Paranormal Activity 3

Critic Reviews

Joost and Schulman sustain a consistent sense of dread, playing with our own fears of things that go bump in the night.

If you haven't seen the first two movies, why are you watching this? And if you have seen the first two movies, why do you need to watch this?

-Stephen WhittyFull Review

Series creator Oren Peli and his conscripts have managed to do it again, but you have to wonder how far they can continue to push this found-footage angle.

-Peter HowellFull Review

The shtick movie "Paranormal Activity 3" is the horror equivalent of vaudeville comedy: a little patter, a little pie in the face, repeat.

-Kyle SmithFull Review

This third Paranormal is a prequel that occasionally goes off the rails but also offers more laughs and somewhat more character development than the previous installments.

-Claudia PuigFull Review

It ... brings fake-out jolts and humor into play.

-Andy WebsterFull Review

Far and away the sharpest, most wildly aware film in the series.

-Mark OlsenFull Review

There's something to be said for giving people what they want, but in genre movieland, that strategy droops into lazy cynicism quicker than you can say Saw 3D.

-Mark HolcombFull Review

"Paranormal Activity 3'' has no interest in art. It just wants to give you the willies with a minimum of gore and a maximum of camcorder dread, and it succeeds.

-Ty BurrFull Review

There are only so many times bodies can be dragged out of frame and tables levitated before the biggest scare of all is the threat of tedium.

-Joe NeumaierFull Review

If the goal is to generate howls of both laughter and terror, Paranormal Activity 3 falls short. It's too by-the-numbers.

-James BerardinelliFull Review

The filmmakers throw in a few cheesy scares: mom in a monster mask, a baby sitter jumping in front of a camera. But the rest is pretty freaking cool.

-Richard CorlissFull Review

"Paranormal" reveals itself for what it has become, the "Saw" of found video thrillers.

-Roger MooreFull Review

It's not so much a movie as it is a cinematic cardio exam, with directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the guys who made "Catfish," pounding away again and again to see how much your heart can take.

-Bill GoodykoontzFull Review

Inexplicably, there are people who still haven't had enough of these movies. The first was a nifty novelty. Now the appeal has worn threadbare.

-Roger EbertFull Review

The bottom line, for me, is this: I don't scare easily at horror films (that's one of the reasons I tend to pan them), but I watched Paranormal Activity 3 in a state of high anxiety.

-Owen GleibermanFull Review

Still, cheap it may be, but it's not particularly graphic, so it's got that going for it. And in any case, scares are scares, even if they are cheap.

-Glenn KennyFull Review

Although not exactly breaking any new ground with its by now all too familiar found-footage format, Paranormal Activity 3 hews to the formula in expertly crafted fashion, mustering up the requisite scares and then some.

-Frank ScheckFull Review

For better or worse, this is more of the same, if creepier than it was the last time around.

-William GossFull Review

Paranormal Activity 3 earns points for its low-key ability to keep viewers primed over long stretches to expect that something very bad, or even worse, may happen at any moment.

-Joe LeydonFull Review

Sustaining horror is what the Paranormal Activity movies are all about and in that sense, part 3 doesn't disappoint.

-Benjo ColauttiFull Review

A couple of hair-raising moments, a couple of legitimate jolts and some funny cheap ones.

-Roger MooreFull Review

Drips with tension, horror, and building suspense that explodes in to a mind blowing finale that you'll not soon forget.

-Felix Vasquez Jr.Full Review

Paranormal Activity 3 doesn't reinvent the series' wheel but it definitely refines an already effective format.

-Ben KendrickFull Review

There really just aren't any scares to be had here. Even people who normally find themselves scared at the smallest "boo" will find themselves drifting off less than halfway through the film.

-Jeff BeckFull Review

It's that time of year. Another Halloween, another franchise. The 'Saw' franchise seems to have passed the annual R-rated October movie mantle to 'Paranormal Activity,' which doesn't wear it nearly as well.

-Linda CookFull Review

Paranormal Activity 3 delivers, and does it without gore or "look at me!" special effects.

-Maitland McDonaghFull Review

In the moments that count, those silent wolf-hour compositions of gathering dread, the franchise has earned a place of pride in horror history.

-Rob GonsalvesFull Review

Delivers the clean, simple jolts and scares the series is known for.

-Michael DequinaFull Review

Delves far more into the mythology of the series, which may render the picture less scary to some, but there's still enough thrills and chills to keep most audiences thoroughly freaked.

-R. L. ShafferFull Review

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Audience

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