The Paranormal Activity franchise truly invoked the support of Franchise Fred. I didn’t even like the original. You can point a camera at a girl standing over a bed but that doesn’t make it a movie. However, as soon as you make a sequel to it, that’s Franchise Fred territory. The sequels actually get cleverer, working within the confines of static camera and practical (or at least seamless) in camera scares, with Paranormal Activity 3 being the pinnacle. I thought there was still some fun stuff in Paranormal 4 but Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones isn’t Paranormal Activity 5. That’s still coming. This is a spinoff set in a Latin neighborhood featuring a predominantly Latin cast. That was the demographic being courted when the project was announced, but this spinoff is still clearly a Paranormal Activity film for everyone.
It is really, really Latin though. There’s a salsa party, a grandmother who only speaks Spanish and the protagonists throw around words like “bruja.” We welcome all at CraveOnline, and there’s no reason we wouldn’t want to see Latin-American culture, as well as any other culture in future spin-offs. There is some unsubtitled Spanish language, but nothing too important. The whole audience will still understand the movie but Spanish speakers will get a little bit more movie than everyone else.
After their high school graduation is filmed with a new video camera, Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and Hector (Jorge Diaz) keep playing around with the camera. They have some fun until they catch wind of a creepy neighbor doing some occult ceremonies that lead to a death. One day Jesse wakes up with a bite mark on his arm and super powers. He can beat up the local thugs and float above the ground. They have some fun with that too, but then his changes stop being cute and the neighbor’s paranormal activity comes to light. And of course, they keep filming.
This is a distinct twist on the franchise. It’s no longer a predominantly static camera, which gives writer/director Christopher Landon different tools to work with, but also makes it more like every other found footage movie. So the technique of misdirects and jump scares are different than they were in the Paranormal Activity houses, and they work. Terrible framing even becomes vital to one of the big scares. They’ll get you, but then do we really need another “running around with a camera” movie? There really is no good reason for Hector to be filming most of the things he’s filming, although one moment where he actually does put down the camera to deal with something important is appreciated. In another scene though he points the camera at a video monitor. No. Come on. Why would you film the monitor instead of just recording from the monitor feed, or, you know, looking at it with your eyes?
It’s also different that we have male protagonists this time. The films in the prime Paranormal Activity chronology are all women, whether Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden, their child actor counterparts or Kathryn Newton. Boys have male interests and male vulnerabilities. Hormonal libido is one, and ego and anger are more prevalent but all are explored. This is also the first Paranormal Activity with nudity, so it’s more like Paranormal Racktivity. We see bush too but I don’t have a pun for that.
The Marked Ones has a strong body horror element. Jesse explores his own physical changes with creepy results that will make you squirm, and Jacobs gives a really good performance portraying those changes.
One of the paranormal devices is an old Simon electronic game. This seems pretty silly, a real reach for a Ouija board substitute, but damned if it isn’t effective. It’s especially effective when the audience knows what the spirit is going to say before Jesse knows, because we know we’re watching a Paranormal Activity movie.
A warning to animal lovers, there is a dog in this movie. He’s not hurt per se but any dog lover probably wouldn’t want to see even the supernatural hint of canine discomfort, so that warning should exist.
I really like the way The Marked Ones is connected to Paranormal Activity Prime. There are definitive connections but they’re vague enough that The Marked Ones can still exist on its own. That’s the precarious franchise trick and it pays off in really satisfying ways in The Marked Ones.
The Marked Ones is a solid entry in the Paranormal Activity phenomenon. I’m more forgiving of 4 than most so it’s about equal, but maybe the different angle would make it even better if you hated 4. It’s got good scares, a decent story, and more action than the first film. The Marked Ones opens the first weekend of 2014 but you can see it as early as Thursday night, Jan 2.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
