When the firstParanormal Activityfilm was released in 2007 it breathed new life into horror and reinvigorated both the found footage and haunted house subgenres. As it became a franchise, however, the movies lost their edge and authenticity in many ways. AfterParanormal Activity: Ghost Dimensionwas released in 2015, people thought that was the end. It was marketed as the lastParanormal Activitymovie and there wasn’t talk of another one for quite a while.
In June of 2019, Paramount announced a newParanormal Activitymovie was in the works. On August 08, 2025, it wasreleased to Paramount+with the titleParanormal Activity: Next of Kin. This film doesn’t have a connection to the plot of the first series and focuses on something completely different, not only in the storyline but in tone. Critically, this movie has been terribly received. It currently holds a 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 4.5/10.
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Those reviews would make it seem likeNext of Kinis a write-off. A cash grab installment for a stale franchise. That’s actually not the case at all. The film isn’t without flaws, and it’s never going to be nominated for any prestigious awards or anything like that. However, it’s a perfectly entertaining andwell-crafted horror film. It’s a fresh take on a franchise that really worked itself into a formula, with engaging characters and a fantastic storyline. This movie is also genuinely scary, which made its release date absolutely perfect timing. Critics are wrong on this one.
The storyline ofParanormal Activity: Next of Kinrevolves around a woman named Margot. She was abandoned by her mom as a young baby and later was adopted. After finding a blood relative of hers on an ancestry DNA website, she finds out that her real family is actually Amish. She and her friends are then brought to the Amish community her mom was from, so she can reconnect with some of her family membersand make a documentaryabout her journey. Unfortunately, it’s soon clear that things are not at all what they seem and this community might be hiding a very sinister secret.
This storyline is widely different from all the otherParanormal Activityfilms, however, the style is very similar. It still maintains the found footage/mockumentary style and has a tension-building first two acts with an explosive finale. While there have been some criticisms of the story and how it’s not necessarily “paranormal activity” as the title suggests, the plot is the best thing about this movie. The story about the Amish community and the lost family is so intriguing and it holds the viewer’s attention. At some times it feels like a mix of M. Night Shyamalan’sThe Visitand classic found footage filmThe Blair Witch Projectwith a bit of Ari Aster’sMidsommarthrown in there too. This fusion of ideas is really interesting and anyone interested in religious horror or cult films, which is a lot of the horror community, will really be into the story.
Along with the story comes the characters. While this is just a snippet of their lives and it’s very evident, as the audience isn’t shown much about who they actually are, they still all come off as very likable. Lead character Margot is a very sympathetic lead character. She’s clearly tortured by her lack of connection with her mom and true family, and her very pure desire to just get to know her history is easy to relate to. One of the other heroes is very obviously there as comedic relief and yes he is quite one-note, but he’s also actually funny and written in a way where his weird humor feels genuine. While individual characters among the community don’t stand out too much, they as a monolithare really creepyand every actor does a great job of being sweet but also just a bit off.
The final act ofParanormal Activity: Next of Kinis where everything goes off and it is just absolutely wild. The build up of tension comes to a breaking point of chaos as the truth is revealed. While there is creepiness throughout the whole movie, it doesn’t really get downright scary until the end. It’s very violent and bloody but also pretty psychologically disturbing. People who are looking for a good scare will probably be effected by this, in exactly the way they want to be.
While the role of critics in the film industry is undoubtedly important, sometimes they just aren’t right. Looking at things from a purely technical perspective isn’t necessarily going to match how the viewer feels when they watch something. Horror has long been written off by critics unless it’s incredibly high-brow and pretentious with some deep hidden meaning, so this was probably never going to be critically successful. It is however very entertaining, very scary, and it has a truly captivating story.Fans of horrorshould not listen to the critical reviews, and give it a chance.
