Badmovies.org Forum

So a few friends and I got the chance to see PA3 at a free advanced screening this week, so I thought I'd share some thoughts to those who may be interested.

PA3 is a bit of a prequel, in that the bulk of the film is shot in the 80s when the two sisters from the first two were young kids.  The set up is pretty much the same: the mother's new boyfriend, who just happens to film weddings [and therefore has all the gear] starts to notice the girls acting odd, and strange goings on keep happening in the house.  In order to solve this mystery, he sets up some cameras, and then more crazy stuff happens.

The End.


Well its actually a bit bitter than that, but its still pretty much a duplicate of the first two but with a bit more backstory to it and some new scares.

Seeing it in a packed cinema with an audience who wanted to be there is always a benefit: the atmosphere in the cinema was terrific.  The way the cameras are set up also provides quite a nice touch to amping up some of the scary moments, in particular a camera that they attach to a fan which rotates from side to side, essentially making it somewhat of a security camera: things happen on screen, but then the camera pans away and it was a pretty nice touch.  Built some suspense up well.

Plus it has kids, and you know they're always kind of scary.


I won't go into the main plot points because its not so important, just know that if you liked the first two, you'll like this one.  If you didn't like either than you won't like this either, all purely because it's more of the same thing.  There's no really big surprises, a few plot twists but its a fairly predictable ride really.  What it does well is sound design: when scares happen it gets pretty loud which goes a long way towards making everything scarier.

The scares were, in my mind, less frequent than the others, but when they happened, generally they were better, so I'd rate this one above PA2 purely for that reason.


Anywho, not much in the way of a review, but thought I'd share a few impressions to those who may enjoy the franchise!


Anyways, here's the trailer below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90r3CnPI0AM



Also here's a clip from our screening [because it was a promoted worldwide advanced screening they filmed the crowd etc, I make an appearance in the background a couple of times, tall, red shirt, glasses [in particular behind my friend at about 1min in who gives the thumbs up]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JmzbiF-ng

Never seen part 1...but I did rent part 2.
I found it very long and drawn out in parts-lotsa shots of empty rooms.
But when the scares came-it was fun.
No classic-but very enjoyable.  :smile:

I have Paranormal Activity 1 on dvd.

I watched half of it, once, and fell asleep halway through. 

The half I did see didn't interest me enough to re-watch to see the end.

I enjoyed the first one personally. It was a refreshing change from the norm for me, and, IMHO, the best "found footage" piece I've seen. I thought the second one was so-so. The promos for this one don't interest me at all. It comes across as if they're going to tie up a trilogy and make sure they throw in more bang for the buck, more jumps per square inch, yadda yadda yadda. I prefer the original in that it was more understated and subdued. Some found that boring, and I don't hold that against them, but for me, I don't have to have every freaking question handed to me on a silver platter. I like ambiguity. I like using my own imagination. I don't need the entire backstory explained to me, and I prefer that it not be.

I must be a dying breed.

Loved the first, thought the second was way subpar and as for this one I probably have no hope.  Funny when the budget goes up, the quality of the film goes down.

The theatre crowd is kinda fun with these things,  but these aren't actual movies. This is like something at an amusement park. That's all most movies are these days, just something fit to screen at Six Flags on Fright Night.

I saw the first one, like for the most part.  Have not seen the second one.  I will have to see the second one then the third.


Thanks for the write up.

Later,

John

My Daughters and I watched this one tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Kinda funny, Becca is my horror movie queen - she loves suspense films, but not slashers, so this one was right up her alley!  Rachel watches CHILLER a good bit, but this was her first time to sit through an unedited R rated horror film, and she was pretty freaked out, especially by the ending!  This is a good franchise overall, and this one, I thought, was maybe the best of the three.

But as far as "found footage" type films, I will still take GRAVE ENCOUNTERS over any of them! LOL

This mirrors my experience watching it almost exactly, except that I didn't fall asleep.  I just turned it off to go do something else and never felt the urge to finish it.