Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

An international coven of time-traveling witches comes to collect the children of marked pregnant women. Oh, Mylanta! It doesn't get much more absurdly fun than this.

Although not numerically part of the "Paranormal Activity" franchise, "The Marked Ones" is a spinoff that serves as a catalyst for all plot holes and unanswered questions leading up to this point in the series. A significant departure from the previous installments, "The Marked Ones" features an all-Latino cast and —— SPOILER ALERT ——introduces a time-travel element.

Admittedly a haphazard plot device, the time traveling only helps to add to the overall mythos of the series and helps explain various incongruities that existed leading up to the spinoff. It also affords certain characters the ability to appear in multiple movies without the need for a heavy-handed explanation.

"The Marked Ones" follows Jesse and his best pals Hector and Marisol as they document the strange goings-on of his downstairs neighbor named Anna, a suspected witch. A recent high school graduate, Jesse is part of a laundry list of supposed "marked ones," who have all lost their mothers at birth and wound up abducted and never found upon reaching their 18th birthdays. After finding a bite mark on his arm (the same one found on Katie in the first "PA"), Jesse discovers newfound superhuman strength. At first, he uses it to his advantage, but the novelty soon begins to wear off as he starts to deteriorate both mentally and physically.

At this point, the plot begins to intermix various elements from the previous movies. Jesse and his friends seek out the advice of Ali Rey ("PA 2"), who has been researching the coven ever since the abduction of her little brother in hopes that she can help reverse Jesse's condition. Eventually, Jesse is abducted despite their best efforts, and the group track him down at Grandma Lois' house ("PA 3"). The time-traveling element, which is explained briefly early on, basically consists of a mystical doorway that defies space and time. The only condition of using the doorway is that it can only be used to transport to evil periods in time. Hector finds himself accidentally going through the doorway, where he is transported to the end of the first film, and we're treated to an extended version of Micah's death.

Muddled storyline aside, the overall aesthetics and vibe of "The Marked Ones" is a refreshing departure from the first four movies. First of all, the Latino backdrop adds a much-needed change of environment as well as a whole new perspective. This specific cast in particular adds a believability that seemed to be lacking from "PA 4." "The Marked Ones" is also noticeably more comedic than previous installments, especially in the discourse between Jesse and Hector, who seem to have channeled Cheech and Chong in their performances.

The special effects have also been stepped up in "The Marked Ones." Notably, the sequence in which Jesse is exploring his newfound super-strength is uproariously fun to watch. The effects far exceed expectations nearly throughout and become the strongest aspect of a movie series known for its barebones qualities. Overall, the movie is a highly enjoyable detour from a series that had admittedly become stagnant. The time-traveling aspect also nicely opens the door for the rest of the series, to which director Christopher Landon has revealed there is an endgame in mind that will take two to three more movies to properly wrap up. This is one of the few horror movie franchises in recent memory that I am actually excited to see through till the end, especially in the wake of the lackluster "Saw" and "Scream" movies.

The Blu-ray release comes with an unrated cut 15 minutes longer than the theatrical version, but little else in the way of extras.

Film: 3.5 Yaps Extras: 1.5 Yaps