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).

The digital movie rental deal of the day over at Amazon today is the supernatural horror film Paranormal Activity 2, which is available for rental for only $.99.

This deal is valid only for today, Thursday, May 19, 2011, until midnight PST. Once you activate the rental through Amazon’s Instant Video service, you’ll have access to the movie for 24 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $14.99.

Also, if you’d like to own a physical copy of the movie, the Blu-ray is available for $20.99 (that’s 48% off the list price) and is part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program “” you get the film as a FREE digital rental you can watch immediately when your purchase the physical copy. [The DVD is on sale for 38% off at $18.49, but is not part of the Watch it Instantly program.]

Paranormal Activity 2
Directed by Tod Williams
Starring Sprague Grayden, Katie Featherston, Brian Boland, Molly Ephram, Micah Sloat
Paramount Pictures
Release date: October 22, 2010 

It should be noted that a majority of this review was typed on a smartphone while sitting in the theater waiting for something to happen. Okay not really, but it could have been done that way given the amount of down time viewers have between scary parts of Paranormal Activity 2.

It came as no surprise that after the original ultra-low budget original film made millions worldwide that Hollywood would try to capture lightning in a bottle a second time with a sequel. While others have done the same before with weak results (Blair Witch anyone?), it’s likely Paranormal Activity 2 will get the same reaction as the first… because it IS the same as the first.

The first important detail the previews left out is that this sequel is, for 97% of the film, a prequel to the original film. Set roughly two months prior to the events of the first film, Paranormal Activity 2 follows the Rey family, a married couple with two children, including newborn Hunter. After finding their home in disarray from what they believe to be a break-in, they have several security cameras installed. The film combines the footage from these cameras and a single hand-held camera that switches hands at several points.