Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

"Meski gagal dalam memberikan level horor yang signifikan, film ini menambah petunjuk baru dalam memecahkan misteri The Witch Coven"

Jesse dan keluarganya yang keturunan Hispanic, suatu hari merasa terganggu oleh suara-suara yang semakin menjadi yang berasal dari rumah di lantai bawanya. Digosipkan sebagai wanita "aneh" dan "penyihir", tetangga tersebut pun ditemukan meninggal dibunuh. Diliputi rasa penasaran, Jesse dan temannya menyelidiki rumah tersebut. Namun Jesse malah mendapat "tanda" berupa gigitan di tangannya. Setelah itu, Jesse pun mengalami serangkaian gangguan dari entitas jahat yang mengikuti hidupnya. Hanya dalam hitungan waktu saja sebelum entitas jahat tersebut mengambil alih tubuh Jesse.

Meski ini adalah seri ke-5 dari franchise Paranormal Activity (PA), The Marked Ones bukanlah prekuel ataupun sequel. Film ini lebih tepat diberi label spin-off atau sidequel, sebuah seri yang tidak menceritakan kelanjutan - baik maju atau mundur - dari rangkaian ceria PA tetapi hanya menceritakan cerita sampingan yang masih berhubungan. Meski timeline dalam film ini terjadi pada tahun 2012 yang merupakan setting waktu paling mutakhir dari PA 1-4, namun film ini tidak menceritakan kelanjutan dari Katie, Kristie, atau Hunter/Wyatt.



Meski selalu terlibat dalam penulisan naskah dari PA 2-4, The Marked Ones merupakan film panjang kedua yang disutradarai oleh Christopher Landon. Mungkin, Christopher Landon tampil beda dalam mengarahkan The Marked Ones ini. Dimulai dari tipikal poster yang berbeda dari pakem template PA 1-4, arahan dalam filmnya pun dibuat diluar pakem dari semua serial PA yang ada. Jika PA 1-4 terkenal dengan membangun unsur horor lewat menciptakan atmosfer semengerikan mungkin, maka - masih dengan konsep found footage - The Marked Ones tanpa ragu-ragu langsung memberikan kejutan pada penonton.

Meski hasilnya menjadi setipe dengan film-film horor kelas B, namun daya tarik dari The Marked Ones tetap pada pengungkapan misteri dari para penyihir Coven. Tidak banyak, tapi The Marked Ones mengungkap lebih dalam tentang ritual yang menjadi awal dari rentetan kejadian pada PA 1-4, sekaligus menjadi "prediksi" mengenai akan jadi seperti apa Hunter/Wyatt nanti setelah berumur 18 tahun. Nah bagi para fans PA 1-4, mungkin mereka akan berteriak kesenangan melihat banyak sekali referensi dari keempat film itu dalam The Marked Ones. Mulai dari foto-foto, bacaan artikel, hingga rumah besar Grandma Lois. Apalagi jika melihat ending dari film ini yang memiliki keterkaitan sangat terhadap PA1, yang membuat gue berteriak-teriak "WOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


Secara keseluruhan, The Marked Ones masih jauh lebih menarik ketimbang PA4 yang seakan mengalami penurunan drastis. Secara tingkat kengerian horor, jelas The Marked Ones masih kalah jauh dibandingkan PA 1-4. Namun tetap satu-satunya daya tarik untuk menonton film ini adalah demi memecahkan misteri yang ada di balik perkumpulan The Witch Coven yang penuh misteri itu. The Marked Ones jelas menjadi persiapan penting sebelum PA 5 yang akan dirilis Oktober 2014 nanti.



USA | 2014 | Horror / Thriller | 84 min | Aspect Ratio 2.35 : 1

Rating?
7 dari 10

- sobekan tiket bioskop tanggal 16 Januari 2013 -



Bonus:
Rekapitulasi timeline dari PA 1-4 + The Marked Ones (spoiler alert!)

1988: We know that Katie and Kristi have their first encounters with the demon, dubbed "Toby". The birth of a male child is destined by a deal made by the Grandmother of Katie and Kristi. What deal was made? Here you go: A. Welath B. Power C. One other I cannot remember Obviously wealth was offered. So in exchange for the wealth, Grandmother's upcoming family would have to give the demon the next born son. Tapes were made all through the lives of the family. Which is something important. It lets us know more on the history of the demon and the cult behind him. The cult, worships not exactly the demon, but something greater, hence a symbol relating to it. That symbol is The Solomon's Triangle. It is the gateway into getting what you want out of the demon. There are three ways to complete the deal: Show the extraordinary power, Virgin sacrifice, and the final sacrifice. All I will explain later on. Grandmother, would wait her lifetime for the newborn son to arrive, thus screwing herself in the end, but not her daughter or grandchildren. Her Daughter, Julie, was an innocent bystander in the situation, She was hung by the demon. Her husband, Dennis, was also killed pursuing the demon. He was snapped backward. Kristi was impregnated by the demon and was sent to wait for several years for the birth of her first and only son, Hunter (who would be later renamed Wyatt) Months after the impregnation, Grandmother raised Katie and Kristi and they called her mother, while a member of the cult was deemed 'grandmother' for their lives. Real Grandmother was eventually put in an institution and died. Cult Grams was left to join the cult once more and died years later.
1994: This will be the most likely plot for the fifth film in the main series. It will take place in 1994, where Katie had clearly stated that she and Kristi had another encounter with the demon.

Earlier 2006: Katie brings a series of tapes to Kristi to put into storage.

September 2006: Kristi gives birth to Hunter, the first boy child in the family for over ninety years. The tapes are later stolen by, assuming, the housekeeper and Taken to OXNARD CALIFORNIA. Soon after Hunter has been home, at least a month, the demon begins to act. The Latino Housekeeper, Martine, starts to notice. She is removed from the house by Daniel, Kristi's husband. After, the demon begins to terrorize Ally, Daniel's daughter, but mainly for intimidation. Kristi gets possessed and tries to take Hunter. Martine gets called back to help rid the house of the demon. They succeed and send the demon to Katie.

October 2006: Katie and her Boyfriend Micah are being terrorized by the demon. Katie, worrying about the situation, ends up possessed by the demon. She kills Micah, Kristi, and Daniel. Later, she takes Hunter and puts him into adoption center where the demon can watch over the baby and make sure that there is nothing to happen to Hunter.

November 2011: Alex, a girl in Nevada, experiences a boy named Robbie. Robbie is very interested in Wyatt, whom is renamed from Hunter. He was adopted by Alex's parents. She starts to notice the demonic activity. Later she finds out about the cult and that Wyatt IS HUNTER. She finds Katie. She later finds her boyfriend dead. Her mother is missing. Her dad is killed. Katies' whereabouts remain unknown. Alex was a virgin, hence her part in the Virgin Sacrifice. Hunter is ultimately lost to the demon. The ending scene, the person attacking Alex, is in fact not Katie. If this is not Katie, then WHO IS IT? How do I know this person was not Katie? Look at the basic features. Hair is the only thing that matches. But the shape of her face, her eye shape, and the fact that no teeth show. No matter what incarnation of Katie was possessed, Katie always has teeth. Kristi is dead, so that rules her out, as well as that she also had teeth. Kristi's teeth were bigger than Katie's.

UNKNOWN DATE: A girl who was a friend of Alex, also experienced demonic events. Her dad looks into it. He is also killed. His ex-wife is part of the cult. When these events take place or if they even exist are currently unknown.

June 2012: Ally has given up her search for Katie and Hunter, knowing what may or will become of of them both. We see another acient curse, The Prying Eyes Spell. That is performed with a person's eyelash and string to prevent the person from looking into certain things. What this would have to do with this movie? Well, Jesse, the victim of this film, is being possessed, meaning he is not allowed to find out about the purposed ultimate plan of the demon. Grandma Lois' house from Paranormal Activity 3, is also a huge point in the series, assuming it is GROUND ZERO, due to the fact it has a door which serves as a portal to unholy places, such as Katie and Micah's house from the first film. We also know that the Coven is building an army, Meaning there are countless victims across the world, including Europe.. What purpose does an army serve? Could it possibly be a simpler uprising to the end of the world? Of course, it would ultimately fail, but then again we could end up with the ill-fated story of man's failure to repent to the Lord, if the series goes as far as Seven, plus with More Spin-offs. As for Ally Rey, she could possibly be staying alone, in order to reduce risk of danger to any other families. She has an extremely small part in The Marked Ones, but it justifies her absence, but we do hope to see her one more time. As for time travel, it could mean even more events tie together in the series. Meaning the events were not just tied from the demon, but the cult has taken the toll to raise hell for the families over the years. They went back in time and stole the tapes seen in Paranormal 3.

(sumber: forum IMDb)

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