Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Seventeen-year-old Jesse has been hearing terrifying sounds coming from his neighbor’s apartment, but when he turns on his camera and sets out to uncover their source, he encounters an ancient evil that won’t rest until it’s claimed his very soul.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a Latino-focused spin-off that attempts to inject some cultural freshness into the found-footage franchise but largely retreads familiar demonic possession territory. The plot is formulaic, following the well-worn beats of the series with little new ground covered. Acting is serviceable but unremarkable from its largely unknown cast. Cinematography adheres to the shaky hand-held found footage aesthetic that by 2014 had become thoroughly exhausted. Novelty is minimal — while the Latino community setting offers a slight cultural distinction, the core mechanics are recycled directly from prior entries. The ending earns a marginal boost for its ambitious (if convoluted) attempt to tie back into the main franchise timeline, which at least provides some payoff for series fans.