Halloween is fast approaching so I am currently watching more than my regular fill of horrormovies. In horror there a few franchises that are well known amongst fans. Usually all these movies and their sequels have one thing in common: they start off really well, and usually go downhill fast with every sequel made. Ofcourse there are a few examples of sequels that are so bad, they become entertaining just because of that. Take for instance Friday the 13th. With a whopping twelve movies to date (including a remake and Freddy vs. Jason), it is a prime example of a horrorfranchise that produced sequels that were so bad, they were good. Last year another franchise released a sequel which is supposedly the final chapter. I am talking about Paranormal Activity 5: the Ghost Dimension.

The original Paranormal Activity was a classic. It was made with very minimal means, and told the story of a family being threatened by supernatural forces. It was made with handheld camera’s and showed in a very realistic way what happened to the family at night. And it pretty much started the whole “found footage” craze in horrormovies. With three sequels, and two spin-off movies, this last installment marks the end of the road. In the Ghost Dimension, two parents and their little girl take up residence in their new home. While cleaning up the house, the father finds a camera that is very unusual. Looking through it he is beginning to see things that are definitely not of this world. When his daughter is subsequently beginning to act very strangely, he soon realises that an evil demon has set his sights on his little girl. However getting rid of this demon is easier said than done…

The problem I have with this final installment is that it has lost sight of the original movie. Where the first one was made with little to no means, this one is full of special effects (and not very good ones either). That in itself would not be so bad, if the movie was any good. Unfortunately it is not. The creators of this film must have thought that throwing in a few jumpscares at 10 minute intervals would make for a scary film. Well it really doesn’t work like that. Except for maybe one or two scenes, this movie is pretty boring and not really scary at all. Having seen all the previous parts, I wanted to know how they would end it. Well I guess I have my answer now: pretty badly. As I said this is the final chapter, but let’s be honest we have all heard that before. I would not be surprised if in one or two years part six will be released : Back from the Ghost Dimension, or another name such as that. If you have watched this franchise from the beginning, as I have, then I guess you almost have to watch this one. Be prepared for a bitter disappointment though.

I give this movie a 4 out of 10 score.