It’s over, people. It’s finally over. The Paranormal Activity franchise, one of this generation’s longest-running horror narratives, has come to a close with the release of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension – a final chapter that Jason Blum assured would answer all our burning questions. Who is Toby? What’s with the witch coven? What became of Jesse? These are the questions that have plagued Paranormal Activity fans for countless years, yet after watching Gregory Plotkin’s cumulative effort, I’ve still got plenty of questions relating to those very thoughts. The final chapter, Blumhouse? Yeah, my ass it is.
Let me take this moment to point out the obvious warning that spoilers will follow from here on.
You’d think that The Ghost Dimension would avoid another cliffhanger ending, but Plotkin’s closing frame could be the most open-ended of them all. The same anticipation that kept people coming back film after film creates an incomplete finish to Paranormal Activity (if we’re to believe it’s done), leaving an insane amount of loose-ends that simply shouldn’t be.
The franchise’s final entry is nothing but an excuse to display Toby, as a lazily connected story becomes completely unremarkable in the face of Toby’s constant blurring. Plotkin doesn’t offer many answers for diehard Paranormal Activity fans, a few of which I’d like to discuss immediately. Feel free to drop any other questions you still might have, because there’s so much worth noting, but here are a few unsettled debts to get things started.
If you’re ending a franchise, you probably shouldn’t stir up more questions than existed in the first place. Just a thought.
