There is almost nothing in this movie that isn’t a raging stereotype. With films like the “Fast & Furious” franchise, as well as “Despicable Me 2” and even the dreadful “The Devil Inside” from two years ago, finding profit in ethnic casting, “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” takes it to an offensive level. One of the biggest problems with “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” is that it’s a painfully unapologetic cash grab at the Latino demographic. He soon worries that he might be marked for possession by the same intentionally obfuscated and drawn-out fuzzy demon characters that we’ve seen in four movies now. Being a reckless youth, he and his buddy Hector (Jorge Diaz) sneak into the old woman’s apartment and discover evidence that links Jesse to black magic. ![]() The woman who lives downstairs from him is murdered one night, and Jesse thinks it might be a classmate of his. This movie moves the franchise into the Latino community, focusing on a recent high school graduate named Jesse (Andrew Jacobs). There is some connective tissue between this film and the others, and while I’ve heard not a small number of critics praise these elements, they were shoehorned into the movie and at times nonsensical. This one is subtitled “The Marked Ones” and is being sold as an offshoot of the existing series. Now, the fifth film is out (even though it’s not called “Paranormal Activity 5,” because that’s due out next October). But that all came crashing down in the fourth film, which wasn’t terrible, just terribly boring. The third film was a great way to bounce back, actually adding to the existing mythology of the franchise. However, I hated the second movie for being derivative and forced. I loved the first film because it was quite groundbreaking, not just in its delivery but also in its departure from the soon-to-be standard found footage genre. I’m such a fickle bastard, especially when it comes to the “Paranormal Activity” franchise.
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