It's been six years since we last saw the last "Paranormal Activity". If you were wondering what could happen next in Toby the Demon's increasingly strange journey - or about the army quickly forgotten supernatural super-soldiers introduced in “The Marked Ones” (which also had time travel!) – you won't find that in “Next of Kin”.
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William Eubank's film is an apparent reboot of the entire franchise, with new characters, new mythology and a whole bunch of people who must suffer at the hand of paranormal entities.
While it's fair to say that "Paranormal Activity" has long since ditched the relatable, character-driven horrors of previous episodes, telling instead of gimmicks. cheesy and choppy world-building, it's hard not to be a little disappointed that this new chapter feels more like a film inspired by the franchise than another chapter in the series.
That would be a nonsensical criticism if “Next of Kin” worked on its own merits, and about a third of it does. The final third. Well at the end. After we lost interest. The last act is chilling. The trick is staying awake long enough to get there.
The film stars Emily Bader (“Anonymous Killers”) as Margot, a young woman who never knew her biological family until she found a match in internet tests. Surprise! Her family is Amish and, miraculously, one of her relatives, Sammy (Henry Ayres-Brown, “DC Noir”), put the data on the site.
Written by Christopher Landon (who wrote four of the other films), “Next of Kin” takes center stage towards the end. The mystery is revealed and a high-stakes rescue ensues, forcing Chris to save Margot (with a small Dale's help) venturing into spooky, unexplored corners of the city and finding the central evil of the film.
The ending has an impressive amount of action given how tepid the rest of the movie is.
