On Monday, Paramount Pictures confirmed that it will release yet another Paranormal Activity flick. Though no one is surprised by this news-after all, the franchise has raked in over half a billion dollars-many fans can’t help but wonder what direction Paranormal Activity 4 will take. While there are a few possibilities (what happened to Katie and Hunter, the girls' grandmother and her role in the coven), I believe there’s a good chance PA4 will take place immediately after the events of the third film. Here’s why. Some spoilers ahead.
The ending of PA3 was confusing at best, leaving more questions than answers. Exactly who are the witches in grandma’s coven? What happened in the ceremony? Did Katie and Kristy’s mother die (some say yes, but I think she could have been knocked out or put in a trance)? Why are the girls unable to remember anything as adults? Paranormal Activity 4 could answer these questions, and others, by immediately picking up where Paranormal Activity 3 left off. Perhaps the girls and their mother (if she’s still alive) returned to their home after the mysterious ceremony and experienced more disturbing phenomenon (captured on Dennis’ still functioning cameras) which eventually led to the devastating house fire shown in the trailer for Paranormal Activity 3 (above). The film could show the girls trying to cope with the aftermath of the ceremony and fire and perhaps give viewers a glimpse of the events Katie mentions in Paranormal Activity 2, while discussing the past with her sister.
“Wanna know what I remember? I remember you crying… all the time. I remember you couldn’t sleep and had anxiety attacks. I remember you stopped talking for months. I remember weird people coming to our house and our mom was upset all the time. That’s what I remember…You need to ignore it or you’re going to end up just like mom. Do you understand me?”
Katie’s comments raise some interesting questions. Who were the weird people coming to the house? The witches from grandma’s coven? Paranormal investigators? And just what happened to Katie and Kristi’s mother? It’s also important to note that most of the events in the trailers for Paranormal Activity 3 didn’t actually appear in the film. Not only that, but the time stamps in the PA3 trailers indicate that a few events happened after the final events of the third film (the film closed on September 15, 1988), including the house fire and the Bloody Mary game. Therefore, it’s possible we could see them in Paranormal Activity 4. This scenario seems most likely to me as filmmakers could stay true to the found footage format while advancing the storyline and addressing unanswered questions.
What do you think will happen in Paranormal Activity 4? Do you agree with my theory or think I'm totally off base? Whatever direction film makers go, I'm sure PA4 will rake in plenty of cash.