A decade after the first installment in the Paranormal Activity movie series hit theaters, solidified the genre of found footage horror, and prevailed as one of the best scary movies of all time, the series mercifully wheezes to an end with “The Ghost Dimension” – the sixth and thankfully final movie to don the Paranormal Activity moniker.
My previous reviews have followed the path, created by Oren Peli and based on his own real life paranormal occurrences. Parts 1-3 are great movies and all offer perfect scares, acting, and plot lines that successfully explain the found footage format and address its use by delivering natural and on point scares. The final scenes of “Paranormal Activity 3” are the shark jumping ruination of the series, with the subsequent “Paranormal Activity 4” being a below average bore and “The Marked Ones” spinoff movie being downright unwatchable. What we see in “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” is more of the same, and a weak, if barely attempted explanation and conclusion to the story.
Picking up where PA3 left off, a new family has moved into the house that series central characters Katie and Kristi grew up in. Ryan (Chris J. Murray) and wife Emily (Brit Shaw) along with 6 year old daughter Leila (Ivy George) feel all too familiar to the other families we have watched in the series throughout the years. Ryan’s comical brother Mike (Dan Gill) moves in with the family after being dumped by his girlfriend, and gorgeous Skylar (Olivia Taylor Dudley) is there too, as a family friend, babysitter, I’m not sure it’s never really explained other than to pair off with the cute wife in a blonde/brunette sort of way.
“Ghost Dimension” has some cool aspects that differ from the other installments to the series. The opening scene depicts Ryan and Emily decorating the Christmas tree – the time frame is December – and the flickering holiday lights and glowing bulbs of the tree make for a creepy and unorthodox backdrop. One really good scene depicts Skylar outside the house at night and all the crickets and sounds of nature abruptly stop simultaneously, ceasing in the wake of an upcoming paranormal occurrence.
I felt that PA4 was the first time in the entire series that the found footage angle seemed slightly unnatural, and though “Ghost Dimension” adds a capable explanation, once again much of the film will leave you scratching your head in wonder as to why the character is holding a camera rather than running away.
Ryan discovers an old custom made camcorder that is apparently used to communicate with spirits, and a neat aspect is the constant blur in the field of vision the family (and overly skeptical Emily) assume is faulty technology. But we the viewer are much smarter than Ryan and Emily – we know it’s some sort of demonic entity. Let’s face it, if you are now watching part 6 of the series, you pretty much know everything. This element allows for a combination of new and old video as Ryan watches the old tapes of Katie and Kristi simultaneously with filming things in his own present day house.
“Ghost Dimension” has occasional jump scares but the overall tones are especially light, considering it’s an adult horror movie. Ryan and Mike are humorous as typical brothers, though some of the antics seemed a bit over the top.
What began with one of my Top 50 favorite movies ends with an ultimately disappointing sixth and final effort. Watch it for closure, but don’t expect anything other than part 4 recycled.
