Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

The weak performances, over-reliance on CGI, and lack of tension all make Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension an unsatisfying and unenjoyable movie experience. The poor screenwriting is evident throughout the movie, with examples such as the lazy narrative convenience of having a character "follow them out of the house". Its failure to deliver any real scares or tension makes it an ultimately disappointing experience. There are virtually no scary moments and the tension is non-existent, making it hard to stay engaged throughout the runtime. It's a shame, as the premise of the film had a lot of potential. Sadly, it just doesn't deliver.

I approached this movie with low expectations due to the negative reviews and the slipshod quality of Paranormal Activity 4. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised to discover that this movie did not suffer from the plodding pace of the first movie or the frustratingly unintelligent characters that were featured in PA2 and PA4 (recall that the father in the second movie had cameras installed but then refused to watch the recorded footage). This entry moves along at a brisk pace and is never boring, and you never have to wait too long for some creepy visuals or a good jump scare (yes, there are jump scares and this will turn some viewers off, but it didn't bother me as I was in the mood to be startled). The character of Mike is somewhat annoying but he's there to serve as comic relief.

Many of the visual effects are subtle and done quite well, such as the particles and shapes captured by the modified "ghost camera," but the use of CGI becomes much too heavy-handed in the latter half of the film. Whereas most of the scares are done very well, a few of the CGI effects seen near the end of the movie are more funny than scary and this is not a good thing; sparser use of computer- generated visuals would have been a wise move, but instead they were VERY liberal with its application here (especially in comparison with the previous entries). Also, without spoiling anything, there are some frustrating problems raised by the plot twists that occur near the end of the film and PA5 ultimately creates more questions than it answers.

Fans who were hoping for a neat and tidy wrap-up to the franchise will be somewhat disappointed with PA5. However, if you accept that these films have had convoluted plots from PA2 onward and you're just in the mood to be scared and entertained, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's a solid popcorn movie for a rainy night.

Just don't puzzle over the continuity of the plot too much... You'll give yourself a migraine.

"I've heard of spirit photography before, I've just never seen it in person." When looking through boxes at their house Ryan finds an old video camera. Excited about the find he begins to walk around filming everything. He begins to notice strange things through the lens and when he looks at tapes of movies filmed with the camera he makes a horrifying discovery. This is a series that has been on the decline ever since the first one. Each one tries to do something different than the others, and this one actually shows the activity rather then showing things happening without knowing why. This new idea makes things not as creepy to me. Seeing a chair start to rock without seeing something do it is scarier then seeing a ghost move around. This movie, however, much like every other sequel, is almost review proof. This is the 5th movie in the series and by now you are looking forward to the new one or not. As for me this is a series that should probably stop. If you can't improve on the last one don't make it. They haven't reached Batman & Robin status with the franchise yet but they are on their way. Overall, not un- watchable but another drop off from the previous one. I give this a C+.

I think I read somewhere on the movie poster that this one is different and that it shows the story from the other side... Well, if it did, then it is not anything special.

I watched all the paranormal activity movies and even a parody. I watched them all not because I really liked them or enjoyed much but because I like horror films and those are rare nowdays - I mean the good ones. so, I was hoping with each one of these that one might be good, but... I mean, they are not bad entirely, but not something special either. I was surprised when the 1st one was voted somewhere as the scariest horror of all time!!!??? Say what?!

This one starts promising, but that is all that is interesting. The little girl is good. Mum is just ... whatever. Dad - well, at least he is kinda sexy so he passes as well as that blond girl ( which, by the way, I did not get why she is even in the house?! - a babysitter?!)

So, Toby is evil, he is in the house for 6 days and the family goes around filming... Yeah,right. That is what bothers me in all of these films. I mean, I know it IS a movie. But if you use hand camera to make a movie look more realistic, please let people do realistic things too. But no ...

All in all, if you don't have anything better to do - go ahead. A few thrills and it is over. 5 from me.

Remember Saw? Remember what happened to that franchise? After becoming a Halloween staple, it was immediately overshadowed by the newer, fresher Paranormal Activity series, with the last Saw using 3D as a final resort to churn out one more film from the dying franchise. Now, we're seeing the same thing from Paranormal Activity. In fact, the desperation to milk one last film is apparent, and it's sad. Alas, this is the cycle every horror franchise goes through. I have to admit, I personally enjoyed this series longer than I would expect. To call PA4 disappointing is an understatement, but The Marked Ones made up for it and surprised the hell out of me.

However, TGD is easily the worst film in the series, one of the worst films of the year, and a sad, cynical, soulless attempt to salvage whatever is left from this franchise. There's literally nothing memorable here, nothing iconic. It's all so generic and inept, from the constant jump scares, to the forgettable actors, to the 3D, which is used in the most clichéd way possible. The story doesn't make a lick of sense compared to all the buildup in the previous films, most likely due to the noticeable absence of Christopher Landon, who wrote all the sequels up until this point. And why the hell did it take two years for four writers to write the script? Was that really necessary? Overall, there's not much to be said about TGD because there's not much to actually talk about. By the time of writing this review, I've already forgotten about 90% of the movie, and you will too. So don't watch it. You don't need to see the activity. Whatever you come up with in your imagination is probably far scarier than this movie would ever dream to achieve.