Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
January 1, 2015 1:09 AM - Subscribe
The summer after their high school graduation, teenage buddies Jesse, Hector and Marisol goof around with their new GoPro camera. It might not be the best idea, however, to use it to spy on the rumored bruja who lives in the apartment downstairs.
This is an interesting development, in terms of taking the plot in a new direction. And I appreciated a bit of diversity in the series. It's well-structured, and fits in a lot of plot.
The issue I have with it is that I feel it misunderstands the appeal of the series. The semi-rambling nature of the stories is a feature, not a bug. It enhances the verisimilitude. The tight plotting and solid FX here undercut the found footage realism.
But above all, this movie doesn't understand that the central appeal of the PA series isn't the lore. It's the notion that those of us who live lives completely divorced from spirituality would be super duper fucked if that stuff turned out to be real and dark forced targeted us.
These are Hispanic kids who recognize evil and try to get help and fight it on its own terms. It's a good story and I like it. But it's like if there was a Jekyll and Hyde story that wasn't about the duality of man and the dark parts of ourselves we hide and fear. No matter how good it might be, it would not understand the assignment.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:15 PM on May 19, 2024
The issue I have with it is that I feel it misunderstands the appeal of the series. The semi-rambling nature of the stories is a feature, not a bug. It enhances the verisimilitude. The tight plotting and solid FX here undercut the found footage realism.
But above all, this movie doesn't understand that the central appeal of the PA series isn't the lore. It's the notion that those of us who live lives completely divorced from spirituality would be super duper fucked if that stuff turned out to be real and dark forced targeted us.
These are Hispanic kids who recognize evil and try to get help and fight it on its own terms. It's a good story and I like it. But it's like if there was a Jekyll and Hyde story that wasn't about the duality of man and the dark parts of ourselves we hide and fear. No matter how good it might be, it would not understand the assignment.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:15 PM on May 19, 2024
But I mean... cholo blowing away witches with a shotgun. So... enjoyable in its way.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:24 PM on May 19, 2024
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:24 PM on May 19, 2024
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posted by Atom Eyes at 9:26 AM on November 23, 2016