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Parents' Guide to

Paranormal Activity 3

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Slightly more violent prequel connects the first two movies.

Movie R 2011 85 minutes
Paranormal Activity 3 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 20 parent reviews

asmith027
asmith027 Adult
December 11, 2020
age 13+

If you seen one you seen them all!

Don't waste your time it's a slow burn for a short ride it's like staying at Disney world to get on a ride find out the ride sucks. Watch House bound it's a New Zealand film no blood no one dies but it's creepy and crazy as hell!
Rarityfan
Rarityfan Adult
September 29, 2018
age 15+

Third times the charm

Typical Paranormal Activity spooks. Of consumerism VHS, occult books and Teddy Rupxin.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much consumerism
See all 20 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (20 ):
Kids say (67 ):

It 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.

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's violence, both implied and shown. Which kind is more powerful? Why?

  • How scary was the movie? What scared you most, and why?

  • What would be the effect of constantly filming your life?

Movie Details

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