Paranormal Activity 4
- 4.7
- Horror
- 2012
- 1h 39m
- 14+
a chilling installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise, continuing the terrifying tale of demonic possession and supernatural horror. Set five years after the shocking events of Paranormal Activity 2, the story follows Alex Nelson, a teenager whose family’s life is turned upside down when a mysterious boy, Robbie, moves into the house next door. As strange events unfold, the family begins to suspect dark forces are at play, leading Alex and her boyfriend, Ben, to use an Xbox Kinect to capture eerie footage of a malevolent entity known as Toby. With the eerie, suspense-filled narrative and shocking twists, Paranormal Activity 4 keeps fans on the edge of their seats as it explores the terrifying implications of the paranormal and the dangers of technological surveillance.
Comments
0Reviews
0Summery
1Please sign in to comment.
Please sign in to review.
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) continues the chilling found-footage horror franchise, bringing the terror into the modern digital age while expanding the sinister mythology of the previous films. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the fourth installment shifts the timeline forward, following the events of Paranormal Activity 2. This time, the story revolves around a new family in a quiet Nevada suburb, who unknowingly become the next victims of the malevolent entity that has haunted Katie and Kristi since childhood. The film utilizes contemporary technology, including laptop webcams, Xbox Kinect infrared tracking, and smartphone cameras, to capture the supernatural occurrences, giving the franchise a fresh, updated feel while maintaining the eerie, slow-burn tension that has defined it.
The story follows 15-year-old Alex Nelson, who lives with her younger brother Wyatt and their parents in a seemingly normal home. However, their lives take a disturbing turn when a mysterious young boy named Robbie moves in across the street after his mother is hospitalized. Alex, along with her tech-savvy boyfriend Ben, begins noticing strange occurrences around Robbie, including unsettling behavior and inexplicable disturbances in their home. When Robbie temporarily moves in with Alex’s family, the disturbances escalate. Doors creak open on their own, objects shift in the background, and eerie figures appear on infrared camera feeds. The film cleverly integrates modern technology into its scares, most notably using the Xbox Kinect’s infrared tracking system, which reveals ghostly figures moving in the dark that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye.
As Alex investigates further, she discovers disturbing links between Robbie and her brother Wyatt. It is revealed that Wyatt was adopted, and Robbie begins insisting that he has a "real family" waiting for him. Through eerie late-night conversations and chilling supernatural occurrences, Alex learns that Robbie is connected to Katie, who has been missing since the bloody events of Paranormal Activity 2. The film gradually uncovers that Wyatt is, in fact, Hunter—the infant kidnapped by a demon-possessed Katie in the second film. As the demonic force tightens its grip, Wyatt’s behavior grows increasingly unsettling, and Alex's attempts to convince her parents of the haunting go ignored, a common theme in the franchise that adds to the tension and frustration.
The climax delivers a terrifying onslaught of paranormal activity as Katie reappears in the film’s final act, revealing her role as a harbinger of the demon’s will. In a shocking sequence, she effortlessly kills Alex’s parents, leaving Alex alone to face the supernatural nightmare. The final moments take a terrifying turn when Alex, armed only with her camera, is chased through a dark backyard and into a neighboring house, where she stumbles upon a massive gathering of hooded cult members. In a moment of sheer horror, Katie appears with inhuman strength, and as Alex attempts to escape, she is abruptly pulled into darkness, marking another bleak and unsettling ending for the franchise.
While Paranormal Activity 4 introduces fresh digital-age scares and expands the series' mythology, it received mixed reviews for its pacing and reliance on franchise tropes. However, it successfully continues the overarching narrative, revealing more about the demonic coven’s motives and their twisted plans for Hunter. The film maintains the franchise’s signature found-footage realism, using everyday technology to amplify the scares, making the supernatural occurrences feel disturbingly authentic. Although it may not have reached the critical heights of its predecessors, Paranormal Activity 4 remains a chilling chapter in the series, keeping the franchise’s terrifying legacy alive.