The Paranormal Activity film series introduces yet another horror story to its eagerly awaiting fan base, this time told through a different lens, exposing an apocalyptic confrontation in “Paranormal Activity 6: Ghost Dimension,” released last Friday.
Having a similar plot throughout the six films added to its predictability. It was not a surprise that this installment received a 4.5/10 IMDB rating, which is passable, but lousy for its hype and big screen unveiling.
The film stars husband Ryan Fleege (Chris J. Murray), his wife Emily (Brit Shaw) and their 7-year-old daughter Leila (Ivy George) as they move into their new home in Santa Rosa, California.
Upon setting up Christmas decorations they discover an old-school home video camera and mysterious VHS tapes inside one of the boxes.
Now would be the time to stop reading if watching “Ghost Dimension” is part of your agenda this weekend.
But despite expecting all of our questions to be answered after going back and forth over the years, viewers are left with more questions once the credits began to roll.
Throughout the film the family gets into a rut because its youngest child (Leila) has a seemingly imaginary friend who needs her blood to exit a paranormal realm.
It was not until “Ghost Dimension” that Toby, the demonic entity from “Paranormal Activity 3,” was exposed.
He appears less like a demonic entity and more like a mummy mid-decomposition, and the blood from the living girl allows the spirit to re-take his human form.
While little Leila begins to talk to her imaginary friend Toby, she begins to disconnect from reality, including her parents.
This foreshadows her later possession by the spirit she unwittingly befriends.
As Toby becomes more present in the family’s life, moving and throwing things, Ryan discovers the ties that binds his family to the creepy history of his new home.
There is usually someone playing the role of denying the possibility of paranormal oddities. In this case it was the family matriarch Emily.
But after almost an hour of suggested demonic encounters, the disbelievers finally accept the obvious reality that there is something out of the ordinary occurring, which inevitably leads to the installation of cameras all around the house.
This is where the expected angle and filming techniques used in horror films come through, all while trying to keep the thrill and the audience engaged.
Once zoomed into a particular section of the screen, the stillness takes over and what is expected happens: twitches from the audience and occasional screams.
An interesting aspect has to be the giant hole behind Leila’s bed as the possession has almost come to completion.
The hole in the wall connects the two dimensions, which led to the house at the end of “Paranormal 3.”
Having converted the all-feared entity into a solid being it is able to be destroyed.
The once concealed imagined idea that has existed through the years since the first “Paranormal Activity” release in 2007 is finally destroyed.
Or is it?
At the end of the film, Leila helps complete the ritual that brought Toby into existence with the help of her own blood. Her parents, Emily and Ryan are murdered by Toby.
Leila shows no signs of emotion as Toby snaps her mother’s neck.
The little girl holds the demon’s hand, unfrightened by his new devilish-human hybrid form, as the two walk into the abyss.
The audience is left to wonder what will happen next and whether the next family will suffer the same fate.
The hope for this “Paranormal Activity” film was to connect the pieces and wrap up the series. But all points to a coming “Paranormal Activity 7.”