Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

I only watched the first one... it actually had some potential to be good until they completely screwed everything up with that ending.

Is there even any point in making sequels to movies like this? The whole magic trick was convincing people in theaters that the footage was actually real. Once you realize it's just another movie, the second one feels totally pointless.

To first one felt like such a fun, solid little mockumentary prank! My only real gripe was that out of all the possible ways they could have ended it, they went with the absolute most underwhelming conclusion—apparently, they took a tip from Steven Spielberg on that one, if you can believe it. As for the second installment, I don’t know, maybe I’m just the only person out there who thought it was actually decent enough? Regardless, I’ll definitely be sitting down to watch the third part... not that I’m sitting by the mailbox counting the days until it drops, mind you...

Ugh 🤦 not this crap again?!

Fine, if you're such a genius, why don't you just go ahead and invent a horror movie that's actually fucking terrifying then?
I mean, I guess people today just get worked up over everything they see on screen. This whole concept of filming ghosts out of pure curiosity is actually a pretty interesting idea. Sure, maybe there's no point in making sequels to movies like PA, but honestly, nobody expected people to demand this level of absolute authenticity. Besides, the guy behind the camera clearly has his own ideas he wants to share with an audience while making a little money on the side. If someone doesn't like the premise, they can just skip the movie and keep their baseless whining to themselves.

silentcanyon58 said:To first one felt like such a fun, solid little mockumentary prank! My only real gripe was that out of all the possible ways they could have ended it, they went with the absolute most underwhelming conclusion—apparently, they took a tip from Steven Spielberg on that one, if you can believe it. As for the second installment, I don’t know, maybe I’m just the only person out there who thought it was actually decent enough? Regardless, I’ll definitely be sitting down to watch the third part... not that I’m sitting by the mailbox counting the days until it drops, mind you...

To be honest, I thought both PA movies were actually pretty solid and interesting... I managed to uzivjsti through both of them. They aren't exactly cinematic masterpieces, but they tied everything together nicely, and I had a good time!
I'm definitely going to watch the third one too, though I'm not really setting any expectations.

shadowscout8 said:To be honest, I thought both PA movies were actually pretty solid and interesting... I managed to uzivjsti through both of them. They aren't exactly cinematic masterpieces, but they tied everything together nicely, and I had a good time!
I'm definitely going to watch the third one too, though I'm not really setting any expectations.

I've always been a huge fan of the whole fake documentary/mockumentary/found footage concept—call it whatever you want, I just love the vibe.

Watching PA 2, especially after hearing all those scathing reviews, I was actually pleasantly surprised... not to mention those little moments where I found myself shouting, "A-ha! So that's how it started!" or "So that's what happened!" which is exactly what the movie is supposed to do, right? I mean, for me, they tied everything together into a really cohesive story with great atmosphere and a few decent scares—which is honestly all I ever look for in this genre.

James Turner3 said:Fine, if you're such a genius, why don't you just go ahead and invent a horror movie that's actually fucking terrifying then?
I mean, I guess people today just get worked up over everything they see on screen. This whole concept of filming ghosts out of pure curiosity is actually a pretty interesting idea. Sure, maybe there's no point in making sequels to movies like PA, but honestly, nobody expected people to demand this level of absolute authenticity. Besides, the guy behind the camera clearly has his own ideas he wants to share with an audience while making a little money on the side. If someone doesn't like the premise, they can just skip the movie and keep their baseless whining to themselves.

To be perfectly honest, it surprises me more that anyone still falls for this style of filmmaking (ever since The Blair Witch Project) than it does seeing people complain about it. 🙂

And regarding the money side of things, you have to hand it to PA... the film was shot for "only" $15,000 and it already pulled in five times that amount in its very first weekend! If that doesn't qualify as a movie worth watching—regardless of whether someone thinks it's cheesy or not—then I really don't know what does. 🤷

It makes total sense to expect sequels after a hit like that.

Honestly, this kind of thing could only happen in America...
Only in the States would you see people pulling stunts this ridiculous just because they're chasing a buck.🙂

Richard Wilson4 said:Is there even any point in making sequels to movies like this? The whole magic trick was convincing people in theaters that the footage was actually real. Once you realize it's just another movie, the second one feels totally pointless.

DITTO!
It’s a lost cause. The first one was decent enough, the second was a total snooze fest... and I honestly don't have high hopes that the third will be any better.

Richard Wilson4 said:Is there even any point in making sequels to movies like this? The whole magic trick was convincing people in theaters that the footage was actually real. Once you realize it's just another movie, the second one feels totally pointless.

Of course it makes sense. Because... as long as they're printing money, why wouldn't they?

I can't wait!!

Doesn't sound bad to me.
I'm a sucker for those ghost stories because they actually manage to rattle my nerves...
To me, true horror isn't just mindless gore and slaughter; that's just gross, not even creepy. 🤷

I am watching it right now... I'm about forty minutes in and I am absolutely dying of boredom...

EDIT: I finished the whole thing and I have to comment that this kind of content can't possibly be good for someone who is mentally underdeveloped (not that I'm judging myself)

This is just terrible. First off, I was fighting sleep through the entire film because there isn't a single genuinely terrifying moment; everything feels incredibly monotonous.

Secondly, what kind of sane person—assuming we follow the logic that this was filmed as it happened—would record ghosts and similar nonsense in total darkness? He can clearly tell something is wrong, yet he just wanders around the house in the dark.😕

Thirdly, who in their right mind films situations where they are being possessed by a ghost or whatever else?

There is far too much illogical nonsense and sheer stupidity involved here..

By the end, I couldn't even wrap my head around who was doing what to whom... how should I put this...

This man is dead... and those girls, what is going on with him?? Are they possessed or what?

And where is the mother of that woman? Is she dead or something?

Then there's that part in the house where the girls are screaming and the bed flies across the room... please, give me a break, wouldn't anyone hear that???

Even the segment where they suspect something—though I don't even know what—they all just go right along and sleep peacefully?

Bad, bad, bad...

Awesome! Awesome!

First mistake: watching this at home.
No, a movie like this belongs in a theater.
All three films follow this exact concept. Nothing much happens for a while, people relax, they start chatting with each other, and then: Bam! Pure screaming in the theater.

I'll be bold and say the third one is the best so far. The atmosphere is seriously tense enough to cut with a knife once it starts up. They clearly bumped up the amount of Paranormal Activity here—they didn't really need to, but hey, it works most of the time.

For me, the true horror is the atmosphere and the psychological impact. Plus, since kids are involved, the stakes feel way higher. There are some moments that genuinely make you freeze up. I've seen just about everything, but I was still jumping out of my seat.

And just like the second one, where I thought the marketing was off, it turns out almost nothing shown in the trailer actually appears in the movie. It’s basically a fake trailer, I assume, because they can't show even two or three actual scares without ruining the whole thing. If you see it in the trailer, it won't shock you when you watch the film.

I'm glad they're connecting the story. As things progress, it'll be interesting to see how they handle the filming aspect; they came up with a clever idea using VHS here.

Naturally, I'm curious about what's going on with that old woman and where Katie took the child in the second part.

Anyway, highly recommended. Even for those who have lost their patience lately—it's plenty "popcorn" enough that you won't die of boredom, and stuff starts happening after the first thirty minutes.

Honestly, I didn't even blink while watching that movie. I wasn't stressed for a single second... absolutely nothing. It was such an overwhelming sense of boredom that I could hardly believe it myself.

Could you please list the specific scenes you found terrifying? I genuinely have the impression that I might have watched a completely different film altogether.

Come on, let's not talk nonsense here. Did you just forget to include the entire plot, or was that actually intentional?

Is this one actually true, or what?