Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)/Movie Review

Release Date:  21 October 2011 (India)  Genre:  Horror
Tagline:  It Runs In The Family

In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.

Directors:  Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Writers:  Christopher B. Landon, Oren Peli (characters)
Credited cast:
Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden, Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery , Christopher Nicholas Smith, Jessica Tyler Brown, Brian Boland, Dustin Ingram, Mark Fredrichs
Executive Producer : Akiva Goldsman  
Cinematography by Magdalena Gorka Bonacorso       
Film Editing by Gregory Plotkin       
Casting by Terri Taylor       
Production Design by Jennifer Spence       
Art Direction by David Batchelor Wilson          
Costume Design by  Leah Butler    
Production Co: Blumhouse Productions, Paramount Pictures
User Review

Much like its predecessors, "Paranormal Activity 3" is a slow-building, stealthily creepy supernatural thriller that takes a teasingly indirect approach to generating suspense and escalating dread. The threequel is actually a prequel, time-warping back to 1988 to show how siblings Katie (Katie Featherston in the first film) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden in the second) were traumatized at an early age by things that go bump in the night. Slightly slicker and more densely populated than earlier pics in the franchise, the Oct. 21 Paramount release should play well with any fans who haven't already tired of the found-footage gimmick.

Although Featherston and Grayden make token appearances in a portentous prologue, preteen newcomers assume their roles throughout the rest of "Paranormal Activity 3." Pic details how Dennis (Chris Smith), the girls' videographer dad, becomes obsessed with discovering the source of latenight noises that echo throughout their spacious suburban home -- and learning the true nature of an imaginary playmate who may not be so imaginary after all.

Again like its predecessors, the film pivots on the conceit that its elliptical narrative has been culled from videos shot by someone (or a couple of someones) who cannot be called upon to provide any sort of explanatory narration. (It's interesting to consider whether some future sequel will identify just who's been editing together all this spooky stuff.)

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