Despite offering a fresh take on the well-worn found-footage haunted house premise, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin ultimately proves that the horror franchise has run its course. Following in the footsteps of 2015’s Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the latest entry in the series attempts to inject some new ideas and energy into the original concept. However, despite some innovation, the film actually provides further proof that one of the most successful horror concepts in recent history can no longer deliver on its initial promise.
Paranormal Activity 7 follows a team of documentary filmmakers as they head to a remote Amish settlement on a search for the main protagonist Margot’s mother. While initially, the crew seems to be welcomed into the community, it quickly becomes clear that all is not as it seems. The filmmakers not only come into conflict with supernatural forces, but also the villagers themselves, who have secretly been worshipping a demon known as Asmodeus. This leads to a terrifying climax in which Margot is forced to come face to face with her true heritage.
Although the decision to introduce the concept of a full documentary crew traveling to a remote destination – as opposed to a family intent on capturing ghosts in their own home – is a new step for the series, the change ultimately proves that the original Paranormal Activity concept has become outdated. By completely changing the nature of the franchise, making it more akin to other popular found-footage classics like The Blair Witch Project, the film inadvertently highlights that there is no life left in the central premise. For Paranormal Activity advocates, this unfortunately means that a return to the original formula is likely off the cards for good. Naturally, this raises some serious questions about where the series can go from here.
Paranormal Activity 7 Changes The Franchise Format
The previous six entries in the Paranormal Activity film series have followed a similar concept – featuring families filming their own experiences in a traditional haunted house setting. However, unlike the earlier films, Paranormal Activity 7 places the action in a remote rural community that those doing the recording have to actively seek out. While this is a new direction for Paranormal Activity, it is in many ways a much more traditional approach to found-footage-style horror. Much like genre classics such as Rec and Cannibal Holocaust, the protagonists behind the camera actively seek out the unsettling action, marking it out from the other, arguably more passive films in the franchise.
After the negative reception to Paranormal Activity 6, this change-up may have been an inevitability. However, while a different approach was probably necessary, it ultimately reveals that the original Paranormal Activity twist on the haunted house and found-footage tropes no longer pack the same punch they once did. By radically departing from the original format, the Paranormal Activity 7 filmmakers are unconsciously admitting that the previous approach has become too tired to work effectively. While Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin does feature some links to the original – specifically when Margot is filming herself in her room as she comes under attack – the reality is that, in order for the franchise to survive, it has had to leave its roots behind.
Paranormal Activity Moves Away From Toby
A further departure for the franchise comes in the form of the main villain. Throughout the saga to date, the defining evil entity has been the mysterious Toby, a demonic figure who grants wealth and power in exchange for the soul of a male child. Although he’s appeared in various guises throughout the series, Toby has been a constant insidious presence throughout the first six films. In Paranormal Activity 7, however, it seems as though Toby has been replaced by a different demon known as Asmodeus.
This move is extremely significant for the wider Paranormal Activity saga for two reasons. Firstly, it makes it expressly clear that there is more than one major threat in this specific cinematic universe. Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, it also provides a further admission that the central premise of earlier films in the series has run out of steam. While the complex, intergenerational plot that spanned the first movies certainly had its plus points, it ultimately made the central threat posed by Toby become muddled and difficult to follow. With multiple different demonic associates, such as Paranormal Activity 3’s Bloody Mary, Toby’s lore and backstory ultimately ended up detracting from the effectiveness of his scares as audiences struggled to keep track of his motivations. By introducing a new villain entirely, the new film further highlights how the central premise of earlier Paranormal Activity films can no longer sustain a successful franchise.
Why Paranormal Activity Isn’t Scary
The new direction for the franchise is indicative of the main problem with the existing Paranormal Activity formula. Namely that, after the innovative approach of the first film, following the same premise for five further feature-length entries ultimately led to diminishing scares. While the original Paranormal Activity was able to successfully unsettle audiences with a combination of eerie atmosphere and a subtle twist on found-footage movie-making, subsequent entries have been forced to repeat many of the same tricks. As a result, the series has become both predictable and repetitive, reflected in the progressively poorer reviews (with the exception of Paranormal Activity 3) as the series has continued.
This goes a long way to explaining why Paranormal Activity 7 is changing the approach so radically. By reverting to a more traditional found footage style and transporting the story away from the single haunted house setting, the film will be able to do something genuinely original – at least within the confines of the existing Paranormal Activity franchise. While this change may, in some respects, make the movie feel more like a traditional found-footage horror (and perhaps make it more difficult to truly innovate), the new direction will at least provide audiences with something different from the series. As the comparatively poor box office and negative critical reception to Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension proves, recycling the same tired techniques simply isn’t enough for most moviegoers. While it remains to be seen whether Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin can revive the flagging series, its approach is a clear indication that the earlier Paranormal Activity formula is no longer fit for purpose.
