelling style is passé and makes the story drag on longer for the audience.  Reverting back to the prequels, we follow the family on a nightly basis through the use of the laptop cameras and Alex’s hand held camera work.  Too many times there is a lack of action and a need to speed the movie up.

Rehashing a tireless movie series to a scare hungry movie crowd, gets the crowds in the door, but few will leave scared or pleased with what they saw or expected.  Don’t go into the movie expecting to see a new take on horror or something that is going to make you stay up for days on end afraid to sleep, and you may get your money’s worth.

The fact that it was left open at the shocking end leaves room for a sequel, but hopefully there will be no more rehashes of a story that has been told and plot twisted to death.  Save your money and wait for a movie that can scare you to your core.