**This post contains spoilers, including thoughts on the extended version and the alternate ending**
The Story- In 1988, after the deaths of their mother, Julie and her boyfriend, Dennis, a young Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) learn about their roles in Tobi’s plans, as they begin training under a mysterious man named Kent (Don McManus). Grandma Lois (Hallie Foote) reassures her granddaughters, while Kent teaches Katie and Kristi how to communicate with Tobi.
During the Christmas season in 2013, Leila Fleege (Ivy George) forms a dangerous bond with Tobi as her imaginary friend in Santa Rosa, California. Leila’s father, Ryan (Chris J. Murray), her mother, Emily (Brit Shaw), her uncle, Mike (Dan Gill), and Ryan and Emily’s friend, Skyler (Olivia Taylor Dudley) all work together to protect Lelia, and solve they mystery behind The Midwives and Tobi.
Father Todd (Michael Krawic) suggests a risky plan to stop Tobi. Can The Fleege Family, Skyler, and Father Todd save Leila from a relentless Tobi?
My Thoughts- The Fleege Family joins the list of Paranormal Activity families unfortunately caught in the crossfire against Tobi, while trying to protect one of his targets. Brit Shaw and Chris J. Murray play two supportive and loving parents, who refuse to give up on their daughter.
Dan Gill continues the trend of being that one goofy comedic character in a Paranormal Activity film. Gill easily delivers the best comedy moments, and the jokes about his mustache, or Leila poking fun at it are good for a few laughs.
Loyal. That’s the one word I’d use to describe Olivia Taylor Dudley’s Skyler. Unlike Mike, she’s not a blood relative. Skyler could’ve ran and never looked back at any moment, especially when things got serious. But she stayed to do anything she could to help Ryan, Emily, and Leila.
Don McManus has brief appearances throughout the movie, but he’s everything you’d expect from a cult leader figure. The tone of his voice is something that sticks out. He’s not angry, or demanding. At first, you’d believe Kent is this mentor/father figure character, who genuinely cares about Katie and Kristi, but it’s also clear he has sinister intentions. Kent has an enigmatic presence, a master evil manipulator, who’s capable of convincing people he’s doing the right thing.
Ivy George is the star of the cast. You could see it with Jessica Tyler Brown in Paranormal Activity 3, and George also does a wonderful job with the imaginary friendship relationship. There’s just something ironic and strange about a small child showing no fear and being playful around a very dangerous and evil demonic entity, while all the adults are justifiably terrified of Tobi. George smoothly switches between the usual childlike mannerisms and behaviors you’d expect from a young girl, to showing a more serious side, when she’s under Tobi’s influence. George absolutely nails the creepy and possessed child character, delivering one of the more memorable Paranormal Activity performances.
Six films into the series, and it’s hard to justifiably come up with reasons to record everything, but they managed to find a different and creative method here. Yes, they relied on setting up security cameras around the house again, but there’s also a special video camera! Ryan finds an old, bulky camera. The camera was used to record Katie and Kristi’s training sessions with Kent. This camera also has a special filter that’s capable of showing Tobi, as he move around the house, in a black and goopy incomplete form.
The special camera POV finally gives a clearer view of what Tobi actually looks like, and there’s something else to think about. Notice how Tobi becomes more whole and takes on a more definitive shape, as his bond with Leila becomes stronger. In the early stages of the movie, when you see Tobi through the camera, it’s just scattered particles.
This could explain why Tobi is limited to banging on doors or windows, sabotaging chandeliers, and other things that go bump in the night mind games and attacks in the early parts of previous Paranormal Activity films. Maybe Tobi was too weak to do anything else, saving his more gruesome and brutal attacks for the finale, when he was finally strong enough.
Christmas! I wouldn’t say The Ghost Dimension is a full on Christmas horror movie. It’s not as Christmassy as the Silent Night, Deadly Night films, the Black Christmas movies, or Krampus 2015, but Christmas does play a role in the story, and some of the scares. Leila making gingerbread men cookies with Emily and Skyler. Tobi playing mind games with Frosty The Snowman and walking Santa toys, and there’s one scene in the extended version involving a Santa suit that should’ve made it into the theatrical cut. Christmas is more of a backdrop here, but it’s still a refreshing change for a Paranormal Activity film.
Tobi lives! Father Todd’s extermination ritual fails, and using the portal in her room, Leila, followed by Emily, travels to Katie and Kristi’s house in 1992. In 1992, Tobi finally has a body, and the movie ends with Tobi murdering Emily and walking off with Leila.
A lot of mixed feelings for this ending. Okay. We get to see what a fully formed Tobi looks like, sort of. They don’t actually show his face, just his pale white legs and the backside of his body before Tobi kills Emily. Outside of the closing moments of the movie, all we have to go on for what Tobi looks like is a picture Ryan found on the internet and Leila’s drawings.
After all the teasing and slight glimpses of Tobi, I just can’t understand not showing his face at the end. Taking a few steps back, it’s revealed Hunter was at a ceremony in 1992, with Kent by his side. Portals and time travel obviously played a role (Hunter was born in 2005) in this brief clip. It’s a short clip from the box of VHS tapes, and Ryan mentions the possibility of a ceremony centered around Hunter, or a ritual for Tobin’s resurrection.
Another cliffhanger-esque ending is kind of annoying at this point, but The Ghost Dimension still delivers an effectively tense finale during the extermination ritual and the aftermath. Tobi snatching a wounded Father Todd. Tobi killing Ryan is a brutal sight, Skyler projectile vomiting acidic black goo all over Mike, Katie and Kristi with blacked out eyes popping up in front of Emily, and Katie telling Emily it’s too late to save Leila. Throw in Tobi killing Emily, combined with the nasty sound of Emily’s neck snapping and the thud of her body hitting the ground, and it’s a consistent whirlwind of eye-catching events.
Also, good details with Father Todd emphasizing the differences between an extermination and an exorcism. Father Todd stresses the importance of needing to do an extermination to save Leila, because an exorcism won’t stop Tobi. Adds another layer of seriousness to the movie, while playing up Tobi as this seemingly unstoppable threat.
The extermination is a success, and The Fleege Family moves to a new house! Yep. In the alternate ending, four months after Father Todd’s successful extermination, Leila, Emily, Mike, and Ryan are all safe, or maybe they’re not. There’s too many subtle and not so subtle clues to suggest it’s not over yet in the alternate ending. Ryan finds a tape titled K+K+L (Katie, Kristi, and Lelia). Leila is standing on the front lawn with Katie and Kristi (as kids)? Emily is pregnant, and Kent weirdly makes an appearance at Leila’s birthday party?
How is it possible that Emily and Ryan didn’t recognize Kent at the party? They’ve seen his face, and they should recognize his voice. He just picks Leila up, and there’s no kind of reaction from Emily or Ryan? Ryan and Emily can clearly see Katie and Kristi with Leila. As kids. In 2014, when Katie and Kristi should be adults…and Emily and Ryan just basically ignore something that should’ve been a big deal? Take a look at the alternate ending below!
Which ending is better? By default I’d have to go with the theatrical ending. Both endings leave some unanswered questions, but the theatrical ending has more closure. I guess you could say the alternate ending is joyous and upbeat. In the theatrical ending, Ryan, Skyler, Emily, Mike, and Father Todd all die at the hands of Tobi. Father Todd dies in both endings, but Mike, Emily, and Ryan are still alive in the alternate ending. It’s not clear what happened to Skyler, because she doesn’t appear at the party after the extermination scene.
It’s also easy to pick up on some similarities to Paranormal Activity 3 with the alternate ending. Remember, PA 3 started off with a birthday party, and things went completely downhill after the party. The Ghost Dimension’s alternate ending features a birthday party for Leila. A very eerie coincidence, or a deja vu callback to Paranormal Activity 3?
The alternate ending is too wide open and the unanswered questions? Emily is pregnant. Is it possible she was marked by The Midwives as a child? Lelia did wish for a baby brother at her party. Was a pregnant Emily a backup plan for Kent and The Midwives, if The Fleege Family somehow managed to stop Tobi? Too many possible what if scenarios for the sixth film in the franchise.
Three good scenes from the extended cut. I’m wondering why all three scenes were cut. They don’t change the direction of the movie or the ending, but each scene actually adds something of significance to The Ghost Dimension.
The scene with someone (presumably Tobi) standing in the doorway to Leila’s room dressed in a Santa’s suit was genuinely creepy and tense. Ryan thinks it’s possibly Mike playing a prank (“GOOOOOALLLL!”) on him again, but when he turns around after Emily pops up, the figure in the Santa suit mysteriously disappears.
Leila’s looking up the fireplace, and Skyler jokingly asks her, if she’s waiting for Santa. Lelia’s response? “Get away from me.” The way Ivy George coldly delivered that line, only to go right back to looking up the fireplace, while completely ignoring Skyler was just perfect.
Another good surprise happens, when Emily goes to check on Leila in her room. She peeps through the crack in Leila’s doorway, and sees Tobi standing next to her bed. The door slams shut as Tobi and Emily make eye contact, and when Emily opens the door, Tobi disappears.
Everything else? More mind games and taunting from Tobi around the house. A touching scene, where Emily reads Leila a bedtime story. Emily tells Leila about her umbilical cord wrapping around Leila’s neck during birth, and how Lelia will always be her “little miracle.” Mike wears a Santa mask in one scene. There’s also one scene in the extended version, where Emily gets a call from Leila’s school. Leila bit another kid. I’m guessing they removed this scene, because they didn’t want to diminish the shocker for Leila biting Father Todd, the only scene in the movie, where they actually show her biting and attacking someone.
The Ghost Dimension connects some dots and fills in a few gaps. Pay close attention to Kent’s pep talk for Katie and Kristi in the beginning. Kent tells Kristi her purpose is to give birth to one of the chosen ones (Hunter). Meanwhile, Katie is supposed to take care of Kristi and others. It’s possible there’s a double meaning for that “take care of” part. Katie killed Kristi in Paranormal Activity 2, and she kidnapped Hunter. You could say Kristi outlived her purpose after she gave birth to Hunter, because it’s clear everyone has a specific role within The Midwives coven. Katie? She’s always filled the role of an underboss for Tobi, or his enforcer, mercilessly killing anyone that might disrupt his plans.
They expanded on the lore behind Tobi and The Midwives, and according to Kent, Tobi also goes by different names. We know why Leila and Hunter are important, and why Tobi needs their blood. I’m also glad they continued to use time travel and the portals to maintain consistency following The Marked Ones. Leila’s house was built in the same spot as Katie and Kristi’s house in 1988 after it burned down, so the portal in Leila’s room has a direct connection to that house in 1992.
Paranormal Activity 3 heavily influences the story, including the opening of the movie, and the training sessions with Katie, Kristi, and Kent. There’s also another Bloody Mary scene, with Leila playing the game by herself. This time around, you can see a ghostly hand in the mirror after Ryan stops Leila from playing. Keep in mind, the Bloody Mary scene with Katie and Kristi playing the game together only appears in the extended version and one of the trailers for Paranormal Activity 3.
Mike makes a reference to Katie, when he mentions how she killed a family in Nevada (Alex and her family in Paranormal Activity 4). The Ghost Dimension is the first Paranormal Activity film without an appearance from Katie as an adult. Katie is only mentioned in two scenes. She’s the relator, (under a different last name) who sold Ryan and Emily the house, so she still manages to play an important role in the story.
The Ghost Dimension was also a 3D film. I watched it in 3D at a theater years ago, but it’s still easy to pick out some of the more obvious 3D parts. Tobi’s particles floating in front of the screen, and there’s one obvious 3D death (Tobi killing Ryan) that’s easy to spot without the glasses. Was 3D necessary? I’d have to say no, because there’s just no real reason for 3D with how they used it here, and it doesn’t add anything to the movie overall.
I have to believe box office numbers played a big role in deciding to take a playing it safe approach. Paranormal Activity actually took some chances with The Marked Ones, a genuine effort to mostly do something different. The Ghost Dimension weirdly reverts back to the same tired formula used in the first four Paranormal Activity films. The usual Night # 1, Night # 2, and so on transitions for the security camera footage, and mind games and taunting from Tobi, including more swinging chandeliers. And if you’ve seen more than one PA film, you already know things won’t end well for anyone, who’s not in the inner circle for Tobi’s imaginary friends.
Yes, The Ghost Dimension answers more questions, but this is the SIXTH film. Still too much teasing and possibly setting things up for bigger events at this point. It’s also a case, where I’m glad they didn’t go with the alternate ending. The alternate ending completely destroys and wastes all the efforts to possibly defeat Tobi. Way too many different possible scenarios on the table and unanswered questions. The theatrical ending is easily darker and more grim, but the big reveal for Tobi is a huge letdown.
The Ghost Dimension is not a terrible film. There’s just enough spookiness to go around. I’m still baffled by the decision to leave out two scenes from the extended version that could’ve added more frights to the movie. I’ve always loved the shot of Leila staring at the open portal in her room, but The Ghost Dimension is still disappointing.
PA 6 was marketed and promoted as the final movie in the series. I always expected more because of that, but there’s nothing here that gives off the impression or screams it’s a big grand finale. But there’s one thing that can’t be denied, Ivy George does manage to give The Ghost Dimension a big boost, because she’s genuinely that good.
Rating- 6/10
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