Let's get something straight, right here and now: when it comes to this franchise, I'm about as close to a fanboy as you can get. And that makes it challenging to attempt to do a fair and unbiased review. Not everyone likes this franchise - in fact, I'm sure there's a significant portion of the people out there that HATE IT. With scary movies, more than any other genre of movies, it's all about personal taste, and everyone is different.
With that said, perhaps the best way to look at Marked Ones would be based on how you felt on any of the previous movies. Marked Ones sticks to the formula of the previous movies, with some fine tuning here and there. Here's my take:
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is the 5th movie in the franchise, but it can also be considered a spin-off...sort of. Marked Ones follows high school graduate Jesse, a kid living in a rather tough part of town (noticeably distant from the settings of any of the previous movies). Jesse and his friends notice some strange things happening in the home of their downstairs neighbor, and decide to use their camcorders to answer their curiosity. A good idea? Of course not. This won't end well...will it? Was it all destined?
If there's one thing I've always praised Paranormal Activity for, it's this: MASTERFUL use of suspense, tension, and misdirection. And Marked Ones not only follows suit - in terms of scare value, IT DAMN NEAR SURPASSES ANY OF THE PREVIOUS MOVIES. I don't say this lightly - Marked Ones might be one of the scariest movies in a looooong time. It will give you just enough time to worry about what's about to happen. And even when you think you know what's coming, they can still get you to jump. And man, can they hit you with some 1-2 punches... Movies like Insidious and Mama could take some tips from Paranormal - they know what they're doing.
The cast does a very convincing job in their parts. For the most part, everything feels like a home movie, but thankfully, you never have to deal with all the insane camera-shaking that many of these Blair Witch- type movies suffer from. And the pacing is excellent - the movie clocks in at just under 90 minutes, a tad on the short side, but not a moment is wasted. Every single moment is spent either scaring you, making you laugh, or pushing the story forward.
About the story...As a stand-alone film, without seeing any of the other Paranormals, this movie is still very enjoyable and scary. However, some of the lore of what's going on may get lost if you're unfamiliar. And the ending, while TERRIFIC on it's own, takes on EPIC-LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE if you've been following the franchise. You may want to brush up on the main characters of the previous movies before seeing Marked Ones. You may also want to pay some attention to the timeline of the films...2 happens before (and after) 1, 3 happens before 1 and 2, 4 happens a while after 1 and 2, and 5...well, that's something you need to pay attention to...
Being such a fan of the series, it's hard for me to find anything bad to say about Marked Ones. It's intensely scary, it squeezes in some funny moments, and it pushes a deep and involved story. What more could you ask for?
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones scores a FIVE OUT OF FIVE on The BDBOS!!! If you enjoy the series, it's a must see!!!
(Hey guys, thanks for checking out my review. If you wind up seeing the movie, I hope you enjoy it. For more reviews like this, movie news, and maybe even the occasional free ticket or two, be sure to check out my little page at facebook.com/TheBDBOS. Stop by and say wussup!)
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