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Paranormal Activity 3

“Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman inject the mythology with life, jam-packing it with heart-exploding scares…’PA3′ is what the sequel should have been – a mythological launch pad loaded with scares, tension, and more importantly, payoffs…Not since ‘The Ring’ remake, or the first ‘PA’, has a film been so brooding and unnerving.”

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Click here to read Corey Mitchell’s review.

Click here to read Brad McHargue’s review.

The filmmakers behind Paranormal Activity 3 are listening to their fans, quickly washing their hands of PA2, which was widely considered a near-clone of the groundbreaking 2009 found footage chiller by Oren Peli. Reflecting back on PA2, I don’t quite like it as much as I did last October, especially after seeing the third film in the trilogy. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, PA3 is what the sequel should have been – a mythological launch pad loaded with scares, tension, and more importantly, payoffs. Paramount Pictures referenced Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist in the trailer (a line that’s not in final product), which is fitting considering the filmmakers capture a lot of the essence of the Steven Spielberg-produced haunter, only with a fraction of the budget.

PA3 opens with footage from ‘05/’06 using Katie (Kate Featherstone) and her sister Kristi (Sprague Grayden) as a way of introducing a series of VHS tapes that reveal the back story of the family in 1988. This time we jump into the lives of Julie Bittner (Lauren Bittner) and her boyfriend Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith), who are raising both Katie and Kristi (Chloe Csengery). Dennis is a wedding videographer, who is inclined to begin taping their bedroom, the family living room/kitchen, and children’s bedroom after a series of weird occurrences. Julie is talking to an invisible friend named Tobye, while a major earthquake reveals “something” in the dust. This kick starts the “investigating”.

While the movie wastes a good 30 minutes with obnoxious “jump scares” (one of which is out of this world amazing), the pace is picked up exponentially as the paranormal occurrences go from fun to scary in a blink of an eye. As one character states, “This ain’t no Casper the Friendly Ghost”…

Not since The Ring remake, or the first PA, has a film been so brooding and unnerving. PA3 utilizes some brilliant camera techniques that creates a level of anticipation that’s sure to give some viewers their first ever anxiety attack. While one camera is placed in the girls’ room, the other is propped on a fan base so it can rotate back and forth throughout the night. Every single time the camera pans off screen, and back again, the viewer is expecting some sort of jolt — and it delivers. PA3 ups the ante by toying with the audience, as it’s extremely self-aware. Beyond the “fan cam”, one such example would be the hilariously badass “Bloody Mary” sequence, as teased in the first trailer. In a brief spoiler, when Katie plays Bloody Mary with a friend of Dennis’, the lights flick on and nothing happens, to which Katie screams, “You did it wrong, we have to do it again!” It’s such a light-hearted moment that’s quickly put to an end with one of a hundred gut-punching scares.

Unlike the first two films, the latest entry doesn’t have a safe zone, meaning anything can happen at anytime of the day. Kids are playing? Doesn’t matter, sh*t’s going down. Mom’s in the kitchen reading a magazine? Sh*t’s gonna hit the fan.

But the most impressive aspect of PA3 is that, unlike PA2, it’s basted in a series of memorable moments that rival that of any franchise. The audience will remember scenes from PA3 and be talking about it for years to come.

P3 explains A LOT without being too exposition heavy (one piece of back story is clipped to keep the audience guessing). It has the characters act in an extremely naturalistic way (they leave the house, finally) and add to the mythology by filling in plot holes from the first two (I guess they’re not holes anymore…) P3 also sticks true to the franchise roots as you will NOT see the demon. Hopefully your imagination is as good as mine…

I thought PA2 was a pretty fun copycat of Peli’s first film, only seeing PA3 has made it null and void. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman inject the mythology with life, jam-packing it with heart-exploding scares (even the most fierce and difficult of genre fans will jump out of their seat) and non-stop supernatural insanity. Fans who have turned their backs after the dull sequel can rest assure that PA3 takes everything to an off-the-charts and in-your-face new level of terror.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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