People who are avid fans of horror films have high standards of how directors build-up the tension of the scenes, and how they progress the story. However, a lot of horror films today rely on jump scares, making the movie boring. Moreover, these jump scare reliance problems are evident in the later films of the Paranormal Activity series.
The Paranormal Activity series uses video camera camcorders and surveillance cameras from the inside and outside of the house to document supernatural activities. Although the series inspired particular directors to produce more films under the found-footage horror genre, these didn’t strike the attention of many viewers.
On the brighter side, not all films of the Paranormal Activity series flunked the reviews of the viewers since the earlier films of the series were completely unexpected. With regards to the previous films of the Paranormal Activity series being completely unexpected, the plot was well thought out and scared numbers of viewers.
Read on to take a deep dive into ranking the six Paranormal Activity films from least to scariest.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is the least scary out of all the films in the series due to one major problem, showing the evil entity. One factor that made the first few films of the series is that it aimed to play with the viewers’ imagination as to what the evil entity looked like. Thus, making it scary due to the monster’s anonymity.
However, in The Ghost Dimension, the director focused mainly on utilizing CGI demons throughout the scary scenes of the film. As a result, The Ghost Dimension seemed like it was never part of the series, but as a separate franchise.
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Paranormal Activity 4 comes second in being the least scary among all the films in the series due to poor plot planning. One factor that irritated the viewers the most was the teens handling the camera on most of the scenes. Further, another point that can go through the viewers’ minds is why are the characters always recording their activities.
Moreover, the viewers could also point out the obvious that the characters are recording not for homemade purposes, but having something to show the viewers.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a spinoff of the first three films of the series aimed towards Mexican Americans who were avid fans of the series. The Marked Ones provides viewers a different direction of the series where the main character, Jesse, gains superpowers.
However, the drawbacks of gaining these superpowers were that Jesse was experiencing the presence of demonic entities. The Marked Ones provided viewers an entertaining and unique alternate story that preserves the traditional scaring methods of the first three films. Also, the directors gave their best effort to connecting this spinoff to the original franchise.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Paranormal Activity 3 goes back in 1988 to show the viewers how the original Paranormal Activity began. What made Paranormal Activity a scary movie was the utilization of the innovation of technology that built the tension of every scene. Further, the manipulation of multiple cameras and on-screen space gave the viewers quite the scare.
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Paranormal Activity 2 is the sequel to the original Paranormal Activity, where the directors kept the same technique and limited setting. However, unlike the first Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2 increased the number of characters being haunted by the demonic entity, such as the family and their dog.
Further, the demonic presence revolving around the family mostly included the family’s baby and their dog. The viewers felt chills and unsettling imagery of how the directors built the tension by having unexpected jump scares while adding a bit of comedy.
Paranormal Activity (2009)
Paranormal Activity contains originality that no spinoffs and sequels could achieve in their plot. This movie uses only one camera to document and show the audience what’s the supernatural activities inside the couple’s home.
What made using only one camera brilliant was that it allowed the viewers to create their imagination of how the demonic entity will release its wrath. Another point that this movie made was that it provided users an experience of what a paranormal activity would look like in reality.
Takeaway
Although the Paranormal Activity franchise didn’t become a huge success overall, the first three films of the series did become a horror film worth viewing. This series gave horror movie fans a different perspective of how directors innovated the horror films under the found-footage genre.
