PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION (R)

Released by Paramount Pictures
Reviewed by Adam Mast

Horror film producer Jason Blum deserves big time props. He keeps his budgets low, and for the most part his films make money. More importantly, many of the projects he’s been involved in have been pretty good. From the thrifty, spook-alley-inspired “Insidious”franchise to Scott Derrickson’s grim boogeyman tale “Sinister,” to M. Night Shyamalan’striumphant return with the creepy grandparent thriller “The Visit,” Blum and crew have certainly hit more often than they have missed. Blum even found time to produce an entirely different kind of horror film in the form of 2014’s “Whiplash.”

The best compliment that can be paid to his “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” is that it comes with the promise that it will be the last film in the series. Let’s hope Blum is a man of his word, because enough is enough. And keep in mind that this is coming from someone whose actually a fan of the franchise.

Oren Peli’s original “Paranormal Activity” delivered effectively quiet scares on a miniscule budget, and it essentially did for ghosts what “The Blair Witch Project” did for witches. Given the success of the first “Paranormal,” it was absolutely no surprise that the title was branded and turned into a franchise.

The chapters that would follow seemed to have a pretty good understanding of their audience’s expectations and surprisingly, the sequels weren’t half bad. Well, with the possible exception of “Part 4.” It should be noted though, that “The Ghost Dimension” makes “Paranormal Activity 4” look like 1982’s “Poltergeist.” Hell, “The Ghost Dimension” makes 2015’s dull “Poltergeist” reboot look like 1982’s “Poltergeist.”

In “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension,” a couple and their young daughter are terrorized by an evil spirit after moving into a new home. Where does this spirit come from, and what does it want? Well, a mysterious box of old school VHS tapes and a bulky video camera with ghost-viewing capabilities found in the home may just hold the answer.

“The Ghost Dimension” is a go-though-the-motions haunted house tale, which would be fine if it offered up sufficient scares. Sadly, it doesn’t. This tepid entry in the “Paranormal” series has traces of masterworks like “The Exorcist” and “Poltergeist,” but it fails to deliver the scares, tension, and character that took those pictures to such terrifying heights. What’s more, “The Ghost Dimension” trades in the first picture’s low budget and power-of-suggestion approach for boring 3D gags and dull CG apparition effects, both of which drain this picture of all the quietly effective moments that this franchise was founded upon.

For those of you who are fans of the series, it should be noted  that “The Ghost Dimension” does build on and complete the “Toby” arc that was introduced a few films back—but again, there’s a severe lack of sufficient scares here, and the movie as a whole is incredibly flat.

Bonus points are in order for a decidedly bleak ending, but even the finale can’t keep this movie from being a ghostly bore. Let’s hope that Blum and crew keep their word and put a fork in this one, because the last thing any of us need is “Paranormal Activity: A New Beginning.”