OK, I hope you watched that video and are all caught up on the Paranormal Activity mythology so far. I wasn't. I didn't even see PA4. I liked Paranormal Activity 1 and 2. With number 3 I could tell this story was getting more complicated and ridiculous than Saw, so I shut it down. Honestly, I wasn't even going to see The Marked Ones until I heard it was a "reboot" of the franchise: a break from the Katie/Kristi saga. I was also intrigued by the fact that it featured a Latino cast. Why not after the white, white, whiteness of the first three movies (check out my original review)? I hate these people. Not white people. I am one. These white people. God, who decorates like that??
Jessie is a young man who just graduated High School. He lives with his Grandmother in an apartment Southern California. His best friend and constant companion is Hector, a dumb but nice dude who always has Jessie's back. When the downstairs neighbor is killed, Jessie and Hector decide to investigate. They discover that she may have been a witch. Suddenly, Jessie has an awfully familiar looking bite mark on his arm and begins to display some supernatural powers. The guys think this is pretty awesome at first, until Jessie begins to change in more ways than one...
The film is presented in the familiar POV style, with Hector acting a primary cameraman. As Jessie descends into full on Demon hood, call backs from the previous films keep popping up...
If you want all the Easter eggs and spoilers please click here. Really, you don't need to have seen any of the other films to enjoy The Marked Ones. As a stand alone it is interesting and I even screamed once. Any film that can make me scream in my jaded state is worth a recommend. However, SPOILER ALERT, it helps to at least seen the first one to understand the ending.
Final thoughts: beyond being relieved that the actor who played Hector is actually 30 years old (thought he was hot) and racking my brain throughout the movie trying to remember what happened in the original three, I enjoyed this. Would this be my pick for the first film I see in a theatre in 2014? No. Was this my pick for the first film I saw in the theatre for 2014? Yes. Since my New Years resolutions are to see more films in the theatre, gain at least 20 pounds, and drink more, I am off to a ripping start! I have eaten a cookie today, drank three glasses of wine and two mimosas, AND saw The Wolf of Wall Street. And I am only 4 days in!!!! Seriously, WoWS is LONG. Bring one of those inflatable donut butt pillows. You will thank me.
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