By Sami Abou-Mayaleh
A theatre full of horror movie fanatics excitedly waited for the opening of the final installment of the Paranormal Activity series, “The Ghost Dimension 3D,” which premiered on Oct. 22 at AMC Loews Boston Common Theatre.
Ghost Dimension created much elation with its new motifs of witchcraft, possessed children, and demonism, which were introduced in its predecessor, “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.”
Set during the Christmas season of 2013, the movie follows the Fleeges, a young couple and their only daughter, Leila, as they move into their new home in Santa Rosa, California.
The “new house” effect, a plot line surrounding moving into a new home, is not something new to the Paranormal Activity series, as it has been the opening scene of many of the other movies.
This is interesting, as the cliché of old, spooky houses is combatted and challenged with the eeriness found in new homes.
Ryan Fleege, portrayed by actor Chris J. Murray, finds a box in the attic of his new house that he assumes belonged to the previous owners. In the box, he finds old tapes that date back to almost twenty-one years ago, along with a highly complex camcorder.
The strange camcorder is an important plot factor in the movie, as Ryan quickly discovers that the camera can pick up bizarre, dust-like particles that hover in place and can be seen only through that camera. This is what is later explained as the “ghost dimension.”
This aspect of the film is truly what makes it unique in comparison to both its sister movies and competing horror movies. Since the movie was in 3D, the “ghost dimension” was a nearly tangible experience.
The state-of-the-art graphic design put into this production empowered the movie and provided a totally new experience for Paranormal Activity enthusiasts.
The audience is shown the content of the tapes and quickly recognize that Katie and Kristi, characters from a previous installment in the series, are actually the younger girls from “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones,” and consequently, the girls that lived in the house 21 years ago.
A twist that bewildered the audience occurred when Kristi is shown in one of the tapes describing what objects and furniture the Fleeges brought to the house with them, even though the tape is over twenty years old.
Leila Fleege, the young daughter of the main characters, begins to demonstrate that she can communicate with an entity named Toby. The interesting incident here is that as Ryan continues to watch more of the tapes, he finds that Kristi was also communicating with an evil spirit called Toby.
This is a turning point for the entire plot of the movie because Ryan is starting to realize that he can capture and record visual proof of Toby through the camcorder and starts to believe his daughter is slowly being possessed by the spirit that has haunts the house.
Overall, “Ghost Dimension” was definitely a jumpy yet fun movie to watch. The 3D experience and the flashbacks between older Paranormal Activity movies that wove together in the end made the film unique, palpable, and thrilling.
