Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Movie review by Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 16+

Plenty of violence in fifth installment of horror series.

R 2014 84 minutes
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Parents say

age 18+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 9 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is the fifth in the successful, found-footage horror series. Violence includes only a little blood, but characters fire guns and we see some dead bodies, plus some fighting, a car crash, a tormented dog, and some scary, ghostly images. Some full-frontal female nudity is shown, and a sex act nearly happens, but is interrupted. Language is very strong, with near-constant use of "f--k" and "s--t." Teens smoke pot, there's some very brief drinking, and alcohol seems readily available in this world. After the drop in quality and enthusiasm after Paranormal Activity 4, it's not likely that teens will hold a sustained interested in this sequel.

Community Reviews

Renee.Des
Renee.Des Adult
October 20, 2014
age 18+
Definitely not appropriate for anyone under 15. Full frontal female nudity and some very disturbing scenes. They must be running out of ideas because it seems like this was the least scary out of all PA's and it's almost like they only included nudity to give the film at least one thing for people to be reeled in by, but for me it did the opposite. Unnecessary and out of place. Personally I think they should have stopped at number 4.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) is a normal, happy kid in Oxnard, California. He gives a speech at his high school graduation, and his family and friends, Hector (Jorge Diaz) -- who films everything -- and Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh), throw him a party at their apartment complex. Soon the friends become curious about the strange noises coming from their neighbor Anna's apartment. When it appears that a schoolmate has killed Anna, they begin poking around the apartment, finding curious articles of witchcraft. Soon after, Jesse begins to exhibit strange behavior. At first he seems to have superpowers, but before long he becomes withdrawn and even violent. Can Hector and Marisol solve the mystery of Jesse's behavior before it's too late?

Is It Any Good?

Fans of this series, or horror films in general, won't find much to scream about in this installment. A writer on the series since Paranormal Activity 2, Christopher Landon directed this fifth entry. His best innovation is to set the entire story within a vivid Latino community, complete with young people, old people, good people, and bad people. It's a refreshing angle, and for a while, before the supernatural stuff starts, the movie is fairly compelling. But unfortunately, as it goes on and turns more horrific, it also turns exceedingly stale. There are some small cameos and references to the earlier films, but the major problem is that, unlike parts 1-3, there's absolutely no reason for characters to continue filming while all this stuff is happening. Moreover, while the witches seem to have power to do almost anything, they just can't stop the camera. Aside from that, the scares are overly familiar, properly-timed jumps and shocks borrowed from the earlier films and other "found footage" movies.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's violence. Was it gruesome or overdone? Is it used for suspense, or for shock? Was the movie scary? What is the appeal of horror movies like this one?

  • Was the movie's sex and sexual innuendo gratuitous, or did it seem healthy? Are the characters too young?

  • How did you feel about teens having access to pot and alcohol throughout the movie? Did the consequences for drug and alcohol use seem realistic?

Movie Details

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