User reviews

I've only seen the first Paranormal Activity so I'm reviewing this as a standalone movie, even though it's actually a spin off or whatever. It's the same premise though - found-footage, teenagers, ghosts, demons, and what have you.

The first 30 or so minutes I was invested in the movie. I really was. I liked the characters, I thought the filmmakers were doing something interesting and fresh, there are some comedic bits thrown around, it was just enjoyable to watch. Then it turns into cliché city. Easy jump scares, stupid mythology that isn't even explained and makes no sense, people running around from room to room with no suspense. It's like halfway through the movie the filmmakers were like "oh crap, this has to be a Paranormal Activity movie. Let's just make a bunch of supernatural crap happen to these characters we developed and wrap this up as quickly as possible". And that's how the entire third act feels: rushed and lazy. It basically went from being an intriguing murder mystery to a generic possession movie.

I won't say it's terrible because I didn't hate myself watching it. It just got really uninteresting really fast. Near the end I was just waiting for it to be over because you know there's not going to be any explanation or any depth to the story at that point. You just want these stupid jump scares to stop so you can go about your life not watching this movie. There are worse found-footage movies out there, but The Marked Ones is definitely one you can skip over.

The Marked ones is without doubt one of the best films from the Franchise (first one apart.) It's the usual format, every stereotype included, kids, found footage, person turned away, being on top of the ceiling, but somehow this one has an air of originality about it. Unlike the last few films the character's are well rounded and for the first time likeable, so when things start happening to them you care. There's nothing particularly original here, the ending has definitely been done to death, but it doesn't seem to matter. Not bad at all.

When the news of a new entry in the series came to my attention, the idea exhausted me; especially given the previous entries and their deteriorating quality. Nevertheless staying true to the reason these films are still being made, and fans of real horror, like myself continue to watch them, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, rewards its loyal audience with a fairly sensible connection with the previous films and characters.

In a way, the film does show some maturity, and they seem to have graduated from chicken feet on the floor and utensils and sheets flying around the place...at least for the most part. Here to begin with the lead character, Jesse was given just enough footage to get the audience to like him. We begin to instantly empathize with his family and friends and unlike the previous movies, none of them are extremely annoying. The actors, all do justice to their parts, and if not extremely strong performances, are convincing enough to keep us watching

This entry does give the audience more action than the prequels, however they divert themselves into satanic rituals, rather than pay any focus to the actual demon they are to be dealing with. There are just enough scares to justify one watch, and enough back story to make sense of a few huge question marks the previous films leave us with.

With the exception of these, the film has not much else to offer, and it is best to be watched as a part of this series and not compared to several of the other strong demonic possession films we've had in the past few years.

The acting is quite good, that is the only reason why I am giving it 4 stars.

I love the first 3 movies they were exciting and fun. The 4th and 5th one don't feel like the same movie. When I watched this I realized I shouldn't have watched it because it makes me appreciate the first three less. This sucks I loved these movies until the 4th and 5th one. The writers are jumping around scraping for a way to draw out a movie concept that was fine the way it was. The main two actors were great though so don't hold it against them. But the movie wasn't scary and had a couple okay moments but all in all not worth your $$. You pretty much wait an hour for the movie to actually get exciting. Maybe there's hope for the next one if they decide to make one but honestly I want to just stick with the first three.

At first, it seemed like the fun might be back in the Paranormal franchise with "The Marked Ones". There's a much needed change of environment, good comic relief and even a few decent horror images. All of this is completely negated by the movie's utter stupidity. While the first film was a worthy cultural phenomenon, the series is becoming a chore. If "The Marked Ones", the first big release of the year, is a sign of things to come, then it is going to be a LONG year. This is the fifth "Paranormal" film, and is more of a spin-off than a sequel. It follows Latino teenagers in California and (SURPRISE) strange things begin to happen to them. This movie is clearly trying to hearken its own previous films while also laying new ground, but fails on both fronts. It tries exorcism horror…and fails. It tries haunted house horror…and fails. It tries mythological horror…and fails. In fact, what made the first films so great was their simplicity; we could place our personal fears within the story. With all of this convoluted, lazy and stupid mythos, all relatability has been thrown out the window. Worst of all, it's clichéd and predictable. That's never good, but especially for a horror film that relies on being surprising. Instead, the creepiness is laughable, and the found footage element has become less of a device and more of a gimmick, too often being boring instead of scary. So while the first few films caused nightmares, this one will just put you to sleep.

After the abomination that was PA4, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Sure, it's your standard possession story, but I found it believable and reasonably well acted. The young guys were easy to like and their friendship really came through on-screen. It also had some great scary/eerie moments. All in all, I think the PA franchise has pulled itself back on track with this one. Definitely worth watching!

First of all, allow me to stress that IMDb has been my reference point for years now - with its share of ups and downs. This time however, I felt like I need to say something, because the overall rating of this movie is a gross understatement.

Second of all, reading this you should keep in mind that I am no particular fan of the series. I have seen all the previous parts except for no.4 (I think), and as much as I appreciated them, I don't wear PA t-shirts, nor do I have PA posters hanging over my bed. This is a very solid series, with the first part being the obvious winner, but to rant The Marked Ones is a bit unjust.

I saw this movie last night at a cinema (which, I believe, is important). I won't attempt comparing it to the other films in the franchise, but it certainly provided some awesome chills. More importantly, there were some parts of the movie that kept me on the edge of my seat for minutes, not just for a moment. That is, I believe, what makes a successful horror movie. Plus I'm definitely not into torture- porn, but there is no gore in this one, which is great.

• The story is neither super-original nor an obvious rip-off. - The "found footage" modus operandi works just fine throughout a movie, and - acting is believable enough to root for the characters.

The Marked Ones does not write genre history - nor does it boast with such ambitions. But if you're into some good chills, give it a shot. Don't believe everything people (including critics) write. Have an unbiased go at it and see for yourself. It's just another decent horror flick, not Blair Witch Project.

If you're a die hard PA fan and this will be a great movie. One of the best.

Good acting, and the twist at the end relative to the first PA was a good surprise

If you have watched the films prior you kind of got used to certain characters, but for this one, it took it in a new direction where they could literally expand it to anything near enough. It's a good film, just something was missing to give it that top mark.

Let's face it, the Paranormal Activity franchise is one of the worst out there. The whole franchise has been built on the over hyping of one film that led to billions of dollars in revenue and spawned a franchise of even less scary sequels. Now after 4 installments, the franchise has gotten it's first spin-off and it's just as awful as you'd imagine.

If there's anything positive that can be said about the film, it's not as bad as the last installment. This really isn't a positive though considering that the film is still garbage and the fourth installment is one of the laziest films I've ever seen. The Marked One's does add some elements that haven't been seen in the previous films, but they are things that you've seen done a million other times in different films and they aren't even particularity done well here. It's essentially just ripping off much better movies.

The acting here is by far the worst in the whole series and it doesn't help that the writing is as equally atrocious. The profane filled dialouge is embarrassing to the point where you will actually find yourself becoming annoying by the constant use of the F-word, and this is coming from someone who has a pretty filthy vocabulary.

Aside from elements from other films that have been rehashed into this entry, The Marked One's offers nothing you haven't seen in the other installments. It's slowly paced and features the same cheap scares that you've come to expect from the franchise and you've seen more than a dozen horror films, than you've seen everything that this film has to offer.

The worst part of all is that the ending for the film is downright insulting to the viewer. It's evident that the writers were trying hard to tie this one in with the rest of the franchise, but had no clue how to. They try to present to us a so-called "twist" that makes absolutely no sense and is only there so there is some sort of connection the previous films. I won't spoil it, but most of the audience left the screening pretty annoyed.

If you've somehow managed to enjoy this terrible franchise, you might find some enjoyment in The Marked Ones. But if you are a veteran horror viewer, you'll want to look elsewhere because there is nothing here worth wasting time on. Hopefully this franchise will come to an end soon and we can stop having to sit through these awful films every year. The only scary thing about this is that we've got to sit through another installment in October.

A fun movie. I love how people post how much they "hate" the Paranormal Activity franchise yet they continue to see every new one that comes out.

I enjoyed all of the PAs including the 5th. No they're not ground breaking new material, but they are FUN. I don't go to movies to criticize every little thing. I go to have fun and enjoy myself. Although this one was a little slow to develop in the beginning the last 20 minutes were pretty intense.

If you "hate" all the previous Paranormal Activities then save your money and your hate-filled drivel and stay away. Nobody is forcing you to see it. If you didn't mind the previous PAs and just want to enjoy yourself for 2 hours then go see PA5.

I really enjoyed this film, not as much as the first three of the series, but this one has a sort of real charm to it. We are out of the rich neighborhoods to an actual normal family who finds themselves in a terrifying adventure.

Because the characters were normal I could relate to them. I have known people like these characters, the charm, the humor, etc. I just felt at home with this film.

Once the paranormal activity happens it's pretty interesting but it seems to be pretty much the same things we have already seen. There was a few jump scares that got me, a few creepy moments that made me look around in my own dark room. We are given a little more answers than the previous films, however these answers just provide more questions, which can work if it hasn't been done four times already.

I did enjoy the atmosphere of this film a lot better than the others, even though I would say it's not as good as the first three, it is definitely a step up in this new trilogy so to speak. I am a fan of B movies and sometimes bad movies in general because they can be fun. I know a lot of people didn't enjoy this film and I can see why, but I did enjoy this film a lot and I like the new direction and how I could relate to these characters. So like the previous one, you're either gonna like it or hate it, but that's up to you to find out. For me, I liked it but I didn't love it.

The first PA movie was a surprise hit that made millions out of its miniscule budget which led to several sequels that were both average and disappointing especially the fourth one which was made so lazily that its sole purpose was to make a quick cash-grab.

I expected this to be another average PA film but was surprised to see how well it was made. If you are not a fan of found-footage films which has recently become a huge trend, then obviously this movie will do nothing for you. The typical static camera shots of spontaneous noises and random things moving from the previous movies are gone now which is a good thing since there's only so much they can do with that. It takes place in a new setting with new characters and a lot more humor is added in this time. The protagonists were likable and not annoying and acted competently.

However, the good always comes with the bad but not too many. The film does nothing new or original but it wasn't as big a problem for me since the film was effectively made. Some of the scenes involving Latino gangs were too stereotypical and unnecessary but other than that, the movie didn't have too many flaws.

All I'm going to say without spoiling anything is that the last 20 minutes of the film will truly scare you with a huge twist at the end that will obviously not be explained further until the confirmed PA 5 comes out this October. I really thought this franchise was sealing its fate after the fourth one but The Marked Ones gives fresh opportunities for the filmmakers to indulge in. If you are a fan of the PA films excluding the fourth one and are unsure about whether you want to spend money to see this film, my recommendation is go see it without a doubt. I got my money's worth. :)

If you asked me before today which order I would put this series in from good to bad I would have said 3, 1, 4, 2. If you ask me now I would say the same except there would be a full title at the start of the list before 3, not a number, this title would be The Marked Ones.

The film is about Jesse, an ordinary teenager who is marked by the same demon who torments Katie and Kristi in the earlier PA films after he and his best friend, Hector discover weird black magic material in his murdered neighbour's apartment.

For the first 20/30 minutes this movie plays out like a comedy, showing the day to day activities of Jesse and Hector (which is mostly them getting up to mischief) and even when Jesse is marked there is still a fair amount of comedy until he realises that what he has is a cure, not a gift. The actors in this film are brilliant and make it very believable. They're also very likable so you actually care when bad things happen to them.

There are a lot of scares in this entry some of which are very unpredictable and some which are very effective (especially one scene involving the main character's dog). There is also more blood used in this entry than there is in all 4 previous films put together but it isn't just placed in the film for the sake of gore there is actually reasons for it.

This film's ending is genuinely shocking, unpredictable and mind blowing and has created a perfect set up for PA 5 which is being released in October this year. The only problem now is, after releasing one of the strongest entries in the series to date, how are they going to top it with the fifth entry? Guess we'll have to wait till October to find out.

In Oxnard, California, the teenager Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) graduates in high-school and buys a camera in the pawnshop. Jesse lives in an apartment on the second floor of a small residential building with his father and grandmother and in the floor below lives Anna (Gloria Sandoval) that people use to say that is a witch. Jesse has two friends in the building, Hector (Jorge Diaz) and Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh).

When Anna is found dead in her apartment, the prime suspect is Jesse's schoolmate Oscar that had just left her apartment. Jesse, Hector and Marisol snoop around Anna's apartment and soon they find a sort of altar with photos of Oscar and Jesse. Then Jesse changes his behavior and soon they discover that Jesse was marked by evil witches. Will Hector and Marisol save Jesse from evil?

"Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" has a reasonable story and a nice poster. However, the cheap camera work is annoying and lame garbage and ruins the movie. My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Atividade Paranormal: Marcados Pelo Mal" ("Paranormal Activity: Marked by Evil")

Not to be mistaken for its fifth instalment, 'The Marked Ones' is in fact a spin off that casts a young Latino named Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) in place of the original's Katie and Kristi Featherstone. But what could have been an opportunity to invigorate a franchise of increasingly diminishing returns turns out instead to be a nail in the coffin, and despite boasting the series' regular screenwriter Christopher Landon as its writer cum director, this is undoubtedly the worst entry yet to bear the 'Paranormal Activity' brand name.

The setting is a modern-day Latino neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where best buddies Jesse and Hector (Jorge Diaz) spend their time doing Jackass-type stunts and filming them with their new hand-held camera. Within their two-storey apartment complex lives a mysterious (ain't they always) neighbour Anna (Gloria Sandoval), from whose unit Hector hears strange noises from at night and who is rumoured to be a witch. Plenty of time-filling scenes and a half hour later, Anna is found gunned down by their school valedictorian Oscar (Carlos Pratts).

And just as you expect them to, Jesse and Hector decide to play Sherlock Holmes by breaking into Anna's apartment to look for clues. That first visit leaves Jesse with a mark on his forearm (hence the title) as well as superhuman-like powers that look like an utter ripoff from 'Chronicle'. Jesse discovers that his powers stem from the presence of a supernatural entity, which he verifies is malevolent with the help of an Old Simon electronic game (or basically the equivalent of an electronic oujia board). That's not the worst of it - he starts to sleepwalk at night to places he cannot remember and develops some stringy stuff around his eyes which he tries to remove to suitably gruesome effect.

For reasons unknown, Landon seems schizophrenic about his film. On one hand, he wants a clear link to the other 'Paranormal Activity' films, such that hardcore fans who have seen especially the last two in the series will immediately guess that it has to do with some coven of witches who have been practicing the dark arts. On the other, he seems to want to take things in a different direction, so instead of things that go bump in the night around the house, Jesse goes the way of 'The Exorcist' and gradually becomes possessed by the very otherworldly entity who's been following him around.

Suffice to say that originality is in short shrift here, but what begins as an exercise in mediocrity descends into camp by the time the climax rolls around. We won't spoil it for those who are undeterred by the lack of any new ideas here; we will however declare it probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious moments of the franchise. What redemption the relatively exciting climax provides is also quickly undone by the ending, which sees Landon try just too hard to tie the events of the film to the main 'Paranormal Activity' story thread of Katie and Kristi.

But the surest sign that the series has all but lost its footing is the fact that there is nothing at all scary or disturbing in this entry. Whereas the earlier films used suspense and anticipation to build some genuinely terrifying moments, this one offers none of that gratification, offering instead an 'Exorcist'-style horror with elements of 'Chronicle' blended into the 'Paranormal Activity' universe. The result is derivative to say the least, and proof that what was once a promising and enduring brand in the horror genre is quickly going the way of 'Saw' and ultimately bleeding itself dry.

As its title suggests, mark this entry down - but do so by crossing it out.