Paranormal Activity 3
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Starring Chris Smith, Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Katie Featherston, Jessica Tyler Brown, Sprague Grayden, Hallie Foote, Dustin Ingram
Paramount Pictures
Originally Released: October 21, 2011

As a horror fan, it seems to be increasingly problematic to find a new film in the genre that impresses me. There have been several good releases over the last few years, but it seems they are drowned amidst the mediocre attempts. Paranormal Activity 3 does not tumble into any shade of mediocrity, in fact, it’s a shining example of a good, solid horror story that pays homage to its influences and delivers on the frights it promises without over relying on the stereotypical bloody gore shock value.

In point of fact, the third chapter of Paranormal Activity is not only of a high standard of excellence, it actually eclipses the previous two films, quickly having become the best of the series – an extreme rarity for franchises with more than a couple releases.

Paranormal Activity 3
Directed by Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Written by Christopher B. Landon, Oren Peli
Starring Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Jessica Tyler Brown, Dustin Ingram, Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden
Release Date: October 21, 2011

It was not surprising that Paranormal Activity was turned into a franchise after the original, which was made on a budget of $15,000, made over $100 million at the box office. What is surprising is that Paranormal Activity 3, despite rehashing the same formula as the first two films, still manages to scare people half to death.

The evil is back. The incorporeal evil has been caught on tape again, and this time it has a name… Toby. That’s right, the malevolent entity haunting the family in the Paranormal Activity series is named Toby. At least, that is, according to Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown), who gives the name to what her sister Katie (Chloe Csengery) thinks is her imaginary friend. Katie and Kristie both learn the hard way that Toby is not imaginary in the first two films, but Paranormal Activity 3 is set in 1988, when the girls are still children living with their mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) and stepdad Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith).