Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)

When Paranormal Activity came out in 2007, old school ads showing actual audience members jumping in their seats in night-vision green theaters gave the whole thing a real gimmick feel. The Blair Witch Project wasn't the first found footage movie ever made, but it was by far the best (still is) when it came out in 1999. Paranormal Activity felt a little johnny-come-lately, but the masses didn't care. They ate it up for years. Jason Blum, the horror maestro, kept greenlighting 5 million budget sequels and getting 100 million back.  Would you stop? So we find ourselves 14 years later with the Paranormal series now at seven films, a little horror version of the MCU. Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is not really found footage and it's not really a Paranormal Activity movie, but it does have Amish devil worshipers. It has more in common with Blair Witch (documentary film team explores rural America) than the other PA films. But instead of embracing that gonzo style, it aims more for a polished pov adventure. It feels a little like an old Sega VR game but just in HD. This low art mishmash of genre and technique should not work at all. But one of us thinks there is still some gold in the barren mines of the Paranormal Activity franchise. Listen to find out who is the Gus Chiggins.