STACK Nov #133

he 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 six 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.

FURTHER VIEWING:

Insidious, Paranormal Activity

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stack.net.au

REVIEWS

CINEMA

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:

030

jbhifi.com.au

NOVEMBER

2015

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:

MA15+