#theghostdimension

After six features, the hugely successful Paranormal Activity franchise has come to an end with Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. The film follows yet another family, this time the Fleeges, who discover they are being haunted by the malevolent spirit from the previous films, Toby. Through the discovery of a retro camera which can conveniently view spirits, the family are able to document the shifting apparition who seems to have taken a liking to their young daughter.

Despite sticking to a pretty standard formula, I have had a lot of fun with the Paranormal Activity films. The first three were especially creepy and though the last two were a little underwhelming at times, they still managed to wring out some great scares. So it is with much disappointment to say that The Ghost Dimension, is an incredibly woeful film. In promising to finally ‘show the activity’, the film goes against everything that made the previous entries memorable. The PA franchise relied heavily on both not showing or revealing a whole lot, but for the most part it worked very well. What you can’t see is often so much more frightening than what you can. This sense of dread and intrigue has been totally nullified here. In their place is the addition of laughable CGI which looks like a mix of the smoke monster from Lost and floating ectoplasm. And the way in which the activity is viewed, via a mysterious camera found in the Fleege household, is just a stupidly convenient gimmick and blatant cash grab for 3D viewings. So much like in the previous films, you can hear the trademark bass rumble when something is about to go down, but now there is no build-up of suspense or tension, because you can SEE THE DAMN THING. And it looks ridiculous. All the “scares” in the film are loud noises coupled with cheap and predictable jump scares. I’m talking 99 cents bargain bin cheap here. You can see them coming from a mile away. Jump scares are all well and good, when utilised effectively and sparingly. A sole reliance on them and sudden audio spikes does not result in a scary movie. You could get a more competent scare by donning a white sheet and yelling boo at someone from a brightly lit corridor.

The climax in the PA films has always been a staple. There was a high chance everyone was going to die a gruesome death, but the madness on screen was always a hell of a ride. The end of PA3 is one of the scariest and most tension heavy final acts in a horror I can recall, and the final moments of The Marked Ones (literally) opened the door for a potentially huge finale. The Ghost Dimension pretty much throws all of that into the wind and simply opts for a CGI heavy sequence, (because that’s apparently what the fans want) resulting in a comical finale which includes a sequence where a bedsheet soaked in holy water, is thrown over an out of control demon. Fail.

The creators also stated that this film would answer all of the questions raised in the prior entries. There has been a loose arc throughout, and even though the writers probably bit off a lot more than they could chew in terms of a coherent narrative, I still had hope that they would be able to resolve a majority of what was left unanswered. Guess again. Next to nothing is explained, with the main reveal consisting of a lazy wrap up of events from the first three films. PA4 & The Marked Ones were hardly referenced. Not to mention the strange absence of the main antagonist from the first five films. She was mentioned in passing, but it makes absolutely no sense to not include her now. Toby’s end game was somewhat explained, in a rushed and unsatisfying manner, much like the end sequence of the film.  

Demon’s aside, the dialogue sounds as if it has been read verbatim off of a script. I’m sure the actors just wanted to get the filming over with and the production team didn’t bother with any reshoots. Lucky they didn’t. They may have had a semi-decent film on their hands.

This is probably the first of the six films where I actively felt frustrated with all of the characters and their constant stupidity. Granted, horror films, especially found footage films, don’t always employ smart and rational decision making from characters, but my god. These characters really took the cake. Hiding from a demon behind a kitchen island. Telling your brother to stay still when there is a mass of floating black goo behind him. Making a quick stop for supplies in a haunted house and thinking “oh, I’ll just brush up on some demon research while I’m here”. Also, if you are filming everything and one of your cameras can you know, see spirits… watch the tapes! Hardly any footage is reviewed which leads to two of the main characters second guessing anything is even going on. WATCH. THE. FOOTAGE.