Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension’

Written by Scott Edwards

When moving into a new home, it is always good to know what happened within its walls before you bought it. You never know what secrets could be hidden inside of the walls, especially if there was a cult living there at some point. I always like to joke that the strange sounds in my house are from the ghosts of an old burial ground, and while I know that is not true, it would be kind of scary if it was. It is difficult to know what you are getting into when you do not know the history of the town or the home you are moving into as different places have different stories and some of them may not be too friendly.

As Christmas is slowly approaching, Ryan has invited his brother Mike to come and stay with his family for a couple weeks. Being fresh out of a breakup, Mike needs to be around someone positive and Ryan, his wife Emily and darling daughter Leila will fill that void.  Even Skyler is willing to give him a listen when needed, but little does the family know what they are in for this holiday season. While helping his brother to put up lights, Mike stumbles upon a strange box that has an old video camera and some tapes that nobody has ever seen before. Wanting to know more about the camera, Ryan is not able to find anything like it on the internet and when he turns it on, he starts to see strange forms inside of his home.

Thinking that it is just a glitch, Ryan enters one of the forms and finds out it is out of this world.  Wanting to show everyone what the camera can do, he finds out that it was used for spirit photography, but more surprises await him. Watching a couple of the old VHS tapes that came in the box, Ryan is getting the impression that the former family that owned the camera is talking about him and his family. With nobody willing to believe him about what is on the tapes and with the house possibly being haunted, Emily gives him a couple days to try and prove his point. Setting up the ghost camera in his daughter’s room, Ryan sees a spirit manifesting itself by her bed. Knowing that there is something strange happening in the house surrounding his daughter, Ryan tries to find out as much as he can about what happened in the house before he moved in and why this spirit would be looking to make friends with his daughter.

---

I have not been a huge fan of this series thus far, but after watching this movie, I might need to give it another chance. With more than just the normal jump scares that you got in the other films, you get to actually see a spirit and how nasty it really is. I really liked the character interaction in this movie as it did not seem too forced and when things started to get weird, they bounced ideas off of each other. The relationship between the brothers had to be the best, especially since Mike is forced to get his brother's back when no one else will and trying to scare him was priceless. The videos were creepy as well, since they feature two little girls, Katie and Kristi, that are being groomed for something much more than even they knew at the time. With your regular scares, a black-eyed child and a vapor moving around the house, it is easy to see that there is nothing that can go right for this family during the holidays.

Five Takeaways

1. If you find an old video camera in a box that you have never seen before, along with VHS tapes from the eighties, don’t even try to work the camera or play the tapes, I mean nobody even has a VCR anymore.
2. When you see a strange mist in the house with a spirit camera and not your regular eyes, head for the hills.
3. If you see your daughter playing Bloody Mary alone and in the dark, and talking backwards, well, you might need to call a priest.
4. If your child puts strange symbols on the wall and will not explain why, remove them as soon as possible.
5. When trying to combat a demon, a wet towel is more than enough to keep it at bay.

---