Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

The Latino spin-off of the successful horror franchise "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" is great on character and humor, but short of scares. Not officially a sequel (a "Paranormal Activity 5" is actually being released in November), this one takes place in urban Los Angeles and uses a lot of the same "Paranormal" found-footage tricks and treats.

This time the focus is more on the possession aspect of the mythology, with a young guy falling victim to an old woman's curse. It certainly isn't the fear-fest that the first three films were, as it leans more toward the feel of Part Four, which seemed mostly like filler. Ever since the end of the third installment, where a cult is revealed to have something to do with the entire series, the next two films end almost identically, making the franchise itself something of a frustration. The only clever trick here is how they tie this film into the very first installment in mind-blowing fashion. Don't get me wrong, I was still entertained by this film, but it's certainly one of the lesser efforts. The producers of the franchise really need to amp up the mythology and come up with answers, or audiences are going to lessen their activity with this paranormal series.

Included in this disc is an Extended Version of the film that contains 16 extra minutes. This more or less pads the film and doesn't really add anything (or detract) to the experience. There is also some "Found Footage" which just means there are some inconsequential deleted scenes that don't make or break the experience either.

For the most part, this is for fans of the series only and worth watching for that crazy twist at the end.

"Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones"
Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Pack
$35.99
www.paramount.com