There comes a time in ever major franchise’s lifespan where the law of diminishing returns runs the risk of turning into outright shark-jumping, and unless you’re an exceedingly forgiving fan of the series, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension can be designated as the breaking point.
Of course, no matter how fast or spectacularly the property could or would go off the rails, it remains one of the most profitable enterprises in the history of cinema after the six theatrically-released installments conspired to net $890 million at the box office on combined costs of under $30 million, with home video sales pushing it well beyond the billion-dollar barrier.
Churning sequels out on a near-annual basis was always destined to backfire, though, and it couldn’t help but be noted that The Ghost Dimension remains both the worst-reviewed and lowest-earning Paranormal Activity movie to date, which no doubt played a part in successor Next of Kin not even seeing the inside of a theater in favor of an exclusive release on Paramount Plus.
There was only so much mileage that could have been wrung out of such a fairly simple – and equally flimsy – concept to begin with, because it’s really hard to keep trying to put fresh spins on what’s essentially a static camcorder recording almost nothing for the majority of its runtime bar a few jumpscares, before the third act finale inevitably goes for broke with a grand hurrah.
Either way, there might still be some gas left in the tank after all, seeing as FlixPatrol has outed The Ghost Dimension as the newest addition to its home platform’s Top 10 charts in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, although we’ll see if that holds true when the inevitable eighth chapter arrives.
