PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES (2014)

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Christopher Landon
Cast: Andrew Jacobs, Carlos Pratts, Richard Cabral, Eddie J. Fernandez, Jorge Diaz, Gloria Sandoval, David Fernandez Jr., Kimberly Ables Jindra, Tonja Kahlens, Frank Salinas
RunTime: 1 hr 24 mins
Rating: M18 (Nudity, Coarse Language And Disturbing Scenes)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.paranormalmovie.co.uk/
 
Opening Day: 2 January 2014

Synopsis: "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" will offer up a storyline centered around a Catholic based investigation. The Catholic faith and Mexican folklore are known to have various ghost stories from demons to horrifying witch tales, and hopefully Landon took cue from these stories instead of the plain boring story told throughout the first four films. This could be a new turn that could see various Paranormal Activity spin-off films telling one off stories.

Movie Review:

Not to be mistaken for its fifth instalment, ‘The Marked Ones’ is in fact a spinoff that casts a young Latino named Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) in place of the original’s Katie and Kristi Featherstone. But what could have been an opportunity to invigorate a franchise of increasingly diminishing returns turns out instead to be a nail in the coffin, and despite boasting the series’ regular screenwriter Christopher Landon as its writer cum director, this is undoubtedly the worst entry yet to bear the ‘Paranormal Activity’ brand name.

The setting is a modern-day Latino neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where best buddies Jesse and Hector (Jorge Diaz) spend their time doing Jackass-type stunts and filming them with their new handheld camera. Within their two-storey apartment complex lives a mysterious (ain’t they always) neighbour Anna (Gloria Sandoval), from whose unit Hector hears strange noises from at night and who is rumoured to be a witch. Plenty of time-filling scenes and a half hour later, Anna is found gunned down by their school valedictorian Oscar (Carlos Pratts).

And just as you expect them to, Jesse and Hector decide to play Sherlock Holmes by breaking into Anna’s apartment to look for clues. That first visit leaves Jesse with a mark on his forearm (hence the title) as well as superhuman-like powers that look like an utter ripoff from ‘Chronicle’. Jesse discovers that his powers stem from the presence of a supernatural entity, which he verifies is malevolent with the help of an Old Simon electronic game (or basically the equivalent of an electronic oujia board).  That’s not the worst of it - he starts to sleepwalk at night to places he cannot remember and develops some stringy stuff around his eyes which he tries to remove to suitably gruesome effect.

For reasons unknown, Landon seems schizophrenic about his film. On one hand, he wants a clear link to the other ‘Paranormal Activity’ films, such that hardcore fans who have seen especially the last two in the series will immediately guess that it has to do with some coven of witches who have been practicing the dark arts. On the other, he seems to want to take things in a different direction, so instead of things that go bump in the night around the house, Jesse goes the way of ‘The Exorcist’ and gradually becomes possessed by the very otherworldly entity who’s been following him around.

Suffice to say that originality is in short shrift here, but what begins as an exercise in mediocrity descends into camp by the time the climax rolls around. We won’t spoil it for those who are undeterred by the lack of any new ideas here; we will however declare it probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious moments of the franchise. What redemption the relatively exciting climax provides is also quickly undone by the ending, which sees Landon try just too hard to tie the events of the film to the main ‘Paranormal Activity’ story thread of Katie and Kristi.  

But the surest sign that the series has all but lost its footing is the fact that there is nothing at all scary or disturbing in this entry. Whereas the earlier films used suspense and anticipation to build some genuinely terrifying moments, this one offers none of that gratification, offering instead an ‘Exorcist’-style horror with elements of ‘Chronicle’ blended into the ‘Paranormal Activity’ universe. The result is derivative to say the least, and proof that what was once a promising and enduring brand in the horror genre is quickly going the way of ‘Saw’ and ultimately bleeding itself dry.

As its title suggests, mark this entry down - but do so by crossing it out. 

Movie Rating:

(Easily the worst entry in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ series, this spinoff is little more than a ripoff of possession-type horror movies with some of the supernatural from ‘ChronIcle’)

Review by Gabriel Chong