A Nevada family plays host to a very odd 6-year-old neighbor boy whose unseen mother has suddenly been hospitalized, in "Paranormal Activity 4."
A group of young unknown actors jump into the Paranormal Activity formula without a hitch. The long stretches of green night-cam footage manage to make you creep you out as you try to figure out if you just saw movement in the corner and when something eventually flies across the screen, no matter how much you try to anticipate it, you jump.
A neighborhood witches' coven plays into the proceedings, adding to the drama. In the end, as expected, all you really get is a whole bunch of jolts and scares. If you have seen any of the previous films, it's more of the same. This time around I was more tricked than treated.
The original "Paranormal Activity" back in 2007 was fresh but, with this installment, the found footage evil entity gimmick has grown stale. So the flick-o-meter gives "Paranormal Activity 4" a three out of five. The premise behind this one seems a bit scatter-brained and pointless but, because Halloween is upon us, it should do the trick of getting you in the mood for those things that go bump in the night.
Paranormal Activity 4 is playing at the Century Laguna 16, 9349 Big Horn Blvd., on Saturday at 11 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 12:20 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:40 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:40 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:40 p.m., 6:20 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:35 p.m., 8:05 p.m., 8:40 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.
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Film critic Brett Martin gives his take on a new release. See all Brett's reviews at www.flickedup.com. Follow Brett Martin in Facebook at TheBrettSide.
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