![]() ![]() If anyone ever gets an idea to make an eighth Paranormal Activity film, perhaps that's where the cameras ought to be left. (The whole setup is somewhat obvious, truthfully.) For another, characters are forever carrying their cameras into situations where it would have been better to leave them behind. For one thing, the characters seem slow to catch on to the mysterious happenings, pushing further into danger when they should be keeping their guard up and responding to alarm bells. When the spooky stuff does get going, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin doesn't work up much energy. It's even possible to forget for awhile that it's a horror movie. With Margot poking her nose into every place on the farm trying to dig up information, the movie ends up taking quite a while to get to the scares. Are Margot and Chris romantic partners or friends? (They seem like both.) And no one ever explains how Samuel is related to Margot (is he her uncle?) or how the other characters might be. Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin develops some likable characters - especially the towering goofball Dale - despite some things being frustratingly underwritten (by Christopher Landon, who wrote or co-wrote 5 of the 7 movies in the Paranormal franchise). Grade: B-īlumhouse and Paramount will release “Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin” on Paramount+ on October 29.Having little to do with the larger franchise, this tired, unsurprising found-footage horror movie is competently made and has its moments, but the characters are often one step behind viewers. But, of course, there’s more going on in this Amish community than dairy production and a complete lack of Wi-Fi. A scene where they get particularly excited about seeing pigs (gasp) feels almost like parody. Go big or go home, if you know where home is. Yes, Next of Kin is kind of Scary Amish People for a bit too long as Margot and her pals stare wide-eyed at the world around them. Despite its title and premise, “Next of Kin” fails to plumb much from its bloodline-related intrigue, tying the thread of Margot’s ancestry up with a crescendo that feels more like a footnote. The mysteries of where we come from may never fail to capture filmmakers’ imaginations, though here it feels like a missed opportunity. Like another of this year’s commercial horror titles, “Malignant,” “Next of Kin” trades dangerously in the myth-building possibilities surrounding adoption. It doesn’t break the rules, but it knows how to deliver the kinds of jump scares and intriguing premises that audiences have come to expect from the franchise, and Blumhouse in general. With Jason Blum and franchise creator Oren Peli as executive producers, the movie comes from a tried and true team of contemporary studio horror hit-makers, and feels like it. “Next of Kin” was directed by William Eubank (“The Signal”) and written by “Happy Death Day” director Christopher Landon, who wrote and/or directed four of the previous “Paranormal Activity” movies. In classic horror fashion, she finds a tiny hidden door and sees a face staring back at her in the window. When exploring the attic above her room, which used to belong to her mother, Margot comes across letters describing a cult. The movie mercifully foregoes any salacious, creepy old-man vibes, leaving the mind to fill in what other kinds of secrets Jacob might be hiding. The elder Jacob (Tom Nowicki) cuts a creepy enough jib with his white beard and long stringy hair. ![]() When passing local Amish outside of the family, Sam warns them not to say hello, as they are private people. A simple tour of the barn teases potential future perils: One wrong step and Margot nearly falls through a bale drop into a spiky mechanical pitchfork. “When is the last time you went to dinner and didn’t look at your phone?” Margot asks, seemingly drawn in by this simpler way of life. When the motley foursome finally gain entry into the drafty colonial farmhouse, after initially being turned away, they are lured in by the family dinners and ethereal tunes of a children’s choir. Like most studio horror movies these days, it looks a lot better than it should, and slaps a bit less. The result is a breezy but chilling romp through a haunted rural farmhouse, seen through extremely high-resolution handheld camera work. Keeping in line with previous “Paranormal Activity” entries, “Next of Kin” stays true to its found footage roots with a funny but workable indie documentary premise. Before the whole devil-worshipping-cult stuff happens, the movie is fairly respectful of Amish cultural practices, even if it uses them as ornamentation. Is it problematic to admit that an overnight stay in an Amish country farmhouse seems ripe for a horror movie setting? Without revealing too much about the plot of “Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin” off the bat, the seventh and latest chapter in the mega-hit horror franchise manages to alleviate that particular stickiness with a last-minute twist. Editor’s note: The following review contains spoilers for “ Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.” ![]()
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