The Paranormal Activity franchise was a pop-culture phenomenon for the first half of the 2010s. The release of a new Paranormal Activity was essentially an annual tradition, as the series churned out sequels nearly every October. It reinvigorated the found-footage genre, and in doing so, made a killing at the box office. Its star faded over time, of course, eventually fizzling out with the 2015 release of its sixth installment, the series’ least successful outing. Were audiences overwhelmed by the increasingly complicated storyline of the films (remember the coven of witches?), or had we simply grown tired of the shaky cam gimmick? Either way, by the end, it was clear that this franchise had lost the power it once held over our collective imagination.
Seemingly cementing the once-popular series’ irrelevancy, a new sequel has been unceremoniously dropped on Paramount+ this weekend, to the indifference of audiences everywhere. Seriously, it’s kind of bizarre how much Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin’s release is not a big deal. Perhaps it has something to do with the film’s digital rollout. The previous Paranormal Activity movies were designed to be seen in a crowded theater with a responsive audience. They were built around word-of-mouth press about the experience of seeing it on the big screen. Watching it alone on a laptop just doesn’t hold the same power, and thus Next of Kin falls flat. Now, I’m by no means saying a theatrical release would have made this a good movie, it just might have allowed it to find an audience.
The film follows a young woman who traces her DNA back to a small Alt-Amish society where her biological mother lived before giving her up for adoption. Followed by her documentary filmmaker friend and a random sound engineer they met online, the three travel to the remote village to create a film about her roots. Of course, everything in this quiet community is not as it seems, and soon the young filmmakers find themselves fighting to uncover the town’s dark secrets and save themselves before it’s too late.
The main issue I had with Next of Kin is that it moves glacially slow. The characters and setting needed to be far more compelling to justify how slowly this movie ramps up to its climax. Good horror makes you care about the characters, or at least enjoy watching their interactions. In Next of Kin everyone is a blank slate for spooky things to happen to. The only character with any kind of personality is the sound guy, who is written to be far too quirky for his own good. When your only fleshed-out character is grating comic relief, your movie’s in trouble.
What makes this installment stand out from its predecessors is its faux-documentary setup. The other Paranormal Activity movies were all people making home movies or using their webcams. Having characters who actually know how to work a high-quality camera gives Next of Kin a far more polished feel than the other films in the series, for better or for worse. Couple that with the expansive setting of a full Amish village complete with dozens of featured side-characters and you’re left with a noticeably higher production value than in previous Paranormal Activities.
When it comes to the actual plot, the only thing worth noting is the film’s present-day setting. Next of Kin frequently reminds you it takes place in March 2021, a fact it is surprisingly committed to. One of the movie’s first scenes features the characters in masks talking about their recent negative COVID tests, which was super jarring. This is the first major movie I’ve seen to casually address the pandemic as a part of modern life. Unfortunately, this is also the only aspect of the film that left any kind of lasting impact.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is currently streaming on Paramount+. For lingering fans of the franchise who want to see another round of found-footage demon hunting, or for subscribers wishing to wring out the last few moments of the spooky season, I suppose you could do worse. For everyone else, this movie has very little to offer in terms of scares or fun.
-
Score
