While it’s formulaic and clichéd, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones still manages to deliver some frightening chills. Though marketed as a spin-off, the story does feature some fairly prominent tie-ins to the main series. The plot follows a pair of teenagers who uncover a secret witch cult that may be behind a pair of mysterious deaths at their apartment complex. The found footage conceit works fairly well; as it starts out with high school graduation footage and other routine things that teens would film, and then moves into the murder investigation and witch conspiracy. Still, it takes a while for the plot to build momentum and get past the introduction to the series mythology. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones doesn’t have a lot of originality to it, but is does do a few new and interesting things with the series.

Really really loved that I got to learn and see so much more about the background and mythology of the saga through this than (other than PA3) the actual films. I wish I was a fly on the wall in Ana’s apartment.

definitely the funniest one of the bunch.

**Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)**: ***5.2/10*** *(Nothing Remarkable)* --- It’s a step-up over the fourth, but it’s still a far cry from the first. “The Marked Ones” succeeds, I believe because it is content with being a straightforward horror film with no pretences beyond that of frightening its audience. Nevertheless, even if it aspires to be nothing more than a simple horror flick, it falls short in providing consistently thrilling moments to warrant a fifth instalment in the franchise. Fans of the “Paranormal Activity” series will be the target audience for this film, and if you fall into that category, you’ll enjoy it because not only does it follow the same exact formula as the previous films in the franchise but also expands on the world they’ve already established and includes a satisfying twist at the end.