EightBitNate
Member
Who knows. First one did pretty well, and the third one too. But you can never tell with these movies. If they did something right, it was probably an accident.
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Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones |OT| A Good Day to Die Marked
- Thread starter brandonh83
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Who knows. First one did pretty well, and the third one too. But you can never tell with these movies. If they did something right, it was probably an accident.
Alec
Member
Saw it last night. It connects *every* movie in the franchise thus far. I am a lore-nerd for these movies and this one majorly delivered. Spoilers, for those interested.
I skipped over some minor things and just tried to hit the big story-related stuff.
Basically, with
still being alive and held captive, this means that the only people who have died in this series are the ones who we see die, or are specifically told are dead. I hope this means that
And when Jesse sees
in the basement, we can assume that they weren't apparitions because at the end of PA3
. Also because this series has never done 'apparitions' before and I don't think they'd start now.
For real...lore-wise, this movie delivered. It makes all previous Paranormal Activity movies integral to understand what is going on, and I love that.
Jesse has graduated and turned 18. At night, Jesse and his friend are lighting firecrackers in the apartment complex when Oscar (another recently-turned 18 graduate) jumps out of a nearby window and runs away. A woman (Anna) who lives below Jesse's apartment dies and Jesse and his friend go investigate, with the implication being that Oscar killed her. They find all sorts of witch-like junk (and the box of tapes which contain the events of PA3, last seen in the possession of Katie and Kristi at the beginning of PA3 when it is revealed that their grandmother Lois has died, presumably of old age) and a journal. They are chased out by a local gang member and take the journal with them.
Jesse wakes up the next morning with the demon's bite on his arm. They go through the journal (which, as Jesse is quickly flipping through, you can see pictures of the main cast of PA3) which contains familiar pictures of rituals that we've seen in the other movies. Jesse also reads some Spanish which tells them of a doorway that can be built to travel through time, but only to places of evil. (This is not as groan-worthy as it sounds, I swear.)
Jesse starts to feel the demon's influence (strength, like he 'can do anything') and thinks that he is special. Jesse and his friend bring some girls back to Anna's empty apartment. When Jesse leaves for a minute to go get a condom, his girl is left alone in the room. She hears scratches from underneath a covered door leading to a basement and opens it, when she is grabbed by Oscar. Oscar lets her go and she runs away. Jesse comes running back when he is confronted by Oscar, who reveals that he is also marked and that Jesse has to kill himself if he wants to stop it. Jesse runs out of the apartment and Oscar falls onto a car from above, dead. (Likely jumped to kill himself.)
They go talk to Oscar's brother, the leader of the local gang. They go into Oscar's room and his walls are covered in newspaper clippings of missing boys and demonic reportings. Oscar's brother informs them that Oscar was adopted, which explains why his older-brother, being the first born, was not marked. Oscar had mentioned that the witches were trying to build an army of some sort. They find a slip of paper with Ali Rey's number on it (Hunter's older half-sister from PA2) and they take it and leave.
The friends go into the basement in Anna's apartment where Oscar was hiding. They find more ritualistic stuff and photos of Jesse. Another photo shows a picture of Anna, Jesse's Mom (who died during childbirth) and Lois (Katie and Kristi's gandmother from PA3 and probably the leader of the coven). They leave.
At night, Jesse hears his dog yelping from Anna's apartment. He goes after the dog and follows the noises down into the basement where Oscar was. Shit starts to go crazy and Jesse sees young Katie and young Kristi from PA3. He runs from them but is knocked down and the camera cuts.
The next morning, Jesse starts to become possessed and acts weird. His friends leave him to go meet with Ali, who seemingly now has all the answers. (I like to think that she and Martine [the housekeeper from PA2] have teamed up to figure out WTF is going on.) Ali informs them about the witch's coven and that a boy gets marked when he turns 18 and then after a series of rituals, he will be completely possessed.
After a brief visit to the spiritual grocery store featured after the credits of PA4, Jesse's grandmother attempts to perform an exorcism but this is interrupted by more crazy shit. Jesse briefly disappears and his friends run outside to find that Jesse has (seemingly) pushed his grandmother down the stairs and she is bleeding from her head. Jesse's friends stop recording to call 911 and Jesse vanishes.
The next day, the characters are talking about how Jesse is gone. They agree to go to the hospital (whether his grandmother is dead or not is not confirmed...probably not dead). On their way, the car dies. They spot Jesse looking pretty scary. He starts walking towards the car. He smashes in the window and pulls one of his friends out and starts choking them on the ground. The other friend grabs a bat from the backseat and knocks Jesse out. They put him in the car, the car starts, and they continue to the hospital until a truck T-Bones them and abducts Jesse. The two friends call Ali who tells them exactly where they took Jesse...Lois' house from the end of PA3.
They go ask Oscar's brother for help who gets a fellow gang member and the four of them go to Lois' house. When they arrive, the gang members pull a shotgun and an Uzi from the trunk. They investigate, but all of the doors are locked. Gang member #2 stays behind to pick the lock, and the rest move behind the house and up to some empty cattle stables, except for one which contains Alex from PA4, still alive. She pleads for them to help her when suddenly witches wielding knives start coming from all directions. Oscar's brother proceeds to start blowing away some witches with his shotgun, which is incredibly satisfying. He yells at the two friends to run, who step over the dead body of the other gang member and into the house through the door after the lock was picked.
The two friends get separated, long story short is that one of them gets dropped through a glass ceiling and dies. Oscar's brother appears to get overwhelmed outside and thrown against a window by the demon and killed. The sole survivor continues to run from witches and spots Jesse, completely possessed. He runs from Jesse upstairs, the same stairs that Lois took young Kristi and Katie up in PA3's ending, and locks himself in a room. Jesse begs for him to open the door and that he is scared, but his friend refuses. Jesse begins to smash down the door and his friend runs over to a different doorway, one with symbols carved into the frame and a glass knob in the middle. With Jesse smashing down the other door, he opens it and steps through.
Camera goes fuzzy, but comes back. He is now in Katie and MIcah's house from PA1. Katie is coming down the stairs in a daze and pulls a knife from the kitchen drawer. Jesse's friend is trying to talk to her but she ignores him. He touches her on the shoulder and she screams and calls for Micah, who runs down the stairs and grab's the friend, who is then grabbed by Katie and we see her stab Micah (this is the end of PA1, if you haven't picked up on it). The friend runs for the front door but we get a split second of demon-Jesse before the camera drops to the floor, which is then picked up by an old-looking woman (Lois, maybe? She is supposed to be dead by this point but with time-travel, anything is possible.) and turned off. Cue credits.
Jesse wakes up the next morning with the demon's bite on his arm. They go through the journal (which, as Jesse is quickly flipping through, you can see pictures of the main cast of PA3) which contains familiar pictures of rituals that we've seen in the other movies. Jesse also reads some Spanish which tells them of a doorway that can be built to travel through time, but only to places of evil. (This is not as groan-worthy as it sounds, I swear.)
Jesse starts to feel the demon's influence (strength, like he 'can do anything') and thinks that he is special. Jesse and his friend bring some girls back to Anna's empty apartment. When Jesse leaves for a minute to go get a condom, his girl is left alone in the room. She hears scratches from underneath a covered door leading to a basement and opens it, when she is grabbed by Oscar. Oscar lets her go and she runs away. Jesse comes running back when he is confronted by Oscar, who reveals that he is also marked and that Jesse has to kill himself if he wants to stop it. Jesse runs out of the apartment and Oscar falls onto a car from above, dead. (Likely jumped to kill himself.)
They go talk to Oscar's brother, the leader of the local gang. They go into Oscar's room and his walls are covered in newspaper clippings of missing boys and demonic reportings. Oscar's brother informs them that Oscar was adopted, which explains why his older-brother, being the first born, was not marked. Oscar had mentioned that the witches were trying to build an army of some sort. They find a slip of paper with Ali Rey's number on it (Hunter's older half-sister from PA2) and they take it and leave.
The friends go into the basement in Anna's apartment where Oscar was hiding. They find more ritualistic stuff and photos of Jesse. Another photo shows a picture of Anna, Jesse's Mom (who died during childbirth) and Lois (Katie and Kristi's gandmother from PA3 and probably the leader of the coven). They leave.
At night, Jesse hears his dog yelping from Anna's apartment. He goes after the dog and follows the noises down into the basement where Oscar was. Shit starts to go crazy and Jesse sees young Katie and young Kristi from PA3. He runs from them but is knocked down and the camera cuts.
The next morning, Jesse starts to become possessed and acts weird. His friends leave him to go meet with Ali, who seemingly now has all the answers. (I like to think that she and Martine [the housekeeper from PA2] have teamed up to figure out WTF is going on.) Ali informs them about the witch's coven and that a boy gets marked when he turns 18 and then after a series of rituals, he will be completely possessed.
After a brief visit to the spiritual grocery store featured after the credits of PA4, Jesse's grandmother attempts to perform an exorcism but this is interrupted by more crazy shit. Jesse briefly disappears and his friends run outside to find that Jesse has (seemingly) pushed his grandmother down the stairs and she is bleeding from her head. Jesse's friends stop recording to call 911 and Jesse vanishes.
The next day, the characters are talking about how Jesse is gone. They agree to go to the hospital (whether his grandmother is dead or not is not confirmed...probably not dead). On their way, the car dies. They spot Jesse looking pretty scary. He starts walking towards the car. He smashes in the window and pulls one of his friends out and starts choking them on the ground. The other friend grabs a bat from the backseat and knocks Jesse out. They put him in the car, the car starts, and they continue to the hospital until a truck T-Bones them and abducts Jesse. The two friends call Ali who tells them exactly where they took Jesse...Lois' house from the end of PA3.
They go ask Oscar's brother for help who gets a fellow gang member and the four of them go to Lois' house. When they arrive, the gang members pull a shotgun and an Uzi from the trunk. They investigate, but all of the doors are locked. Gang member #2 stays behind to pick the lock, and the rest move behind the house and up to some empty cattle stables, except for one which contains Alex from PA4, still alive. She pleads for them to help her when suddenly witches wielding knives start coming from all directions. Oscar's brother proceeds to start blowing away some witches with his shotgun, which is incredibly satisfying. He yells at the two friends to run, who step over the dead body of the other gang member and into the house through the door after the lock was picked.
The two friends get separated, long story short is that one of them gets dropped through a glass ceiling and dies. Oscar's brother appears to get overwhelmed outside and thrown against a window by the demon and killed. The sole survivor continues to run from witches and spots Jesse, completely possessed. He runs from Jesse upstairs, the same stairs that Lois took young Kristi and Katie up in PA3's ending, and locks himself in a room. Jesse begs for him to open the door and that he is scared, but his friend refuses. Jesse begins to smash down the door and his friend runs over to a different doorway, one with symbols carved into the frame and a glass knob in the middle. With Jesse smashing down the other door, he opens it and steps through.
Camera goes fuzzy, but comes back. He is now in Katie and MIcah's house from PA1. Katie is coming down the stairs in a daze and pulls a knife from the kitchen drawer. Jesse's friend is trying to talk to her but she ignores him. He touches her on the shoulder and she screams and calls for Micah, who runs down the stairs and grab's the friend, who is then grabbed by Katie and we see her stab Micah (this is the end of PA1, if you haven't picked up on it). The friend runs for the front door but we get a split second of demon-Jesse before the camera drops to the floor, which is then picked up by an old-looking woman (Lois, maybe? She is supposed to be dead by this point but with time-travel, anything is possible.) and turned off. Cue credits.
I skipped over some minor things and just tried to hit the big story-related stuff.
Basically, with
Alex
Jesse's friend is still alive, because I thought he was pretty likable.
young Katie and young Kristi
Lois may be taking the two girls upstairs and through the time-travel doorway
For real...lore-wise, this movie delivered. It makes all previous Paranormal Activity movies integral to understand what is going on, and I love that.
brandonh83
Banned
I really can't believe all the positive impressions. Not because I think it will be bad but because... I dunno I just didn't expect it. Sure some people still hate it but I was certain this would be the most hated installment after that trailer.
Solid. Nothing dumb and no overused tricks. But nothing as mindblowing as the fan camera from PA3.
The friends and the family were good btw. Main guy was ok. Carried the silly stuff fine.
Butttt there is nudity in this one. A hot chick too, full frontal.
And there is this super hot Mexican chick that needs to be dug up. Bra and yoga pants mmmmmm.
Saw it like 8 hours ago.
It was much better than expected and it really did work out with the more open environments.
It was a nice change of pace and settings and it was relevant to the story as it connects all the films.
It was even real funny in the first half and the cast did very well.
Unfortunately the scares didn't scare me much, maybe because it was my first time seeing a Paranormal Activity movie in the cinema where everyone were laughing and screaming.
If I've to make a ranking of the films it would be:
01) Paranormal Activity 3
02) Paranormal Activity 1
03) Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night
04) Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
05) Paranormal Activity 2
06) Paranormal Activity 4
The Marked Ones might climb to either 2nd or 3rd spot on second viewing.
It was much better than expected and it really did work out with the more open environments.
It was a nice change of pace and settings and it was relevant to the story as it connects all the films.
It was even real funny in the first half and the cast did very well.
Unfortunately the scares didn't scare me much, maybe because it was my first time seeing a Paranormal Activity movie in the cinema where everyone were laughing and screaming.
If I've to make a ranking of the films it would be:
01) Paranormal Activity 3
02) Paranormal Activity 1
03) Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night
04) Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
05) Paranormal Activity 2
06) Paranormal Activity 4
The Marked Ones might climb to either 2nd or 3rd spot on second viewing.
blitzwolf215
Member
Just got back from seeing the movie, man that was a mind fuck. Seriously though the movie was great, I didn't think it would be this good. They really should of had just called Paranormal Activity 5.
Also I want to note that nearly all the main cast are really likable.
Also I want to note that nearly all the main cast are really likable.
Alec
Member
Fine. Jump scares, very few 'creep' scares (like the bed sheet ghost from PA3).
thecouncil
Banned
what makes you think that
was alex
i thought the person who
turned off the camera looked like katie
Sweet. Really looking forward to it. I will probably watch it next week.
Buttonbasher
Member
Just saw this, and man I agree with the positivity. I've been into the lore they've been tucking away in the previous ones, but with this they share a lot more. I was put off by PA4 since it didn't really do a ton to move anything forward.
I'd probably place this slightly under 3 which is my favorite so far. I just didn't expect it to be so good! It hits on my favorite bits from the previous films, and seems to have bits of Chronicle, and House of Leaves in there too, which is just super exciting.
Had I not seen this, I dunno how excited about 5 I would be, but after this I'm super stoked to see what they come up with. They've lined it up to potentially be something special.
I'd probably place this slightly under 3 which is my favorite so far. I just didn't expect it to be so good! It hits on my favorite bits from the previous films, and seems to have bits of Chronicle, and House of Leaves in there too, which is just super exciting.
Had I not seen this, I dunno how excited about 5 I would be, but after this I'm super stoked to see what they come up with. They've lined it up to potentially be something special.
I would disagree almost completely. Example: There's no doors closing on their own in the entire thing. It ditches most of the regular spooks.
brandonh83
Banned
Really didn't like this one.
I've thought the story has gotten a little convoluted with the last few movies, but I think it's at the point where there's so much exposition instead of raw terror. Now, I don't mind expanding mythology and explaining certain things, but this one went too far with it in ways that I felt were just shoehorned in for shock value.
.
There were also a handful of moments that jerked me out of the film so violently that it gave me whiplash, such as
. These things could have been handled with much more tact and restraint, but mostly everything that happens in this film is so incredibly in-your-face and the reason why the series got off to such a good start was because it practiced subtlety. Now it just feels like they're adding so much crap right out of Demon-Related Shit 101 to keep it "relevant."
Again, I like story. But the reason I've been a fan to this point is that I like the basic concept of watching families be terrorized by douchebag entities. I like that. I get that some people argue that it's too formulaic and same old, same old, but I kind of treat it like I'm watching a series of tapes chronicling a haunting and I enjoy that. Now, the explanations and story directions are getting so out of control and whacky that it no longer feels like a haunted house series-- the original reason why I got into it. Sure, these elements have been introduced starting with Paranormal 2, but it wasn't really until the ending of 3 and 4 and now the entirety of The Marked Ones that it's come out in full-force and has all but tossed the original concept out the window.
I'm also fine with change, but only when I feel like it's good. This film feels like they just went, oh shit, people are losing interest so we need to change this up and add a bunch more over the top stuff and even some action and more sexual situations, and even
, but you only see a bit of that.
Overall, I felt that it was too obsessed with its convoluted, tacked on mythology and lingered on that far too much to have much in the way of solid horror sequences-- there are a handful that are actually okay, but none that I found to be even remotely scary. I'm a fan of the quiet, of the dark. I realize it's formulaic and that nothing amazingly terrifying is going to happen each time, but again I like it and it's the reason that made the first one a success and the reason sequels could happen in the first place. If you're tired of it no one is forcing you at gunpoint to keep seeing them. I enjoy analyzing and scanning the screen for anything that may or may not be off. That's how I view these. When they come to home video, I get them and watch for little subtle details and this or that. I've even found things that I feel like you would only notice with a good eye, and I find that fun and exciting. Is there anything like this in this film? No.
That being said, this is a spinoff, not called Paranormal Activity 5, and I'm still by every means a big fan of the series. Hopefully this one was drastically different because it has a subtitle instead of being a numbered entry and that Paranormal 5 is a return to form, because this style simply did not work for me. I wasn't scared, I wasn't enthralled, I wasn't pleased with much of anything about the story, and worst of all, it threw the concept that made the series out the window. To some I get how that's a refreshing change, but for me it was change in a bad way.
I've thought the story has gotten a little convoluted with the last few movies, but I think it's at the point where there's so much exposition instead of raw terror. Now, I don't mind expanding mythology and explaining certain things, but this one went too far with it in ways that I felt were just shoehorned in for shock value.
Introducing the time travel isn't inherently bad, but the story didn't make it meaningful and instead felt like it only existed as a mechanic to give them an excuse to revisit the event at the end of the original-- it didn't say, okay, here's time travel and portals and here's why this is necessary to the context of the story and because of that, it felt tacked on, again, for the sake of shock value and nothing else
There were also a handful of moments that jerked me out of the film so violently that it gave me whiplash, such as
the dog on the ceiling, and the cliche gangsta blowing away bwitches with a shotgun
Again, I like story. But the reason I've been a fan to this point is that I like the basic concept of watching families be terrorized by douchebag entities. I like that. I get that some people argue that it's too formulaic and same old, same old, but I kind of treat it like I'm watching a series of tapes chronicling a haunting and I enjoy that. Now, the explanations and story directions are getting so out of control and whacky that it no longer feels like a haunted house series-- the original reason why I got into it. Sure, these elements have been introduced starting with Paranormal 2, but it wasn't really until the ending of 3 and 4 and now the entirety of The Marked Ones that it's come out in full-force and has all but tossed the original concept out the window.
I'm also fine with change, but only when I feel like it's good. This film feels like they just went, oh shit, people are losing interest so we need to change this up and add a bunch more over the top stuff and even some action and more sexual situations, and even
a scene where you see a nude girl with amazing boobs and it lingers on this for minutes. I get that the scene was meant to be creepy overall, but I don't suppose they needed a girl with a perfect body for that? It just feels like they were going for the obvious but trying to cover it up all the same. There is another nude female in the same scene that isn't what I would deem attractive
Overall, I felt that it was too obsessed with its convoluted, tacked on mythology and lingered on that far too much to have much in the way of solid horror sequences-- there are a handful that are actually okay, but none that I found to be even remotely scary. I'm a fan of the quiet, of the dark. I realize it's formulaic and that nothing amazingly terrifying is going to happen each time, but again I like it and it's the reason that made the first one a success and the reason sequels could happen in the first place. If you're tired of it no one is forcing you at gunpoint to keep seeing them. I enjoy analyzing and scanning the screen for anything that may or may not be off. That's how I view these. When they come to home video, I get them and watch for little subtle details and this or that. I've even found things that I feel like you would only notice with a good eye, and I find that fun and exciting. Is there anything like this in this film? No.
That being said, this is a spinoff, not called Paranormal Activity 5, and I'm still by every means a big fan of the series. Hopefully this one was drastically different because it has a subtitle instead of being a numbered entry and that Paranormal 5 is a return to form, because this style simply did not work for me. I wasn't scared, I wasn't enthralled, I wasn't pleased with much of anything about the story, and worst of all, it threw the concept that made the series out the window. To some I get how that's a refreshing change, but for me it was change in a bad way.
thecouncil
Banned
Paranormal 5 should be a priest's recordings of Katie's exorcism. That'd be interesting to watch.
brandonh83
Banned
I do think they could do something really emotional with that. It would be nice as an endgame sort of thing.
Maninthemirror
Banned
wait is this the first open world paranormal activity?
brandonh83
Banned
Maninthemirror
Banned
wut....you're kidding right?
brandonh83
Banned
Yes, and no. Can't really go into much without spoilers but I did go into it in my "review."
Baraka in the White House
2-Terms of Kombat
I don't know.
It wasn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just not really taking to the PA "lore" that much. The awesome thing about the first movie was the less-is-more motif. You didn't need to know the story/history behind the demon and you didn't care about its motivations. The scary thing about demon mythology is that there usually isn't much rhyme or reason to it beyond torment and suffering.
The more I find out about the coven and suggestions of a bigger plot the less mysterious - and scary - it becomes for me.
It wasn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just not really taking to the PA "lore" that much. The awesome thing about the first movie was the less-is-more motif. You didn't need to know the story/history behind the demon and you didn't care about its motivations. The scary thing about demon mythology is that there usually isn't much rhyme or reason to it beyond torment and suffering.
The more I find out about the coven and suggestions of a bigger plot the less mysterious - and scary - it becomes for me.
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