Paranormal Activity 3: Another Haunted House, Another Shaky Camera

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One of the big Halloween movies of 2011 is “The Human Centipede 2,” the grungy torture porn flick that pushes audiences (and their stomachs) to the limit. To me, though, real horror movies isn’t about guts and gore or terrible winged monsters, it’s about the fear in our mind. While “Paranormal Activity 3” does feature a, well, paranormal entity, the real fear here comes from our expectations and paranoia.

The “Paranormal Activity” trilogy all come from the same basic mould. An average and rather uninteresting family begins to notice strange things happening in their house at night. Lights flicker, furniture is moved, strange sounds are heard. Hoping to get to the bottom of the situation, the father decides to rig the house with security camera, which film these strange occurrences while the family becomes increasingly scared and confused.

The first film followed Katie and her husband Micah, in the second (set a few months before, and then simultaneous to the first film), the being is haunting Katie’s sister and her suburban family. The third, which opened Friday, Oct. 21, mostly takes place in 1988, when Katie and her sister where little girls.

There are many things these films, and number three specifically, do right. First of all, the concept of viewing the film solely through the security cameras is more than just a gimmick. It draws you in and removes all the Hollywood sheen and magic from the equation. At times, you really do forget your watching a scripted movie. 

Because of the limited cinematic techniques, it forces the filmmakers to be smart and, for my money, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (who handled part three) have the most imaginative and original cinematic eyes to date. Joost and Schulman come from the world of documentaries, directing the inventive docu-thriller “Catfish” (a great film that will likely be featured in an upcoming column). Their background in documentaries leads to some wonderfully inventive camera tricks, most noticeably the character’s homemade tripod made out of an oscillating fan.

Between “Catfish” and “Paranormal Activity 3,” Joost and Schulman show they know what makes suspense work. As fun of a movie as it is, “3” is like a study in suspense and timing. It is clear Joost and Schulman really understand horror and meticulously crafted each beat and moment of this film, each creaky sound effect, each moment of silence. They also use some textbook film studies techniques, such as meticulous mise-en-scene (the concept of the psychological effect of where objects are placed on screen). Notice, for instance, how almost nothing is centered and most characters were predominantly shown in the corners of the frame.

The directors, and Oren Peli (the director and creator of the first film), know that what we don’t see is often scarier than what we do and that silence is often more unsettling than tense, moody music. These films operate under the idea that the journey is more important than the destination or, to put it another way, the anticipation is more important than the payoff.

While that does create well-crafted, tense films, it is also their weakness. The paranoia is so thick in the first two acts of the films, the feeling of doom so saturated, that when something actually happens and the climax hits, it feels weak in comparison to its monumental build up. After a while, we just want Godot to show up (or whatever ghost or spirit is haunting the house).

That feeling is all the more prominent in the third film as we’ve already seen this routine twice before. While Joost and Schulman try to play with our expectations a bit, especially in the first half, the whole thing has a feeling of redundancy about it.

Most three-quels should only be watched by those who have seen the first two films. “Paranormal Activity 3” is a rare exception, a film that is perhaps better enjoyed by those unfamiliar with parts one and two. While the set-ups and talent behind the camera gets better with each film, they are all variations on the same theme, leaving the experience ultimately tiresome rather than frightening. 

What I'd see this week:

• For some drama —  “The Ides Of March” / "Moneyball"
• For some laughs — “50/50"
• For a scare — “Paranormal Activity 3”

About this column: Reviews on the latest releases to hit the silver screen.