Will this new film provide a suitable end to a lacking franchise?
If I mentioned 'Paranormal Activity' in the last months of 2007, many people would state that it is a very scary movie that leaves the viewer with a sense of dread towards going to sleep after seeing it, which I would of agreed with. Following the success of 'Paranormal Activity' several sequels have followed its successful formulae of filming, being a blend of hand-held cameras and steady shots. Furthermore it has created one of the most convoluted movie timelines and back stories in recent movies. These backstories and timelines were developed and formulated throughout the 4 sequels. It is fair to say that these sequels were severely lacking the scares and tension created by the first. 'Paranormal Activity 2' had its moments, and is the strongest of the sequels. However, the following films were less so. Although 'Paranormal Activity 3' provided more intense scares and the origin of the entity that haunts the family through out all these films, its ending left many people thinking that the franchise had gotten too big for its own good. It seemed that origins and backstory were becoming too obscure for audiences to really grasp and get behind. 'Paranormal Activity 4' and 'Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones' are by far the weakest of all the films. 'The Marked Ones' is the one film that very few people can recall anything from, providing lacking characters and an ending that seemed to be taken out of an action style video game for Ghost Hunters. Each films does has its scary moments and tension always remains throughout these scenes, but audiences have seen it all before meaning that they are likely prepared for the type of scares and what will happen before they do on screen. This is where 'Ghost Dimension' is vastly different to its predecessors.
Ghost dimension takes new angle to hopefully provide new scares and breathe new life into the franchise.
From the trailer it is clear that the film style remains, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The hand-held camera perspective provides a first-person view which, for those who may have never seen one of these films, heightens their tension as it is as if the viewer is actually behind the camera. Wether steady shot camera returns remains unknown I think, which is good as these shots tend to not build tension but boredom. What is going to make this film stand out is the fact that the hand-held camera provides a clear visual of the demonic entity and other paranormal related substances. I believe that this new approach will provide some much needed anticipation and hype for the movie, as it provides an all new experience to the audience. Something that the sequels never did apart from location, characters and slight deviation in styles of scares. To actually see this entity in a physical form and all other manner of paranormal elements hopefully will hook audiences and keep them on their toes during the movie. The movie of course continues the franchises backstory and what happened in the past movies and promises to answer all the questions that have accumulated over this franchises running.
final thoughts.
This franchise has had a poor run in recent years, and most movie-goers have been turned off by it all together. The new approach to visuals should hopefully draw them back and hopefully draw in other movie-goers who are curious about how this style will word and how the movie will turn out. Personally, I would definitely like to see this movie. Most notably because now we will be able to see the entity in full form as well other paranormal occurrences in full view. As long as the movie stays away from tedious jump-scares and that the trailers do not show too much of the movie (something that has been plaguing most movies recently), I believe that 'Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension' will end the franchise on a high note.
