Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Christopher Landon |
Written by | Christopher Landon |
Based on | Paranormal Activity by Oren Peli |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Gonzalo Amat |
Edited by | Gregory Plotkin |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 84 minutes [2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5–9.2 million [3] [4] |
Box office | $90.9 million [5] |
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a 2014 American found footage supernatural horror film written and directed by Christopher Landon. Released on January 3, 2014, in the United States, it is the fifth installment of the Paranormal Activity film series. It is also Landon's second directorial film, after Burning Palms . Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $90 million worldwide.
In June 2012, 18-year-old high school graduate Jesse Arista lives with his family in Oxnard, California. In the apartment below lives a mysterious woman named Ana Sanchez, who everyone believes to be a witch. When Ana is found murdered, Jesse and his best friend Hector spot classmate Oscar running from the scene. The two investigate the apartment, where they find black magic items, VHS tapes, and a journal of spells.
After Jesse, Hector and their friend Marisol try out a ritual, paranormal occurrences take place in Jesse's apartment. One night, the trio communicates with an unknown entity through a Simon game. Jesse finds a bite mark on his arm and discovers he has superhuman abilities such as levitation. He later encounters Oscar, who has black eyes and the same bite mark on his arm. Oscar tells Jesse that "something inside them" will take over, and they will harm those they love before disappearing. Oscar then commits suicide.
The group discovers a trapdoor in Ana's apartment, where they find a witch altar and photos of Jesse, his pregnant mother, Ana, Oscar, and Lois. Jesse encounters the younger versions of Katie and Kristi before being attacked by an unknown force.
Following this, he gradually becomes suicidal and violent, which disturbs Hector and Marisol. The pair meets Arturo, Oscar's criminal brother, who puts them in contact with a girl Oscar had been talking to, Ali Rey. Ali had researched demons after her father Daniel and stepmother Kristi were killed and half-brother Hunter was kidnapped by a possessed Katie. She tells them that Jesse has been "marked" by a worldwide coven of witches called "The Midwives", who have been brainwashing women to give up their firstborn sons to create an army of possessed young men. She gives them an address to where a final ritual is supposed to take place and warns that Jesse will no longer exist if the ritual is completed.
Jesse pushes his grandmother down the stairs, hospitalizing her. He is later kidnapped. Hector, Marisol, Arturo, and his friend Santo go to the address, which turns out to be Lois' house. Coven members attack but Arturo shoots them as Hector and Marisol run inside, leaving Arturo's fate unknown. Santo and Marisol are killed. Hector is chased by a possessed Jesse, forcing him to go through a strangely marked door.
The door sends Hector back in time to the household of Katie and Micah. Katie sees Hector in the kitchen and screams for Micah, who assumes Hector is an intruder and tackles him. Katie stabs Micah to death with a kitchen knife, therefore showing how the first film ends. Hector is presumably killed by a demonic Jesse. A witch then picks up the camera and turns it off.
The franchise documentary revealed the original ending, which was changed to a new ending in the same house that appeared in the conclusion of Paranormal Activity 3 (2011). After surviving the uproar in the house of Lois, Héctor, Arturo and Marisol took Jesse to an abandoned church, from where he supposedly successfully exorcised the demon. But then they are attacked by a possessed guard. Minutes later, a police officer arrives there to investigate the disturbances. Jesse suddenly appears with a shotgun and the police shoot him, while the whereabouts of Héctor, Marisol and Arturo are unknown.
The film was set to take place in June 2012 but announced in April 2012, and was first teased in the post-credits scene of Paranormal Activity 4 , a scene only presented in theaters. Though the film is targeted to the Latino market, most of its dialogue is not in Spanish. Christopher Landon, who wrote the screenplay for 2007's Disturbia , as well as the three Paranormal Activity sequels, was announced to write and direct the project, which has been described as a "cousin" or "ese" to the series as opposed to a direct sequel, prequel, or reboot. The film maintains the look of found footage, a style used throughout the Paranormal Activity series. [6]
There are nods to previous Paranormal Activity films. Ali (Molly Ephraim), teenage daughter from the second film, makes a cameo here, as does the box of videotapes featuring childhood footage of the main protagonists in the series, sisters Katie (Katie Featherston) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden), whose lifelong experiences are with a poltergeist-like demon. [7]
Filming finished in late July, after producer by Jason Blum confirmed that the film was almost finished shooting. This resulted in the film getting its release date pushed from October 25, 2013, to January 3, 2014.
The studio was running a promotion for users to record their reactions to a video on the site for a chance to win an Xbox One console. [8] [9] [10]
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was released on January 3, 2014, in U.S., Mexican, and Canadian theaters. [11] The release date was pushed to January due to its longer and larger production.
An unrated/extended version, along with the theatrical cut, of The Marked Ones was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD on April 8, 2014. The unrated cut is roughly 17 minutes longer. [12] The film grossed $2.6 million in home sales. [13]
Despite predictions suggesting that The Marked Ones would open at No. 1 in its debut weekend, [14] the film took a close second to Frozen (in its seventh week) with $18,343,611 at the North American box office. [15]
By the end of its theatrical run, The Marked Ones grossed $32.5 million in North America and $58.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $90.9 million. [3]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 39%, based on 83 reviews with an average score of 4.70/10. The site's consensus states: "A change of setting breathes some new life into the franchise, but Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones fails to provide enough consistent thrills to justify a fifth film in the series". [16] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 19 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17]
The change of setting and tone was primarily praised by critics. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times praised the film, saying that it "feels like a fresh start". [18] Variety critic Andrew Barker celebrated the "welcome diversity and humor" of the film as did Richard Corliss of Time magazine who summarized that the film "provided the familiar cheap thrills but with a salsa tang." [19] [20] Filmink Magazine critic Eden Caceda applauded the humor and action, but claimed that the spinoff "lacks the memorable scares required for this to rate any higher than an above average horror film." [21]
Eric Goldman of IGN wrote that "The Marked Ones is another enjoyable chapter", [22] while HorrorNews.net praised the lead characters, writing "With an appealing pair of friends in the lead, [the film] provides the audience with a cast that they can root for, care for and fear for which serves the story and the series well". [23]
Evan Dickson of Bloody Disgusting was the first to give his impressions on the film, giving it a positive review of 4/5. Stating, "Fun, scary and remarkably cinematic within the found footage conceit, The Marked Ones might be the first Paranormal Activity movie that feels like an event film while you're watching it". Dickson also stated that it was "neck and neck with Paranormal Activity 3". [24]
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was followed by Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension , released in 3D on October 23, 2015.
Romero is a 1989 biographical film depicting the story of Salvadoran archbishop Óscar Romero, who organized peaceful protests against the violent military regime, eventually at the cost of his own life. The film stars Raúl Juliá as Oscar Romero, Richard Jordan as Romero's close friend and fellow martyred priest, Rutilio Grande, as well as actors Ana Alicia and Harold Gould. Although the film depicts true events, there are some fictional characters.
Anabell Gardoqui de la Reguera is a Mexican actress. She has starred in telenovelas, films, the HBO television series Eastbound & Down and Capadocia, the Amazon television series Goliath, and the 2006 comedy Nacho Libre.
El privilegio de amar is a Mexican telenovela produced by Carla Estrada for Televisa. It aired on Canal de las Estrellas from July 27, 1998 to February 26, 1999. El privilegio de amar is a remake of the 1985 Venezuelan telenovela Cristal. El privilegio de amar is the highest-rated television program in Mexico to date; it registered an average of 34.8 percent of TV audience. The telenovela received the TVyNovelas Award for Best Telenovela in 1999.
Marisol is a Mexican telenovela produced by Juan Osorio for Televisa in 1996. Telenovela is a remake of the 1977 Mexican telenovela Marcha nupcial. Famous and beloved Enrique Álvarez Félix died after he finished his work in Marisol.
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film produced, written, directed, photographed and edited by Oren Peli. It centers on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence inside their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them. The film uses found-footage conventions that were mirrored in the later films of the series.
Katie Featherston is an American actress. She is known for playing Katie in the Paranormal Activity series.
Micah Sloat is an American actor, largely known for his leading role as Micah in the 2007 hit horror film Paranormal Activity. He also appeared in its 2010 sequel Paranormal Activity 2 and had a cameo in the spin-off film Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones in 2014.
Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.
Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon and Tom Pabst. The film is a prequel and a sequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film. It was released in theaters at midnight on October 22, 2010 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Poland and Ireland. An unrated version of the film was also released.
Carita de ángel is a Mexican children's telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa. It aired from June 19, 2000, to March 16, 2001. It is a remake of the telenovela Papa Corazon, which also was adapted for Mundo de juguete. The series stars Lisette Morelos, Miguel de León, Libertad Lamarque, Daniela Aedo and Nora Salinas. Libertad Lamarque died during the filming of this telenovela and was replaced by Silvia Pinal. In the United States, Univision aired Caríta de ángel from March 5, 2001, to November 15, 2001.
Paranormal Activity 3 is a 2011 American found footage supernatural horror film, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. It is the third installment of the Paranormal Activity series and serves as a prequel, mostly set 18 years prior to the events of the first two films. It was released in theaters on October 21, 2011. Paranormal Activity 3 was also Joost and Schulman's first horror film.
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Paranormal Activity 4 is a 2012 American found footage supernatural horror film, directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost and written by Christopher Landon from a story by Chad Feehan. It is the fourth installment in the Paranormal Activity series, and a sequel to Paranormal Activity 2. The film features Katie Featherston, who starred in the first film. It was released by Paramount Pictures in theaters and IMAX on October 17, 2012, in the United Kingdom and on October 19, 2012, in the United States.
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Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is a 2015 American 3D found footage supernatural horror film directed by Gregory Plotkin in his directorial debut, and written by Jason Harry Pagan, Andrew Deutschman, Adam Robitel, and Gavin Heffernan. It is the sixth installment in the Paranormal Activity series. Most of the film takes place after Paranormal Activity 4 (2012), though the plot ties in heavily with the events of Paranormal Activity 3 (2011). It is the first installment not to star Katie Featherston as Katie, but she is referred to often. Most of the film involves the young 1988 Katie from the third film.
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