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The popular found-footage franchise Paranormal Activity is back with its seventh film Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin. The sixth film of this franchise saw the end of the demon Toby, with the seventh iteration exploring a new terrain.
Written by Christopher Landon and directed by William Eubank, the film made its release on 29 October 2021 and is available to watch on Paramount+.
A brief synopsis of Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin follows the story of Margot, played by Emily Bader, who was abandoned at birth by her mother. Curious to learn more about her mother and meet her blood relatives, Margot embarks on a search for her biological family.
She makes acquaintances with Samuel, a distant cousin, over the internet. The two met after Margot got a match in DNA testing. Subsequently, she finds out that her family is Amish. Following this revelation, Samuel invites her to meet the family. She decides to make a documentary of her visit to her ancestral home and discover her roots.
To make the documentary, Margot forms a team consisting of her two friends, a cameraman and a sound guy who lends comic relief to the film. The narrative charts her journey as she traces her lineage and tries to discover more about her mother and kin.
The family was initially hostile towards them, but became amicable soon afterwards. As soon as the new guests settle in, the paranormal activities begin. Margot makes certain discoveries and soon realizes that her family may be hiding something sinister.
Set in the middle of winter, the snowy farmland adds to the eeriness of the whole setting. Aggravating the feeling of seclusion are the Amish community who are cut off from the world.
Is 'Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin' worth the watch?
In 2007, Paranormal Activity made its mark in the arena of horror with its new and innovative twist-camera footage. It introduced a new source of horror that no other film had done before - the perspective of the camera. This made Paranormal Activity quite a hit. However, the popularity of the franchise began to dwindle with subsequent releases.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is leaning more towards cult horror and feels less like a Paranormal Activity movie. The only elements that make it appear as part of the franchise are the found-footage and timeline elements. It could easily have been made into a successful independent project, instead of cramming it forcefully into the Paranormal Activity framework.
The earlier movies of the franchise were situated in closed spaces, such as the homes of innocent people, which were invaded by unseen sinister supernatural forces. Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin opens up the space by hurling the movie into a farmland. Owing to this tactic, the original elements of horror invading sanctuary spaces, that made the previous movies chilling to the bone, disappear.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is also severely lacking in the element of horror. Most of the horror derives from the family's atypical customs and their peculiar behavior, which are seasoned with some cheap jump scares here and there.
Redeeming the film is its last 20 minutes which are shockingly intense and packed with horror. The shaky, handheld camerawork amplifies the tension by providing horrifying angles of whatever is on the loose. However, it doesn’t make up for the painfully boring and predictable first half of the film.
Sadly, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin becomes a stereotypical cult horror with one dimensional characters and few jump scares. When compared to classic cult horror flicks like Midsommar, the film leaves a lot to be desired.
It does, however, make an upgrade to its cinematography by ridding itself of the previous films’ amateur documentary style of grainy images.
Where to watch Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
This Halloween, catch the latest release of the Paranormal Activity franchise, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin on Paramount+ exclusively.
