‘Paranormal Activity 3’s’ Ten Scariest Moments

"Paranormal Activity" got us all comfy with the idea of using "consumer technology" to document weird stuff happening in our houses. But after seeing what Micah and Katie go through, we've given amateur ghost hunting a second thought. By the 2^nd film, we flipped the script and took the ghostie party over to Katie's sister's house. And guess what? Somehow they found a way to freak us out again-in addition to explaining a little bit more of the mystery that surrounds these two siblings. And now, here we are at "Paranormal Activity 3" (PA3) and the mayhem has us traveling back in time to 1988 when Katie and Kristi are just tots. One of the trailers claims that the last 15 minutes of this movie will "mess you up." I might have to second that emotion, but must also add that this film has plenty of creep factors. There's a reason why PA3 was the top grossing midnight horror flick ever. See if you agree with these ten…

(DEFINITE SPOILERS ALERT!)

Even if we hadn't seen the trailer for PA3, we know instinctively that having a crawlspace in your bedroom just isn't a good thing in a horror film. This little nook in the girls' room is creepy and most certainly a portal to hell. But because kids love cozy nooks they can turn into forts and clubhouses, spirits seem to love them as well. The crawlspace in this film takes up quite a few terrorizing moments.

Hmmm. Something smells eerily like "Amityville." But instead of Jodie the Pig, we've got Toby the Tall 'Something' who frequents Katie and Kristi's room. Invisible playmates are scary enough. But when you put yourself into Kristi's shoes as she chases some unseen entity, climbing on furniture in the dark---a different kind of chill goes down your spine.

Dennis fashions a swiveling mechanism for his camera and is quite proud of its efficiency. As a result, we get a slowly-panned view of the living room and kitchen. But the constant motion brings Brian De Palma-like images to mind: a fabulous way to build tension and suspense. You never know what you're going to see in the next frame…

Speaking of that darn camera, it is during a random swivel that we have our next on-screen heart attack. Lisa, the babysitter, who earlier played ghost-in-a-sheet with the girls, is seen at the kitchen table. As the camera pans out of view and back, we get a glimpse of a little figure under a sheet. Presumably, the figure is one of the children mimicking Lisa's earlier ghost antics. It's a legitimate theory---until we see the sheet collapse to the floor behind the unsuspecting sitter. This scene was just wrong.

Bloody Mary

Don't you just love when filmmakers include this famous urban legend/game into their movies? You just know something terrible will happen as a result of saying a name 'X' number of times in a dark room. To this end, PA3 delivers. Randy's innocent game of Bloody Mary was coy at first. What happens after their little game sends him fleeing from the house forever. And I really don't blame him.

The Kitchen Drop

Another swivel camera moment I'll never forget? When the entity swipes everything from the kitchen, suspending it all in mid-air (off camera)---and then suddenly drops it to the floor in front of Julie's eyes with a great crash. Julie wasn't a believer before. But she is now. It's at this moment that she packs up the family to head to Grandma Lois' house.

I am a sucker for lurking shadowy figures you can't quite identify. As Dennis searches Grandma Lois' domain for his missing family members, he sees a female form behind the curtains inside the house. Of course upon investigating, she disappears. Eerie stuff. (If only the reenactments on ghost hunting shows were as clever.)

I'm also a sucker for any legitimate use of levitation as a gasp-inducing device in horror films. Towards the end of PA3, we see Julie standing at the top of the stairs. But she looks awkward and super-tall. That's because she's hovering at least half a foot off the floor. So not cool.

When you open your garage and seven creepy old women in black come crawling out of the darkness, it's never "good times." This scene was so random and unexpected.

Clearly one of the most shocking moments of all time took place at film's end-and consequently Dennis' end as well. During his final seconds, he's seen crawling on the floor after being suddenly blown backwards, his upper torso snapping over into a horrible contortion. Sure, we have seen similar feats in other scary movies. But this maneuver happened to be PA3's ultimate coup de grace.

By the way...

Considering that Katie and little Hunter were never found in PA2, dare we say that another sequel is in the making or should they quit while they're ahead?

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