Paranormal Activity 3
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: October 21, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanOct 19, 2011
The bottom line, for me, is this: I don't scare easily at horror films, but I watched Paranormal Activity 3 in a state of high anxiety. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenOct 20, 2011
Paranormal Activity 3, the latest installment in the low-budget horror franchise, is far and away the sharpest, most wildly aware film in the series. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAndy WebsterOct 20, 2011
"3" introduces a camera affixed to a fan panning slowly back and forth, offering now-you-see-it-now-you-don't tableaus in the kitchen and foyer. (Of course we never see who's editing this footage, and the story's cameramen keep dying off.) It also brings fake-out jolts and humor into play. Read full review
80
TimeRichard CorlissOct 20, 2011
The filmmakers throw in a few cheesy scares: mom in a monster mask, a baby sitter jumping in front of a camera. But the rest is pretty freaking cool. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckOct 19, 2011
Although not exactly breaking any new ground with its by now all too familiar found-footage format, Paranormal Activity 3 hews to the formula in expertly crafted fashion, mustering up the requisite scares and then some. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasOct 20, 2011
Paranormal Activity 3 has one new technical wrinkle, and it's brilliant: In addition to the cameras in the bedroom, Smith mounts a third to the base of a rotating electric fan, so it pans back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen and back again. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 20, 2011
Co-directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman cut their teeth on 2010's glib social-media mystery "Catfish,'' and since they're clever boys, they make the most of the series' new toy. Otherwise, Paranormal Activity 3 is almost identical to, and just as eerily effective as, the first two films in its alternation of cheesy "boo!'' tactics and genuine scares. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 20, 2011
The films are not works of genius. They are, however, wily reminders of the virtues of restraint when you're out for a scare. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 19, 2011
More of the same, using the found-footage tricks the first two films employed to try to shock the audience. But man, are those some good tricks. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineKate ErblandOct 19, 2011
The more traditional haunted house feel and fresh focus should please diehards and pull in new fans. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 19, 2011
More funhouse spook show than actual horror movie but, like the black magic roller coaster ride it's predicated on, it has a startling amount of jolts, frissons, and downright freak-outs to qualify as the best teen date movie of the month if not the year. Boo. Scary. Read full review
65
MovielineAlison WillmoreOct 19, 2011
Where Paranormal Activity 3's weak points show are in the unbelievable silliness of its characters. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigOct 20, 2011
Paranormal Activity 3 delivers similarly eerie moments, though long stretches go by where nothing truly ominous occurs. Read full review
60
Time OutA. A. DowdOct 21, 2011
Like its predecessors, Paranormal Activity 3 demands to be seen with a crowd: Being able to hear outbursts of nervous laughter and irrepressible panic ripple through a packed house is the reason movies like this exist. Read full review
60
VarietyJoe LeydonOct 2, 2011
Much like its predecessors, Paranormal Activity 3 is a slow-building, stealthily creepy supernatural thriller that takes a teasingly indirect approach to generating suspense and escalating dread. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 21, 2011
I fully expect Paranormal Activity 3 to be box office gold. But it's barely worth two stars, let alone two cents. As for future followups, I offer this plea: STOP! Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyOct 21, 2011
The first 45 minutes of this film feel like far too much normal and not nearly enough para. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 20, 2011
The scares (if you want to call them that) are still there - one "boo!" moment after another, strung together like a breadcrumb trail through a labyrinth. So if that's all you want from a Halloween release like Paranormal Activity 3, you are the perfect audience member. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreOct 19, 2011
This Paranormal doesn't tamper with the formula that worked in the first two films. It lacks the "money" moments that those films delivered and ends with a finale that is downright conventional. "Paranormal" reveals itself for what it has become, the "Saw" of found video thrillers. Read full review
50
IndieWireEric KohnOct 2, 2011
Paranormal Activity 3 hardly adds anything new to the situation; instead, it pretends to fill a gap while basically just heaping on one calculated "boo!" after the other. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMark HolcombOct 21, 2011
The further this series drifts into corporate-franchise territory and away from Peli's inventively cheap, slyly psychosexual conception, the more reasons there are to just stay away. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 20, 2011
A few really weird things happen during Paranormal Activity 3, though unfortunately, they have nothing to do with being frightened. Read full review
38
Washington PostMark JenkinsOct 21, 2011
Paranormal Activity 3 just uses new technology to deliver the same old ghosts-and-goblins hokum. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithOct 21, 2011
The shtick movie Paranormal Activity 3 is the horror equivalent of vaudeville comedy: a little patter, a little pie in the face, repeat. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 20, 2011
Inexplicably, there are people who still haven't had enough of these movies. The first was a nifty novelty. Now the appeal has worn threadbare. Read full review
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