STACK November Issue 68

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REVIEWS

CINEMA

jbhifi.co.nz

NOVEMBER

2015

Paranormal Activity

films have become

a regular fixture on the Halloween release

date calendar, filling the vacancy left after

the

Saw

franchise wrapped. We're five films

in now and this found-footage phenomenon

continues to suffer from the law of diminishing

returns, in terms of quality, not box office.

The 2007 original saw the creepiest use of the

found-footage format since

The Blair Witch Project

popularised it 16 years ago, but since then the

PA films have become increasingly bogged by a

developing mythology involving a girl named Katy

and a demon named Toby, and a sense of same

thing, different sequel. This new entry promises

to answer all the questions raised in the previous

films and reveal the true nature of the 'activity', so

make sure you're up to date before seeing.

A family move into their new home – which is

built on the site of the original Paranormal house

– where dad Ryan (Chris J. Murray) discovers an

old customised video camera that can see images

from the other side, and a box of cassettes

featuring recordings of Katy and her sister from

1988, which are eerily linked to the present.

Before long, an amorphous black mass is hovering

in the house, with demonic designs on daughter

Leila (Ivy George).

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost

Dimension

features the added attraction of 3D,

and that's really its best asset. But the requisite

jump-scares are more a result of clever sound

design than the 'comin-at-ya' visuals. Moreover,

the characters act in increasingly baffling ways

– failing to check the footage their camera has

recorded, and deciding to find out what the entity

wants rather than get the hell out of there. People

just don't behave this way in horror movies. By

the time a priest is called in to perform "not an

exorcism, but an extermination", the film has

become totally hokey. Only the most jittery of

teens will find it scary.

Producers Jason Blum and Oren Peli insist

this is the final PA film, and that's probably a

good thing. Although we suspect the franchise's

fate will ultimately be determined by this one's

performance at the box office.

Scott Hocking

FURTHER VIEWING:

Insidious, Paranormal Activity

The found-footage horror franchise reaches its use-by date.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY:

THE GHOST DIMENSION

RELEASED:

Now Showing

DIRECTOR:

Gregory Plotkin

CAST:

Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, Ivy George

RATING:

R13

tylised and sledgehammered intensity –

to the point of almost drawing arrows on

the screen indicating, ‘yep, this guy is a

really bad dude!’ – is par for the course in this

cold and cool gangster biopic.

By all accounts, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (who

hated being called his popular moniker!?) was

a cold-blooded Boston criminal who made up

for his lack of follicles with a macho projection

juxtaposed against his need to tend his inner

flock with protection and random kindness.

One minute he’s emptying a .38 into a rival’s

head, the next he’s helping an old lady ‘from da

neighbourhood’ put away groceries. Well, that’s

how the movie portrays him – not dissimilar to

Scorsese’s Tommy from

Goodfellas

, who’ll stab

you in the trunk of his car, and then visit his ma

for a home-cooked meal. However that’s about

the limit one could compare this by-the-book

offering against the 1990 masterpiece, except

for a blatant dinner scene rip-off you’ve already

seen in the first teaser.

Black Mass

really doesn’t have any true

drama whatsoever. What honest character

depth that is delivered isn’t owing to Depp’s

creepy and effective take on being a serial

killing opportunist sociopath, rather it’s Joel

Edgerton’s ‘Is there nothing he can’t do right

now?’ solid rock performance as the ambitious

FBI agent who devises a cunning way to

protect his childhood hero. Oozing calculated

and seasoned confidence while effortlessly

sparring with a Hollywood heavyweight,

Edgerton is certain to immediately ascend

into the upper echelons of Tinseltown’s most

wanted lists.

With the hype surrounding Depp’s "amazing

performance and transformation" dominating

the PR machine, one can finally see why

this film wasn’t given long-lead reviews – it

simply isn’t as good as we all want it to be.

It’s a straight, by-the-numbers gangster cliché

overshadowing any character peril or audience

immersion. There’s nothing particularly bad

about it, you just don’t care enough to see it

again, which is a criminal shame. Oh, Benedict

Cumberbatch is in it too, basically playing

Benedict Cumberbatch.

Chris Murray

FURTHER VIEWING:

Public Enemies, Donnie Brasco

Johnny Depp works hard to deliver sexy menace and charm, but the real star is Joel Edgerton, in a film that never lives up to its promise.

BLACK MASS

RELEASED:

Now Showing

DIRECTOR:

Scott Cooper

CAST:

Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch,

Dakota Johnson

RATING:

R16