 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Paranormal Activity 3
- Review Date: October 21, 2011
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 2011
Common Sense Media says
Slightly more violent prequel connects the first two movies.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is -- a prequel to both Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity 2 -- attempts to explain the events that led up to the terrors in those two movies. Like the others, it's told in fake documentary style, mostly via surveillance camera footage. The scary stuff is left largely to the imagination (and there's a near-constant sense of dread as a result), though this movie has a little more on-screen violence than the previous films did: An invisible force terrorizes two young girls, lifting one up by the hair and dragging her across the floor. Language is strong but not frequent and includes many uses of "f--k" and "s--t." A loving couple attempts to tape themselves having sex, though they only get as far as some foreplay, with clothes on. They also smoke pot.
What's the story?
In a quick prologue, set in 2005, Katie (Katie Featherston) drops off a box of old videotapes to be stored in her sister Kristi's basement. The content on these tapes consists of 1988 footage of young Katie (the main character of Paranormal Activity) and Kristi (the main character of Paranormal Activity 2). As kids, the girls live with their mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) and Julie's loving boyfriend, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith). Kristi starts spending time with a sinister-sounding "imaginary friend," Toby, and strange, terrifying things start happening in the house. Dennis videotapes everything, but is anyone really prepared for the true horror behind it all?
Is it any good?
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the minds behind the quasi-documentary Catfish, take over as directors on this third entry in the Paranormal Activity series, staying true to the earlier films' style. Wide, unmoving images from surveillance cameras provide endless dread and suspense, never indicating just where the next shock is going to come from. The movie's most ingenious invention is a moving camera, mounted on an electric fan base; as it moves mechanically back and forth, important information moves helplessly, automatically out of frame, and viewers must wait anxiously to see more.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 continues the broken/mixed family dynamic of the previous two films, but the characters here are more sharply drawn and more sympathetic; this family has a more loving feel. The main drawback is the plot. Still somewhat ambiguous, it tries to explain everything and conclude the series. But that conclusion is a bit unsatisfying, more like a whimper than a bang. Overall, though, the movie definitely provides strong chills.
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AGE
too scary for kids under 17
We decided to let our 15.5 year old go to this movie as a bit of a test. Both my husband and I went with our son. I think because there are cameras involved the kids "think" it's real. We saw the movie last night and around 2:30am he came into our room not able to sleep and not interested in sleeping due to the movie. So this morning we sat him down and explained why certain movies are rated "R" and he understands now and isn't interested in seeing another "R" rated movie.
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AGE
Wow
They say st*pi*. Off for my kids. Cant belive i let my 17 year old watch this.
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AGE
Very intense
I don't scary easily, but this one was really intense. It was one scare after another. The 4 teen boys in front of us were terrified & couldn't wait for the movie to be over. The grown man behind me screamed frequently, as well.
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my thoughts on the movie
i think it mostly tries to tie the movies together but does a horrible job at it. it seems like they tried too hard at that and failed at it. many of the scenes mentioned in the first and second movie didn't come up. it did do a good job of explaining why this demon was haunting them. overall it leaves more questions than answers
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AGE
calm down people....its all fake!
people usually over freak about these films, when they are just fine and anyone who has seen any horror film that goes: "boo! are you scared?" will be bored. overall there was only 2 moments in this film where i jumped/got nervous. for some to say that its "Most violent and intense movie in the franchise" and "too scary for kids under 17", these people really need to wake up and see what other films have been released that are PG13 and worse on scares than this film. Kids will be fine, unless they have no idea what a scare is.
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AGE
Good Movie, But Not For Kids!
If you like horror movies, then you will more than likely enjoy the Paranormal Activity movies. However, there is content in this movie that is unsuitable for children. The movie is quite realistic, very suspensful, and very scary. The movie includes a lot of violence, including violence towards children. There is a short scene that shows the mother and step-father in the movie smoking marijuana. There is also another short scene in the movie that shows the same mother and step-father on the verge of having sex, until they are interrupted by strange noises. There is no nudity or actual acts of sex shown but the parents are shown in their underwear while the mother is laying on top of the step-father, making-out with him. There is also some bad language included in the movie.
In my opinion, it is a very good horror movie. I enjoyed watching it. It's a good date night movie for adults, especially around Halloween! But, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting my child watch it unless they were at least 14 or 15 years old. If they scare easily, then I wouldn't consider letting them watch it at all!
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AGE
More explicit than the first and second, and this time it's not just the language that gives it an R rating. Provides a good backstory, and it's better than #2, but not as good as #1.
My rating: R for strong language, a scene involving sexual content and illegal drug use, and for some violent images.
[NOTE: This has 15+ F-bombs, but for once, that's not the issue that gives it an R rating. There's a little more violence than there was previously, and there's one scene when Katie and Kristi's parents decide to videotape themselves doing things no one would want their 10- and 7-year-old kids (or any kids) seeing. This was the first R-rated film I saw in theaters.]
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AGE
My 11 year old
I saw this with my 11 year old daughter and loved it. The last 15 minutes were very good, My daughter really enjoyed it. She is a 6th grader, But i think it is suitable for 5th graders and up.
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Directors: | Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost |
| Cast: | Christopher Nicholas Smith, Katie Featherston, Lauren Bittner |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 85 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | October 21, 2011 |
| DVD release date: | January 23, 2012 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | some violence, language, brief sexuality and drug use |
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