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The latest entry in the Paranormal Activity film series reboots the beloved original and skips developing deeper themes or intriguing characters.
Over the course of six movies, the Paranormal Activity series went from an innovative, small-scale indie horror film to a bloated, repetitive franchise burdened with convoluted mythology. By the time the series allegedly ended with 2015’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the possession-focused horror series had no life left in its concept or characters. But no successful franchise ever actually gets to end, so Paranormal Activity has been rebooted with Paramount+’s Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is a true series reboot. None of the characters or concepts from the previous Paranormal Activity movies return in the 2021 film. That’s a good thing for viewers who’ve forgotten about the confusing narrative surrounding cursed sisters Katie and Kristi, but it also means that there’s nothing here for longtime fans. Next of Kin could easily have its Paranormal Activity title removed without making any difference.
Even the series’ signature found-footage format barely holds together in Next of Kin, which was written by longtime franchise contributor Christopher Landon and directed by Underwater‘s William Eubank. The filmmakers allow themselves more stylistic leeway by setting up the movie as footage from a documentary being made by main character Margot (Emily Bader), rather than home videos taken by inexperienced amateurs.
Next of Kin is as slickly produced as any mid-budget horror movie, with drone shots, slow-motion effects, and multiple camera angles. Although it’s theoretically shot by Margot and her collaborator/friend Chris (Roland Buck III), there are several glaringly obvious moments that couldn’t possibly be captured by any of the characters. Eubank doesn’t seem overly concerned with the realism of the found-footage approach, which was one of the early movies’ biggest strengths.
The documentary is ostensibly about the adopted Margot’s search for her biological relatives. Of course, things eventually take a horrific turn. As the movie opens, Margot and Chris are meeting with Sam (Henry Ayres-Brown), a young Amish man who claims to have left the insular community and has connected with Margot via a genealogy website and DNA testing. Sam tells Margot that her mother was a member of his community, and he invites Margot, Chris, and their oddball sound guy (Dan Lippert) to join him at the family compound.
Margot is eager to get to know her kin, but something is clearly not right from the start. At first, the family patriarch Jacob (Tom Nowicki) won’t even allow the crew in the house. But Jacob eventually relents, and the crew sets about documenting life on the farm, meeting cows and pigs, partaking in family dinners, and talking to Margot’s somewhat reluctant relatives. There’s a sinister tone even to these early innocuous interactions, and the characters also start hearing the requisite mysterious noises late at night. They spot what appear to be people heading into the woods under the cover of darkness, and they discover an ominous locked church in the middle of the surrounding forest.
Of course, Jacob and his family have evil intentions for Margot. Although their rituals and beliefs have nothing to do with any of the established elements of Paranormal Activity lore. Since his initial Paranormal Activity days, Landon has moved on to the delightful horror-comedy of the Happy Death Day movies and Freaky, but he doesn’t bring any of that cleverness to Next of Kin, which unfolds predictably and unremarkably. There are a few obligatory scenes shot with night vision, but Eubank doesn’t add any creative visual touches to the format. There’s nothing here even remotely as memorable as the time-lapse scenes from the original movie or the camera on the oscillating fan in Paranormal Activity 3.
There also aren’t any of the deeper themes about family dysfunction that made the early Paranormal Activity movies intermittently more interesting. Margot has a bit of angst about her origins, but there’s no introspection or evolution for the character. And, unlike every other movie in the series, Next of Kin features no romantic relationships that can be strengthened or challenged by terrifying circumstances. Margot’s companions are friends and co-workers. Their bonds come from shared peril rather than personal history. Bader projects determination and vulnerability in some of the early scenes, but the performances are mostly forgettable.
Next of Kin doesn’t even feature a haunted house, which is as essential to the Paranormal Activity formula as the found-footage style. The filmmakers may be trying to channel a little of Midsommar or Saint Maud with the disturbing religious cult — who aren’t Amish in any traditional sense — but there’s nothing “elevated” about the horror here. This franchise has long since lost its ability to be scary. Next of Kin relies mostly on cheap jump scares, which are always punctuated by non-diegetic music cues, breaking the found-footage illusion for the sake of a brief jolt to viewers. When the filmmakers can’t even bother to care about the cinematic legacy they’re supposedly carrying on, why should the audience?
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is now streaming on Paramount+.
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