Paranormal Activity 4
for language and some violence/terror.
Reviewed by: Steve Warburton
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Very Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Teens Adults |
| Genre: | Horror Sequel |
| Length: | 1 hr. 35 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2012 |
| USA Release: |
October 19, 2012 (wide—3,000+ theaters) DVD: January 29, 2013 |
FEAR, Anxiety and Worry—What does the Bible say? Answer
MALEVOLENT SPIRITS—Where do these dangerous, hostile, and evil entities come from? Answer
demons in the Bible
Is Satan a real person that influences our world today? Is he affecting you? Answer
DEMON POSSESSION and Influence—Can Christians be demon possessed? In what ways can Satan and his demons influence believers? Answer
witches and covens
What is the Occult? Answer
THE OCCULT—What does the Bible say about it? Answer
how stress can affect families
child abduction
| Featuring |
Katie Featherston … Katie Kathryn Newton … Alice Matt Shively … Alex Brady Allen … Robbie Alisha Boe … Tara Tommy Miranda … Jackson |
| Director |
Henry Joost Ariel Schulman |
| Producer |
Room 101 Jason Blum … producer Akiva Goldsman … executive producer James Moran … associate producer Oren Peli … producer Gregory Plotkin … co-producer Steven Schneider … executive producer |
| Distributor |
 Paramount Pictures Corporation, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS |
“All the activity has led to this… It’s closer than you think.”
Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “The story takes place in 2011, five years after Katie killed her boyfriend Micah, sister Kristi, her husband Daniel and took their baby, Hunter (now named Robbie). Story focuses on Alice and her mom, experiencing weird stuff since the new neighbors (Katie and Robbie) moved in the town.”
Movies in this series: Paranormal Activity (2009), Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Paranormal Activity 3 (2011), Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Here’s a great idea. Read the reviews for the three previous Paranormal Activity movies, which are linked on this page (above). Notice a trend? The first movie got an offensive rating. The next two got extremely offensive ratings. I give this one a very offensive rating. I don’t think that the makers of the Paranormal Activity movies had a Road to Damascus experience between parts 3 and 4, so those earlier three movies will probably tell you all you need to know about the series.
The plot: Well, there’s this teenage girl, see, and she lives with her parents and her adopted brother in this house, and there’s this little kid next door who…
Well, forget about that. The nitty gritty is that there’s a demon that is trying to gain possession of someone, and, when he does, all sorts of people will die. We don’t see them die. The deaths are offscreen. I saw this movie on an IMAX screen in Calgary, and I was the oldest person in the audience (I’m 39.) The rest of the people were teenagers, and they all screamed happily at the multitude of scares that were in store for them.
I have a Christian friend who was so frightened over one of those PA movies that she couldn’t sleep for a week. I don’t blame her. The Bible clearly teaches that demons are real. If I was a Christian filmmaker, and I felt compelled to make a movie about demonic possession, I would insist on showing Jesus Christ as the only way of dealing with it. The family in PA4 does not call on Jesus, and, well, I don’t want to give away the ending. Somehow, however, I don’t think the filmmakers were trying to preach a Christian message here.
You know… a while ago, I noticed that no one on this site had volunteered to review “Sex and the City 2” when it was playing in theatres. To my knowledge, that movie is still not reviewed on this site. Let that be to our credit. Most of us are familiar enough with the TV show to know that the movie would be more of the same, probably a wee bit raunchier. But when it comes to all these movies about the demonic and the paranormal and Satan, I jump at the chance to review them. I know that a review will do very little good (does anyone really think they’ll find anything edifying in “A Nightmare on Elm Street”?), but I do it because I can go see an evil movie and know “I was doing it for the ministry.”
I hope there isn’t a “Paranormal Activity 5,” but there probably will be. I hope I don’t have to review it.
Violence: Heavy / Profanity and vulgarity: Extreme—“God,” “Jesus,” “Oh my G_d,” f-words and phrases (11), “c_ck,” s-words (7), “hell” (2), “_ss,” “damn,” “booby” / Sex/Nudity: Moderate
Is Satan a real person that influences our world today? Is he affecting you? Answer
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
This is a scary film, but in a different way from most horror films. Most often the film causes you to jump, simply because of unexpected things happening. It brings the same rush that a haunted house would cause. There is nothing twisted, kinky, or disturbed, like in many other films, nor is there the dark occult themes that one would often find in this genre. It is certainly not a film I would let younger children see, but I think for late high school or college aged individuals it’s a fun movie.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 1½
Moral rating: none / Moviemaking quality: 1
I don’t highly don’t recommend any of the rest of the paranormal activity’s to anyone, and I would highly recommend you to see the fifth one when that one does come out, I also know the date for it, and will as well not reveal it. I would rather see people go and see a better movie than this one, it’s not worth the time. Please trust what I say and make the right choice. God Bless. I don’t have a verse to support what I say right now, but if you won’t trust me, trust God and go to him in prayer, and see what he would want you to do. The Choice is yours.
PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 3