Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: Five years after the events of part two, Katie, Hunter, and the demon emerge to further their agenda with a new family.
Review: To start things off, let's address the fact that this movie does, in fact, negate the canon of "Tokyo Night" since in that entry Katie was dead. I suppose you could really stretch your imagination in a way to make it make sense, but I think it is safe to finally declare that movie a remake and nothing more. The next thing is that I believe the critics are way off about this one. I thought it was just as good as part three, and I'm still not understanding how so many people see part two as the high point of the series. Nothing even happens in that movie! While I could see the complaints about part three, there are quite a few original scares in this film and the audience's expectations are toyed with quite often which adds to the suspense. For instance, I liked the use of the X-box Kinect and how they incorporated its motion detecting into the film (even if it was a cheap product placement), and how certain scenes were set up with you expecting something to pop out only for something to occur later when you're off guard. This "Kinect" allowed us to sort of see the demon for the first time while not flat out showing us what it truly looks like; this allows those who find it scary imagining what the demon looks like to remain content while appeasing those who want to see the damn thing already after 4 (sort of 5) films! Although the fate of the new family involved is incredibly predictable, there was a twist I was not entirely expecting in regards to Hunter. I found the new characters to feel much more real than most of previous films as they seemed to act more natural; events didn't feel as forced or as contrived. The Robbie character was also an exceptional young actor as he truly felt like some demonic child. My main complaints about the film arise in the final five or so minutes. As I mentioned in my review of PA3, my questions regarding the cult may have been answered since it would appear other children have been used in these deals with the demon(s); I was getting the impression that Hunter was so crucial for no particular reason, but at least now it may seem he is just a piece in the puzzle. We still don't understand the full reason for needing these dumb kids considering the demon seems to be one with Katie so much so that it can take a monstrous form at will. And while some of my questions with this cult may have been indirectly answered, we still don't know jack about them considering by the final shots they seem to be a damn army at this point! My understanding would be that at the end of the day, Katie is still in her body somewhere, and the demon wishes to be fully merged with Hunter through whatever ritual they are going to perform right before the movie cuts out. Ending the movie at that moment is really stupid since the makers should know how angry it will make the audience to end it so abruptly. It felt weaker too because the audience already knows they are saving the daughter, Alex, for last because they wanted her as a virgin sacrifice. Furthermore, the audience is left dumbfounded with so many more unanswered questions like why was Hunter given up for adoption, was there a connection between why this family did the adoption and the cult, was there more to the dad and mom arguing, etc.? I can see why so many feel disappointed with this entry since we really do need a part five, at the very least, to wrap things up. I would love for them to do one more film to just bring closure to it all with maybe some kind of showdown between the demon and an exorcist or even end it with the demon finally getting whatever it wants; either way, this formula is feeling old and each film is creating more questions rather than answers! The final scene after the credit is stupid too since the makers are claiming it has no real connection to the PA franchise, but is some kind of promotion for a spinoff series...huh? In the end, I did like this movie because it had nice pacing, original scares despite the whole found footage thing, good acting, and knew the audience's expectations and made effective use of that fact. I would recommend making your own judgement about this film rather than listening to the critics especially if you're like me and felt part two was the weakest entry so far.
Notable Moment: When Katie emerges from the shadows on the couch. I really couldn't see her, and I felt this was a nice and eerie touch.
Final Rating: 7/10
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