Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)

The seventh film and seemingly reboot of the paranormal activity series thankfully abandons the gimmicks from the last few entries and strips down the convoluted mythology. However, the basic template remains the same: approximately 80 minutes of very little occurring, and then a high-octane rush of increasingly crazy events in the last act. Much of the creepiness one might derive from this particular entry is contingent upon two questions: How creepy do you find the Amish culture, and: Did that scarecrow just growl at the characters? If the former gives you the creeps, then you might enjoy this entry as the first two acts focus almost exclusively on ‘fish out of water’ weirdness centered around such a community. The last act just goes balls-out crazy, and will probably provide one or two moments of interest for the more devoted viewers, but there’s little that hasn’t been seen before. The ending leaves off with a ‘hook’, obviously intending to continue this particular thread into future installments, but while executives might have hoped this to be a triumphant return to the franchise, this is one of the weaker entries and please: mercifully, let it be the last.

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