Review: 'Paranormal Activity 3' Delivers Slow Scares On DVD

By Michael Lopez

Anyone expecting more jump-out-of-your-seat scares with the new unrated version of Paranormal Activity 3 is due for a slight disappointment. But this week's DVD release does provide more of a backstory for the terrorized family, which will certainly be a hit with hardcore fans of the franchise.

Released last October (just in time for Halloween), Paranormal 3 scored up some big bucks at the box office. And that stat is even more impressive when you figure this movie has no major stars and was made for an extremely modest budget.

Seeing it again on DVD does make for a spooky experience. As we're sure you're aware, Paranormal 3 zeroes in on the haunted house genre and uses realistic "home movie" scenes to show off mysterious bumps in the night.

And we have to admit, watching it on your living room couch is probably much more creepy than viewing it the theater (and don't get us started on the "Bloody Mary" mirror tricks). Blu-Ray may not be a necessity though, since the movie purposely downgrades its footage to reflect handheld video cameras from the 1980's.

As far as the plot goes, Paranormal 3 seems to be the most fully-developed story in the trilogy. Throughout its 90 minutes, we become fully engrossed in the life of a young couple and the "invisible friend" that has befriended their daughter.

As you can imagine, the "invisible friend" soon turns out to be an evil spirit who delivers quite an unexpected twist at the end. And that may be our biggest complaint. It's only the last 15 minutes that prove to be truly frightening. The rest just feels like a sluggish build up, without much of a payoff. And, truth be told, the unrated version makes things a little worse because it simply pads on extra content to the boring parts. Hopefully the next sequel won't give us as much slow-moving Activity.

Bottom line: Paranormal 3 actually does a fantastic job from the production end. Its home video recreations and old school set pieces make you feel like you're really peering into the lives of a 1980's family. The problem is, for the first 75 minutes they're a very boring 1980's family. But if you can stick it out until the final few scenes, you're in for a definite OMFG payoff.

Did you catch Paranormal Activity 3 when it was in theaters? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Blu-Ray, DVDs, Movie Reviews, Movies & CineMás, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 3