Ren – Google

I'm only half way through the movie as I'm writing this--honestly... I won't be finishing it. Even just getting this far took some pushing. The interactions between the main characters are amusing, but otherwise, it's quite bland and a bit annoying. The special effects are brought in far too early, in my opinion, and those special effects were poorly done and far too obvious and frequent for the first half of the movie. On top of that, Kevin's tendency to steal and his and Aaron's comments during the tarot reading just ruined it for me. Fine, be jokingly rude to your friends, but why do you have to be rude to strangers who are helping you???? I've never understood that part of found footage; 'this person is helping us out of the kindness of their heart, but they're super creepy/weird so we're gonna make comments about it just out of earshot because we don't understand their interests or lifestyle'. Also, I read that this is based on something that actually happened. Not really sure how to feel about this movie being made. If you want to do something connected to the real story, why not do a documentary and show some respect? This movie kind of feels like a slap in the face to the actual Aurore and the suffering she went through.

Despite some minor blips here and there throughout the movies, I have to say I rather enjoyed this series, and I'm looking forward to part 9. I do feel like, at this point, the title should be changed, but it is what it is. I guess it would be too confusing to change it now, since no one would know what to look for when trying to watch anything after the first couple films. But most things were done well, and the activity does put me on edge a little. Despite the information below the spoiler warning, I would recommend this series, if you can ignore the blips I've mentioned. Other than those blips, the series is quite realistic. I went in knowing it's a fake documentary/found footage, but I've read that quite a large number of people have thought it was all real. With that all being said, this is a series I'd probably re-watch when bored and unable to find anything else. And I'm pretty picky when it comes to movies, so I would definitely give these ones a try. Part 5, you'll most likely have to rent on Amazon, though. The rest can be found on free streaming sites such as plex and possibly tubi. **POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD** The only issues I've had with the films, and only really the later ones (I think just parts 7 and 8, but possibly 6 as well) is that it's supposed to be documentary/'found footage' style. However, some parts that are done with a drone or shots taken of of Turner's face at some points, are most certainly not shots he's taken with the cameras he's using throughout the movie and talking to. I'm not sure if these shots are just for dramatic effect or to show pleasing, aesthetic scenes, but it does take away from the immersion and seriousness of what's happening. Additionally, how the police act in some situations just doesn't make sense and it makes Ramey and his team look insanely dumb and unreliable. Even if 2 pieces of evidence seem identical, would common sense not tell you something's off about that? It was as if analyzing the evidence further was some special procedure that wasn't often done and therefore the police didn't think of doing so. Especially considering the culprit is too smart to do something so dumb, you'd think they'd have the same idea as Turner without him saying it, and be like 'Oh, maybe the guy has added something else to this seemingly identical piece of evidence'. To add to that, there's a perfect opportunity for them to make an attempt and arrest the culprit, and yet they refuse to go along with that idea, which is ultimately a mistake. Would police not normally jump for that chance, considering the guy had killed his first victim around 50 years prior to part 8? I'd think they'd want to get that guy any chance they got and put him behind bars.

I don't mean to be harsh, but I gave this movie the benefit of the doubt and I regret it. I had to force myself to keep watching several times, but it was just so boring, and in the end I wish I had never watched it to begin with. I understand it's supposed to be an 'unsolved' crime sort of thing, but it felt like they heavily lacked in material, and therefore used the same footage and pictures over and over. Not to mention, some of the acting was poor and took away from the realism. On top of that, the ending was horribly done. Had it continued with the found footage style, it would've been better and kept what little immersion it had. But they dropped that aspect, and that was what severely ruined it for me. I prefer Paranormal Activity Next of Kin over this, and I hate that movie because it's also poorly done. If you enjoy found footage that actually pulls you in and does things right, I would suggest skipping over this one. I'm not sure how so many people can recommend it or say it was good. It almost seemed like a very amateur project done by college students that didn't really know what they were doing.

So I HAD written a review only for it to be lost when I went to edit it and add something I forgot. Long story short, I wouldn't bother with this movie. It's not connected to the other PA movies aside from using Asmodeus and even then, the demon doesn't actually show up. The only activity this movie offers is a door opening on its own, and noises coming from the bedroom above at night. Otherwise, it's entirely focused on the creepy activity of the 'Amish' family they're visiting. **SPOILERS** Margot is incredibly insensitive towards communities she's not used to, apparently (and yes, I realize the Beiler's aren't actually Amish, but still). She and Dale annoyed me the entire movie. Dale only redeemed himself when he was actually helpful at the end. Margot was only good for going into places and getting scolded for doing so, as well as screaming her face off at the most inopportune moments and being overly dramatic when scared. Chris was the only tolerable character of the 3. Also, the ending was ridiculous. Not only do they try to make Margot seem like the 'special hero' she isn't, but the directors temporarily threw away the aspect of 'found footage' to show what was happening in the final face-off with Margot. If you're going to do found footage, STICK TO IT. Don't try to make some hybrid at the last minute, when NONE of the other movies have done that. I suspect this movie was just an attempt at milking more money out of the series and that they didn't know what to do after Ghost Dimension. The other movies aren't SO bad, but Next of Kin... I wish they'd un-release it.