The Hype, The Fear, and the Secrets Behind the Camera: The Return of a Franchise After a Long Hiatus
Prior to the release of Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin in 2021, the attention surrounding it was like no other The series went dormant following The Ghost Dimension (2015), and fans expected the IP to close The speculation surrounding a new, reimagined entry entirely disconnected from the previous lore and going straight to streaming changed the energy completely.
Fans of the social media franchise anticipated an attempt to balance innovation and nostalgia to the original. Participants in a found-footage cinema event collaboration that made the franchise an original cultural phenomenon. The original teasers promised a new setting: an isolated Amish community, primal rituals, and a narrative completely disconnected from the decades-long Katie saga. The excitement however was to shift from the teasers to the much anticipated curiosity surrounding whether it was a re* spiritually or a pure sequel, or just an experimental standalone. Regardless, the excitement and positive energy surrounding the release was palpable.
Our Old World with New Mysteries
The narrative follows Margot (Emily Bader), a young woman searching to uncover the mysteries surrounding the origins of her birth family. Margot’s adventure begins in quintessential Paranormal Activity style, with the aim of documenting it. However, unlike other iterations, the setting is colder, more rural, and unnaturally quiet.
Margot arrives in the community that claims to have ties with her mother. As personal searching quickly escalates into discovering the supernatural: forbidden rooms, hidden rituals of the past, and terrifying realities of Margot’s bloodline.
The film plays into Mystery more than it does into the realm of jump scares. The film positions Margot as the woman caught in the crosshairs of the emotional and and the emotional. More than just the “Girl with a camera,” Margot is the daughter attempting to uncover the reason behind her abandonment. This emotional anchor is seen throughout the film and is the reason the film is able to create a tensioned atmosphere.
To Where Curiousity is Terror
The more Margot uncovers the more she learns about the demon Asmodeus who is said to be sealed away under the community. The ending reveals that Margot’s mother was once the vessel to this demon and now Margot is primed to be the next. The found footage perspective becomes more frantic as lenses shake, lights flicker, and hallways stretch into endless dark.
The film tries to rekindle the original Paranormal Activity fear: the idea of the camera seeing and capturing something the characters are oblivious to. Whether that works for them or not is up to the individual. Some people found the ending to be very exciting while others thought the ending relied too much on action rather than a gradual rise in tension.
Margot is more than just a character in a horror film. She is on of the more emotionally complicated protagonists in the franchise.
She is tied of the arc of desiring, of wishing for family, for answers, for a place to belong. Horror works best when the character has something at stake, the personal stakes Margot has makes the tension feel sharper. Margot was always on the borderline of a breakdown. At the time, Emily Bader was one of the more inexperienced actors, which is at wide release films, and so she had much sincerity in her work and performance. She wasn’t a typical horror movie actress. She didn’t just scream, she was very interested in the characters and had the curious mind of a filmmaker, while also portraying hopefulness of a daughter that had been through a lot. Critics said her performances strength was in her character’s natural mannerisms which also kept the film grounded in the more over the top supernatural events.
Real-Life Momentum of Supporting Characters
As described in the beginning of the feedback, Roland Buck III, who plays Chris, was also coming off an opportunity in a previous feature, Chicago Med, gaining more openings prior to this film. His character injected some necessary joy and lightness in the early, more serious moments. A more serious character in the film, charismatic energy off the screen was not as apparent in the film as he sidetracked the extension of his character in favor of Margot.
Dan Lippert as the camera operator who played Dale had a real sense of comedic timing more specifically derived from his background in improv. Additionally, his character acted as a reminiscent character of the early Paranormal Activity films in which the human, banter, dialogue was so real and so evident to be the primary driver of the film’s dialogue as to offset the many instances of the film.
This raw edge provided by the characters in the film was a transition point in the casting of the series, reflecting a shift in the series acknowledged by new and more upcoming actors who were in the early stages of their careers and not boxed in as a core predominant actor in a blockbuster film. Thus, lending the film the same rawness and authenticity as the first, the film’s second installment differed from other films of the time in it’s prioritization of authenticity in rawness of actors over it’s star power.
The Good and the Bad in the Cinematic Choices
The shift from the suburban homes of previous films to a snowy Amish countryside in the settings was indeed a bold cinematic move. It was definitely a change to reinvigorate the franchise visually. The creations of imagery by the isolation, of creaking wooden barns, and candlelit rituals were such that would stick in more viewers mind even in the presence of a more flawed narrative.
- A synopsis of what worked
The sound design.
The use of a documentary style approach.
The authenticity of the narrative carried by the setting.
- A synopsis of what didn’t work
The chaotic movement of the camera relied upon too heavily.
The demon lore was explained too quickly.
Secondary characters lacked the depth they could have received.
Some longtime fans of the franchise appreciated the attempt of a reinvention, while others perceived it as a form of dilution by moving too far from the original mythology.
Expectations of the audience vs the reality of the film
A true reboot was anticipated by fans, and lore-expanding sequels have become a norm. Rather, what was delivered was an experimental side story. Dread, the type of dread that the franchise was known for, was delivered inconsistently. The film did, however, offer an atmosphere. A willingness to take risks is what the series lacked for years.
The unspoken, behind the scenes notes
Low profile the production may have remained, but it did not go without a few lesser known details that circulated amongst fans and insiders.
During production, the film was pitched as an independent horror title. It was later rebranded to fall under the Paranormal Activity franchise.
Sources suggest that initial draft versions featured additional psychological horror elements, but studio notes compelled the inclusion of a more vanilla demonic climax.
Filming took place under the tight restrictions of the pandemic, which impacted scene blocking, cast size, and the use of tight, close quarters.
Fans argue to this day that footage cut from the film hinted at a wealth of community rituals and character subplots that would have added emotional depth, which the film ultimately lacked.
These subtleties are more than enough to justify for many viewers the feeling that the film is a combination of two distinct, though equally valid, creative visions. One is mysterious and slow, while the other is bombastic and demon centric.
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