Plot
Jessie begins experiencing a number of disturbing and unexplainable things after the death of his neighbor. As he investigates, it isn't long before Jessie finds he's been marked for ... See full summary »
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 5.5/10 (1,659 voted)
Director:Christopher Landon
Storyline
Jessie begins experiencing a number of disturbing and unexplainable things after the death of his neighbor. As he investigates, it isn't long before Jessie finds he's been marked for possession by a malevolent demonic entity, and it's only a matter of time before he is completely under its control...
Trivia:
Features Katy Featherson, the only actress to appear in all five PA movies. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 4/10
Not to be mistaken for its fifth instalment, 'The Marked Ones' is in
fact a spin off that casts a young Latino named Jesse (Andrew Jacobs)
in place of the original's Katie and Kristi Featherstone. But what
could have been an opportunity to invigorate a franchise of
increasingly diminishing returns turns out instead to be a nail in the
coffin, and despite boasting the series' regular screenwriter
Christopher Landon as its writer cum director, this is undoubtedly the
worst entry yet to bear the 'Paranormal Activity' brand name.
The setting is a modern-day Latino neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where
best buddies Jesse and Hector (Jorge Diaz) spend their time doing
Jackass-type stunts and filming them with their new hand-held camera.
Within their two-storey apartment complex lives a mysterious (ain't
they always) neighbour Anna (Gloria Sandoval), from whose unit Hector
hears strange noises from at night and who is rumoured to be a witch.
Plenty of time-filling scenes and a half hour later, Anna is found
gunned down by their school valedictorian Oscar (Carlos Pratts).
And just as you expect them to, Jesse and Hector decide to play
Sherlock Holmes by breaking into Anna's apartment to look for clues.
That first visit leaves Jesse with a mark on his forearm (hence the
title) as well as superhuman-like powers that look like an utter ripoff
from 'Chronicle'. Jesse discovers that his powers stem from the
presence of a supernatural entity, which he verifies is malevolent with
the help of an Old Simon electronic game (or basically the equivalent
of an electronic oujia board). That's not the worst of it - he starts
to sleepwalk at night to places he cannot remember and develops some
stringy stuff around his eyes which he tries to remove to suitably
gruesome effect.
For reasons unknown, Landon seems schizophrenic about his film. On one
hand, he wants a clear link to the other 'Paranormal Activity' films,
such that hardcore fans who have seen especially the last two in the
series will immediately guess that it has to do with some coven of
witches who have been practicing the dark arts. On the other, he seems
to want to take things in a different direction, so instead of things
that go bump in the night around the house, Jesse goes the way of 'The
Exorcist' and gradually becomes possessed by the very otherworldly
entity who's been following him around.
Suffice to say that originality is in short shrift here, but what
begins as an exercise in mediocrity descends into camp by the time the
climax rolls around. We won't spoil it for those who are undeterred by
the lack of any new ideas here; we will however declare it probably one
of the most unintentionally hilarious moments of the franchise. What
redemption the relatively exciting climax provides is also quickly
undone by the ending, which sees Landon try just too hard to tie the
events of the film to the main 'Paranormal Activity' story thread of
Katie and Kristi.
But the surest sign that the series has all but lost its footing is the
fact that there is nothing at all scary or disturbing in this entry.
Whereas the earlier films used suspense and anticipation to build some
genuinely terrifying moments, this one offers none of that
gratification, offering instead an 'Exorcist'-style horror with
elements of 'Chronicle' blended into the 'Paranormal Activity'
universe. The result is derivative to say the least, and proof that
what was once a promising and enduring brand in the horror genre is
quickly going the way of 'Saw' and ultimately bleeding itself dry.
As its title suggests, mark this entry down - but do so by crossing it
out.
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