Quik Flix Hit

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Rated R

Paramount Pictures

I know, I know.

Any movie with the number 4 or higher at the end of its title risks automatic long-in-tooth status. And so it goes with the fourth installment of the catching-demon-terror-on-videocamera franchise.

2007’s PA’s found-footage trope terrorized with a single camera mounted in a bedroom. PA2 (2010) one-upped that film’s voyeur content by tapping into a multiple-camera surveillance system. PA3 (2011) went old-school by bringing the pain via VHS videotape. This latest film opts to zing us with up-to-the-minute digital wizardry—laptop Skyping, cellphone video, even a videogame system’s motion-tracking technology (very cool) gets in on the action.

The producers obviously see human beings getting dragged out of frame by invisible demons as a hallmark of the franchise, but I think it’s become stale.

I should be cheering a movie that prefers slow-burn creepiness over attention-deficit quick cutting, flittering shadows and hushed demonic sounds over gore. I’m continually amazed at how these movies encourage—no, command—you to scour every inch of the frame, seeking out the lurking, about-to-pounce terror even as you’re trying to look away. There are shocks to be had, but by now, it all seems so familiar. And by now, can’t we delve a little deeper into the origin of this family-obsessed demon/witch coven nonsense, or just let it go already?

As I rolled my eyes at the post-credit setup for the next one, I’ve decided then and there to heed my opening warning about titles with growing numbers.

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