Episode 12 - Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin (2021)

Margot, a young woman who was abandoned by her mother as a baby, travels to a secluded Amish Community to film a documentary about her mother and extended family. She soon discovers something far more sinister than she could ever imagine. As she uncovers her family's dark past, she soon discovers the secrets hidden beneath the surface.

Transcript

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Hey, what's up, everybody? How's it going? How are you? Have you managed to watch anything scary lately? And if so, what was it? Um, I haven't been up to much lately. Um, just watching a few different movies, uh, weapons and bring her back. Uh, I watched both of them and just I just couldn't get into it for some reason. Those just didn't do it for me. Um, I did finally see I know what you did last summer, the newer one, obviously. Um, it was okay. It was it was it was decent, kind of pretty good. Um, I liked it. Um I apologize for the delay in this episode, which was supposed to come out last Sunday, but I was actually nursing a hand injury, so I was unable to write my script or take my notes because it was my right hand that was injured, and that is my dominant hand. But now we are back, and um, real quick before we get started, let's get into some um horror updates for the week. Orphan 3 has started uh filming. Um, it is also reported that it's going to be a prequel and a sequel. I don't know how the sequel aspect of it is is gonna work because at the end of the first Orphan, um Vera Farmiga, her character actually kicked uh Esther. Yeah, that was her name, Esther. She actually she kicked Esther in the head, and I think it snapped her neck. So I don't think there's a way to really come back from that. But in these movies, you just you just never know. Also, um it welcome to dairy. It's so far, yeah. I like it. It's a damn good show. We haven't officially seen Pennywise, even though they said he wouldn't show up until later in the series. But so far, so good. Um, I like it. I really do. Final Destination 7, which obviously we know has been greenlit, it will actually feature a returning character, AJ Cook. Um, she she is Kimberly from the second one. She's pretty much the only survivor from these movies, if I'm correct. But it is also said that the subway accident that was in Final Destination 3 at the end of it will pay it will play a key piece in the story. And the main accident itself that occurs, it will be in a water park at a resort complex where a movie is actually being filmed. Um, also, they just wrapped up filming uh the new chapter of Insidious. Obviously, Lynn Shea is returning for that. Besides that, we don't have much information on that at the moment, but I definitely will keep an eye out on that so I can keep you posted. Um, but yeah, that's it for this week's horror updates. Moving on, welcome back to Chills Thrills and a podcast, our horror community podcast, where we review, break down, and analyze all things horror. This week we will finally be wrapping up the paranormal activity franchise with the final entry in the series, Paranormal Activity Next of Ken. This story in itself has no connection to the previous films, and honestly, it shouldn't have even had the paranormal activity title because it's not a paranormal activity movie, it's not even on par with the rest of the franchise. So it might have been better if it was just called Next of Ken. It probably and might have would have would have been received better than it was. Each paranormal activity entry told a different story. Paranormal Activity 1 was Katie's story, paranormal activity two was Christy's story, paranormal activity three was Katie and Christy's childhood story, paranormal activity four was Hunter's story, the marked ones was the Coven story, and the ghost dimension was Toby's story. So with Next Aken, I have not much like zero idea of whose story is being told, but I guess we'll figure that out as we dive into it. So with that being said, I'm just gonna go ahead and give you your spoiler warning now before we talk behind the scenes and the film itself. So if you haven't seen this movie, this is where you pause this and go check that out first and then come back for the discussion. For the production, on June 19th, 2019, Paramount Pictures announced that a seventh installment of the film series was in development with Jason Blum and franchise creator Oren Pelley behind the scenes. In February 2020, Blum revealed that Christopher Lannon was writing the script as he's penned the script in like uh a few previous entries. On February 2021, it was announced that William Ebank was attached to direct the film, and it was also confirmed to be a soft reboot rather than a continuation of the previous films. Principal photography wrapped up in July, and in September, the film's title was officially revealed. This film is the first to not be given a theatrical release due to COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the first in the franchise to switch to non-found footage. So now we can dive into the movie. So we have a movie to unpack, so let's get into it. Paranormal Activity Next of Ken starts off with the text that says March 2nd, 2021. We see a young woman adjusting her shirt, asking the cameraman if he can see it. This woman is going to be Marg, played by Emily Bader, and the cameraman is Chris, played by Roland Buck III. Answering her question, he says, yeah, he can see it a little, but it looks good. Asking her to do a slate for him, because this obviously is the start of their documentary. So this is our plot device to explain the purpose for recording, telling her whenever she's ready, she can get started. Margle starts off with her introduction, commenting that they're here in the beautiful Denny's in Scottsdale, Arizona, and she's about to meet her first biological relative, Samuel. Chris jokingly asks if she's going to tell him of all the drunken nights in this booth at where they sit, to which she responds that he needs to keep his mouth shut. Through the window, she sees his arrival, Sam. So Chris asks if she's sure if that's him, and she tells him yes. So Chris points out that he's trying to pay Uber with cash, so that's definitely him. Margot goes out to the parking lot to greet him as the two of them hug each other and express appreciation. Samuel is played by J.R. R. Brown, and now inside the restaurant, Samuel asks about the documentary, and she answers that it's weird because she never thought that she would do anything about herself, adding that it feels kind of self-indulgent, but Chris pushed her to do it. Samuel comments that he's actually never been in front of a camera before, so Margot asks in front of any camera, and Samuel explains that they're typically not supposed to be photographed because vanity is a sin. But there are exceptions if the elders condone it. Margot comments that Samuel said that he left the community and he answers that he did leave. Margot asks, how long has it been? He responds that it's been about seven months. He questions if it's weird for her adoptive parents, so she responds that it is weird, but could she have gone on living the rest of her life not finding out who her real family was? Continuing with that, it'd be fine, but she thinks for a lot of us people who have been given up by their parents, to find out where she came from would be really special for her. Sam agrees and adds that hopefully he can help. Later that evening, we see Marg with a group of friends. One of them asks, How does she even meet an Amish dude on 23andMe? Isn't that against the rules? So Margot answers that he's on his rum springer, and she explains that it's basically like a year where they get to see the outside world for themselves. So he was floating around taking odd jobs, and then he meets this woman and builds her um, and before she can get it out, Chris chimes in chicken coop. Basically, she could she becomes obsessed with him, and Chris cuts in again, commenting more of a cat cat lady type, before Margot comments, annoyed, asking him if he wants to tell the story, because he can if he wants, so he shuts up. Margot continues, basically, she's bragging to him about how she's 25% Cherokee and tells him about the online DNA tests you can do. So he gets one and it's a match, and it's her, Marg. One of the friends comments that she's Amish, but Margot responds that she's not Amish, but they dispute, saying basically that she is Amish. A brief moment later, Marg is showing the footage of her mother dropping her off at the hospital as a friend comments that he can't believe anyone would just abandon their baby like that. Margot responds that she's watched the video over a hundred times and she gets a new question every time she watches it. Like, why does she do it? Why does she drive so far away just to abandon her? And is she even still alive? What she thinks is weird about it is the way that she's holding her, looking around like she's scared. One of Margot's friends responds that maybe she was just worried she was going to get caught and possibly guilt as well. We cut to the next scene with the text that reads March 9th, 2021. We see Chris hitting his GoPro on a luggage belt at the airport as it films them receiving their luggage. They've arrived in Buffalo, New York, and as Chris and Samuel load up the luggage, Chris makes the comment that Samuel is strong, and Samuel tells him that it's from farm labor. He gets used to moving heavy things and heavy items. While loading the luggage, he asks what the luggage is, and Chris responds that it is magic. Lipstick, cam, drone, LEDs, etc. And they're not fucking around with the documentary. Samuel comments that clearly not. So outside, Margot tells them that their sound guy said that he'd be in a green van, in which the van arrives. The driver steps out, but forgetting to grab his mask because in this time we were still in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Now masked up, the driver introduces himself as Dale, played by Dan Lippard. He greets everybody and loads up the van. Margot mentions they've all been tested, because again, COVID times. So Dale comments that he got COVID like five times, clarifying that he was diagnosed once, but he kept getting it after that. Further adding that his body is weird, but he's alive. Margot thanks him in appreciation for getting them there, and Dale welcomes her. Chris mentions that there's so much snow up there, and they've never once mentioned that where uh Margot and Chris were what travel they what state they've traveled from or where they come from in general. Sammy responds that the weather changes every day. One day you get snow and the next day it's slush. Dale comments that's why you gotta do these zip-off pants. He does this with all of his pants, so it's like if you got pants on, oh it's too hot out. Now you got shorts on. And he has to say that it's easy access for the ladies if you know what he means. Dale is definitely our comic relief for this movie because he's actually pretty funny. We're then giving a nice aeriosenic view as they drive into town. A brief moment shortly thereafter, they arrive at the community. They park while Samuel goes to speak with an older man, seemingly sending them away though. Samuel enters the van commenting that there's bad news, but we cut quickly to the next scene. When the screen returns, we see that they're now at a hotel, and Dell questions if Samuel didn't think to call ahead and let them know they were coming. Chris answers that they're Amish. They don't have a phone. Margot points out that there's only two beds, so they will have to figure that out. As Chris is looking through the camera equipment, Dale admires the organization of the equipment. Margot's still optimistic, commenting that maybe it's going to be a process and that maybe Sam can go back and try again. But Chris reminds her that Sam left them and they probably don't even want him back. Margot urges him to keep it down. Chris jokes that they might they might have to adopt him. Margot comments that Sam is right there and he needs to chill. As they're talking, they hear a noise that draws them to check it out in the bathroom, and when they open the door, they see the window is wide open. Chris asks Marg if she left it open, but she tells him no she didn't. She then pulls back the shower curtain, but nothing is there. She moves closer to the window and then suddenly a little boy appears and startles her. Sam wakes up to the sound of her screaming. Rushing to the bathroom, he recognizes the little boy, and this is gonna be Eli. Eli is a young child from Sam's community, so he asks him what he's doing there. In the next scene, we see them driving back to the community to take Eli back. Arriving, Jacob played by Tom Nawicki, shows them to their room. As Sam enters his room, Chris sees a door with the padlock on it. This door has no significance right now, but it will in a little bit uh well a little bit later in the in the film. Margot thanks Jacob for allowing them to stay. Chris asks her what did he say, and she responds that Jacob thanked her for bringing Eli home and he's really grateful so they can stay for a couple days. Chris asks about the camera and Jacob said okay. Margot expresses excitement, saying that this is the first people she's ever seen who are related to her. She was wondering if they would look alike. Margot points out to Dale that he doesn't fit on the bell on the bed, and Dale tells her that he's used to it. He sleeps on a full bed at home. So Margot asks why he sleeps on a full bed when he's like 6'7. Dale explains that he shares a room with his mom, and she takes the queen and he and adds that she lives with him. A little bit later, Margot wakes up Chris telling him to look out the window, and they see what looks like a group of people walking with candles into the woods. Chris mentions that it's like 2 a.m. and Margot says that that's weird. And the next scene we get the title card that reads March 10th, 2021. We then see the sunrise. Margot is eating a bowl of cereal while Chris tells her that he got some cool B-roll film that morning. Dale asks if they knew what they uh he asks if he if they knew that they can eat fruit loops, so Chris tells him that it's cereal, not a computer. As they're talking a young girl, maybe a teen comes over to collect the dishes. Margot compliments her dress, asking if she made it, but the girl tells her no it's from Walmart. She then asks if they have TikTok. Margot tells her they're not on her phone, but Dale tells her that he's got to show her a video that he made. But it is soon interrupted by an older woman telling the girl to stop runching around. Sam enters the room chasing Elion before greeting everybody, asking if they have any plans for the day, and Margot comments that they would love to see the rest of the community. Sam explains that he knows the elders like Jacob can feel kind of intense, but as long as they stick with him, they'll be fine. Don't approach anybody in the community without asking their permission. Everybody's really nice, but they can be a little shy. Also mentioning that they avoid the woods because they get bears, assuring them that he'll be with them, but the bears get kind of violent during the winter. Chris mentions to Sam that they saw some people going into the woods last night super late, so Sam tells him that it was probably a hunting party because somebody's cow was attacked. A brief moment later, we see Sam taking them on a tour of the community. Marg comments that she feels like everyone seems relatively young, and she asks him how long the family has been there. Sam tells her it's been a long time, about 200 years. Sam shows her the workshop where they fix horseshoes, equipment, wheels, and etc. She sees a little boy working and comments, work 'em young and responds, and Sam responds that everyone has a purpose. Margot asks where they where did her mom live when she was there. So Sam tells her that he thinks it was it was in the room above the room that they're currently in. But now they just use it as storage. As they continue to tour, Sam takes them to the barn to see the cows, and then along the way, stopping to see the pigs, and Dale makes a comment or asks a pretty weird question, but asks if they if all the pigs have nice butts like that. And Margot kind of looks at him like, what does that even mean? Sam texts them to the loft, and while recording, she almost falls down a bell drop, but Sam catches her just in time. In the next scene, we see Marg approaching a few young ladies and introduces herself to them, and they do the same. Margot asks how old they are, and they all tell her that they're 16. So Margot assumes that they're too young to have known her mother, but has her par asks them, has their parents ever talked about her? And one of the girls answers, telling Margot that her mom told her that Sarah hooked up with an Englishman. Margot asks what that means, and the girl tells her that it just means someone from outside of the community. So Margot asks if it's like a local and asks, does anybody know who he was? But the girls don't know. She comments that she got pregnant with an outsider, so she imagines that that didn't go over very well. One of the girls tells her that they have a lot of work to do and they'll get in trouble if they don't get to it. So the girls kind of rush away and the scene ends. We cut to the next scene. We see a large dinner gathering. Jacob taps on a glass to get everyone's attention, speaking of prayer in German, as everyone bows their heads and holds hands. Jacob explains that they have a saying, the storm may scatter a thousand leaves, but the tree grows anew. Agnet, they are humbled and grateful to have their sister Margot return to them. The Lord's will unfold unfolds and they accept the obligations and the sacrifices that he expects of them. Margot thanks them for allowing them into their home, and she is very grateful. She always hoped that she could meet them, so this is a really special moment for her. And at the end of her s at the end of her speech, Dale starts to give her a round of applause, but he's the only one clapping, saying that he thought it was a clap moment. Jacob announces that they can begin. We're watching everyone engaging in conversations while eating, really enjoying the moment. Jacob then claps to get everyone's attention, and the table stops mid-conversation and goes silent. All attention goes to a group of kids who are singing in German, and as the song goes goes on, in between notes, Jacob and everybody else bang on the table, and as it ends, they bang on the table repeatedly. A little later, we see Margo, Chris, and Dale in the room. Margot sitting down, and Chris mentions to her that Jacob definitely has a thing for her. He's always staring at her and etc. So she tells him, Don't be gross. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they related? Like, isn't that isn't that how they match? Like it that's how 23andMe like works. Is it uh it's like a DNA best web DNA-based website? So I believe that her and Jacob are actually related, but you know, that's neither here or there. In the background, Dell is trying to get something to charge, but it won't. Chris points out that it's it's just old, so just wiggle it in Del comments. That's what she said. Margot tells Chris that she actually thought it was really sweet the way everyone was so present. So Chris asks if she wants to join them, and she says no. But when was the last time that he went to dinner and didn't look at his phone? And he says, tonight. I never gave that much thought into it, but it's true. Look around whenever you're out. Majority of everyone are on their phones, whether it's eating, walking around, whatever the case may be, people are usually glued to their phones. Dale walks over to the window and realizes the generator isn't on, he tells Chris that he'd fix it, but he's already in his camis, aka pajamas. In the next scene, Chris goes outside and making starts making his way to the generator, pointing out that it's dark, dark, and it's snowing pretty heavy. He hears a noise behind him, and when he turns around, and of course, there's nothing there, but suddenly when he turns back around, he walks into a scarecrow that startles him. So he knocks it over, saying that there's not even any crows out there. He makes it to the generator, and after a few attempts, he gets it started. He has the camera on the ground, so in the background, you can see someone walking towards him. Chris doesn't see it, so he makes makes the adjustment to the generator, and again, another cheap jump scare. He walks into a child who's standing in the snow with just pajamas on. No coat, no hat, no no no shoes, no socks. Jacob tells Chris that he's a sleepwalker and he does it from time to time, that he's lucky that Chris was out there. So Chris tells him that their generator died and that's why he was out there. So Jacob comments to come back inside because the cold will bite him. The next on-screen text reads March 11th, 2021. We see Margot brushing her teeth, saying that her head is killing her, so Chris asks, What's up with that? But Dale answers that it's barometric pressure. It's like altitude sickness, and her body is only reacting to the clean air. Margot comments to Dale that he is an exact encyclopedia of random information. She asks them if they heard the sounds again last night, like someone walking in the attic. Chris didn't hear it because he was knocked out, and neither did Dale. A brief moment later, Margot tells Dale that he's completely insane, and Dale responds that the responds that the makeover maketh the man. Margot and a few kids start a drum roll on the counter as Dale reveals his brand new look. We're then showing a few kids outside spinning around chanting a nursery rhyme, so Chris records them, and then he shows them the slow motion feature on the camera of them going in circles, as he explains that it's getting a whole bunch of frames for one second, so it gets the little details like the water splashing. We then see Margot. A little girl telling her that she likes her doll. She asks her what the doll's name is, and the little girl tells her that it's Sarah. Margot comments that that's a pretty name and that Sarah was her mom's name and that she used to live there a long time ago. The little girl then drops the bomb that she's still there. So Margot asks what she said, and the little girl tells her Sarah doesn't like her. But then Margot asks who doesn't like her, and the girl just gets up and walks away. And Chris comments that she just left her doll like that. Later that night, Margot is woken up by noise coming from above, so she gets up to go investigate it, and when she opens the bedroom door, she glances out into the hallway, commenting that it's three o'clock in the morning, and somebody's up there again, third night in a row. So do you remember earlier when I said that there was a door with the padlock? That's that room. The padlock is now off and the door is unlocked and partially open. So Margot goes up to check it out and starts looking around. So she sees a dresser and starts going through the drawers before finding a tin can that has pictures and a letter from Sarah inside of it. She reads the letter, but then surely a drawer, a drawer falls out of the dresser, and when it when she goes to put it back, she discovers a hidden door behind the dresser that leads to a closet with just random stuff. But faintly on the wall looks like the like a picture has been drawn on it. She hears a noise behind her, but then Margot hears Jacob from downstairs calling out, but nobody has answered, so she rushes to hide under the bed. Meanwhile, Jacob sees or hears something that makes him visibly show fear, so he quickly exits the room, locking the door behind him, which then traps Margot inside of the room locked in. Margot's still under the bed. She hears a creaking noise, but out of nowhere the bed sinks in as if someone or something sat down on it. She slides from under the bed, realizing that she's now locked inside. She walks over to the window to open it, but when she looks at her reflection, suddenly a face pops up behind her, starting her, causing her to scream. She then opens the window and I guess climbs down. We don't see it because the scene ends. In the next scene, we see a text on screen that reads March 12th, 2021. Margot is looking at the freeze frame picture from the previous night when she was looking out the window and the demon face appears. Chris asks what that was, but she doesn't know, but points out that it looks like a face. Chris thinks it's something else, possibly a lens distortion. Dale comments that this is why he doesn't like creepy old farms. They're always haunted. Margot urges him to keep his voice down, but he doubles down, responding that he's serious. Look at the place and tell him that it's not haunted, and asks that his cousin saw a ghost in a walk-in freezer at Cracker Barrel. Chris laughs and asks what was he doing in there, and Dale answers that he worked there. He continues laughing, as in Margo, if she's really buying the shit. So she tells him that she felt like something was up there with her. Chris comments back so they're ghost hunters now, because he thought he signed up for a prestige documentary. This franchise always has that one character that's a non-believer, and that's fine and all, but why do they have to be annoying with it? First, well not the first one, but the second one, we had Daniel Ray, then Julie from the third one, and then the parents from the fourth one. I don't think there's one in the first, fifth, or sixth movie off the top of my head. No, I don't think there really isn't. Anyway, Chris continues saying that he didn't sign up for a fringy ghost farm cable show, but Margot isn't here for it, telling him that it's not funny. She needed to correct him because he's kind of annoying at this point. I don't know what it is about him, but as the movie progresses, he just gets more and more annoying. Like Mika level. Well, no, I'm not gonna say Mika level of annoying, but he is annoying regardless. Margot points out that the letter she found, the creepy drawing, and the little girl saying that she's still here. Margot feels something is going on and it feels like it has something to do to do with her mom. We cut to the next scene and we see Dell and Marg setting up an air an area in the living room so they can interview Jacob. Once he's set, they tell him that he can start. Jacob starts off describing Sarah as being a wildflower, a nonconformist growing up in a community whose bedrock is homogeneity. But what they all saw as spunky and free-spirited when she was a little girl evolved into something much darker. There were several attempts to take her own life, and when that didn't work, she got pregnant. It was a boy from town, but she wouldn't tell them who. Jacob suspects that she did it purely out of spite as a way to rail against their ways and their rules, and that it worked. She was then shunned. Margot asks for clarification, so he explains being shunned is being separated from the flock. You eat alone, you work alone, you sleep enough, asleep alone, and that from there it's painful. He supposes that it's what been what could have been what drove her away in the end. And in this moment, Margot reaches in her pocket and hands him the letter the letter that she found in Sarah's room. I think she has some audacity at this point because you've been welcomed into their home, and you were in that room looking around, going through stuff. You weren't even supposed to be in the room. But to show him a letter that you found from a room you weren't supposed to be in, that's you know, she has that's some serious audacity, to be honest. Jacob's reading the letter and commenting that she was in the attic. Margot asks him what Sarah meant when she said that they can't have her or her baby. Jacob explains that they don't allow children out of wedlock, so Sarah was required to give her baby to another wedded comp couple in the community. So Margot questions if she would if she was forced to give her baby away, and he confirms by saying that's right. Margot responds that that's horrible, so Jacob comments that that's more horrible than leaving a newborn on the ground on the sidewalk like a priest piece of trash. I mean, they're equally as bad to be honest, but you know, it is what it is. Jacob continues saying that he loved Sarah. She was his only daughter, but she cared for nobody but herself, and that that was her sickness. In the next scene, Chris tells her that it's shitty what they did to Sarah, and Margot agrees, but questions it by asking if she did the right thing. I think she did the right thing, otherwise, she would have been stuck there forever. However, she comments, she keeps thinking about the little girl and what she said the other day. She continues explaining that she has this feeling, this weird feeling that she's still there. In the pit of her stomach, ever since they got there, she just can't put her finger on it. A moment later, Chris is outside using his drone to see the scenic view of the area when he spots a church beyond the woods. They set out to locate it, cutting through the trees, and then they spot it. Dale points out that there's a church that there's a church, but what's the big deal? And Margot suspiciously comments, why would they build a church all the way back out there? It's like a mile away from the community, and Chris tells her that it's gotta be where they were going the other night, and based on the footprints, a lot of people came through there. Once they approach the church, there is something written in German which Dell translates as sweet, nice wiener, but it actually translates to so far, not further. Margot asks Chris if he can pick a lock and Chris answers, Of course, he's black. Dale on the other hand picks the lock, but before they can remove the block of wood securing the door, Jacob stops them, telling them that that's a house of worship and it's off limits. No cameras, no nothing. So Margot asks if they can go inside without the camera, and he tells her no that it's not permitted. Jacob adds lunch is ready back at the house, so they need to go with him. Back inside, everyone is gathering to eat lunch, and over in the corner, Chris spots an older woman sitting by the window peeling potatoes, but once he gets closer to her, he discovers that she's been peeling the skin off of her hand with the potato pillar. Later that night, we see everybody eating dinner in silence. Eventually, it leads to later on in the night where Chris is awakened by the sound of animals shrieking, so he wakes Marg up, telling her to listen. As they listen, the shrieking for the shrieking noise, they continue to hear it. So at that point, they go to search for the source or the location. They sneak out and for whatever reason, Chris turns on the light to the camera, and she tells him to quickly turn it off before they see it. They track the noise to the barn and climb up top to the loft to get a better view. As they look down, they see Jacob telling one of his people to hold it down. It appears to be a goat, so one of the people cut into its stomach, revealing a two-headed goat. The animal then is then killed. An older woman comments that it's starting to spread. First the children and then the old, telling Jacob that they have to do it now. Margot whispers to Chris, what is she talking about? Commenting that they should follow them. They follow them into the woods leading to the church, and Margot asks, What are they doing? And Chris responds that they're doing something fucked up. So she wonders why they would put the goat in a church. So Chris tells her that it's not to bless it. We're then shown the text that reads March 13th, 2021. We see Sam cutting into the woods while Margot explains that they were hearing this insane screaming, dying noise in the middle of the night, and then they go and then there's a goat sacrifice. Sam now annoyed responds, animals get sick. They have birth defects, some they can't feed or take care of them, so they do what they have to. So she asks him why they bring the goat into the church. So at that point, Sam points out that he told them not to go to the church. She tells him that they didn't go to the church, they saw the group go in the church. Sam has heard enough at this point asking her what's going on. He thought this was supposed to be a documentary about where she's from, and now she's sneaking out at night and filming all kinds of stuff that's not really her business, adding that he's trying to help her and not to make him regret it before walking away. In the next scene, we see townsfolk leaving in carriages. Margot comments that she doesn't know what happened to her mom, but she feels like the answers are in that church. Chris responds that they obviously left Sam behind to babysit them, so she tells him that they'll have to find a way to distract them. A moment later we see Sam prepping a horse for one of them to sit on it, asking who's first, and Marg encourages Dale to do it. And he does not look too thrilled about it. He looks as if he doesn't even want to do it. Dale climbs on it anyway, and Sam gives him the instructions, but then Marg tells him to have fun and taps the horse, causing it to take off running, with Dale still sitting on it. Sam immediately starts to give chase behind them but falls down. Chris tells her that she's wrong for that, and all she can say is go Dale. But now with Sam very much distracted, they can now go check out the church. Once inside, they notice this isn't a typical church setting. Margot asks where the pews are. She thought this was supposed to be a church. Margot points out that there's paintings on the ground and tells Chris that the painting kind of looks like the drawing that she saw in the attic. In the painting, there's an image of a demon-style looking entity in the name Asmodeus. I've also heard that it's not Asmode, it's not Asmodeus, it's Asmodeus. I did look this name up and found a few things that were interesting, but I'll get into that later. I can't dive into that portion without revealing too much too early. Anyway, the next painting shows a person kind of worshiping a slain animal, and underneath it it reads, We must stay vigilant. The next painting shows townsfolk attacking each other, and on this one it reads, For the evil spread amongst us. Chris moves over to another painting that shows a person more like a woman standing around dead bodies with the passage that reads, The young and the weak will suffer first. The next painting shows a hooded person with the leash tied to another person, and this passage reads Lest sacrifices be made. Off to the side, Margot finds a pulley handle attached to a wooden pole and up above them there's a large bell. Margot discovers a trail of blood leading to under the altar, and then they realize that the altar can be slid over, and in that moment they move the altar over, revealing a trapdoor. Once they've opened it, they see it's straight it's a straight drop, and Margot comments, so they just throw the dead ghost down there, but why? Maybe some sort of religious custom. She then drops a rock down just to see how deep it is, and it's pretty it's pretty deep, a big drop from the top to the bottom. She then says fuck it and puts on the harness from the pulley and begins her descent down, and on the way down, she starts to see crosses scattered on the walls. Margot reaches the bottom and while looking around, she starts panicking from the noises that she's hearing, so then she pleads for Chris to pull her back up. In the next scene, Margot tells Chris to listen to the footage and then he'll understand. Chris tells her that she could have hurt herself and that she scared the shit out of him, and that's all he's saying, but it needs to be recognized and acknowledged. Meanwhile, Dell is sitting with an ice pack on his shoulder because he fell off the horse. In the footage, a low growl is heard, and Margot asks if he heard it, commenting that there's something down there. Chris thinks it's an animal, and Dale responds that they're throwing goats down a mineshaft to feed an animal in a cave a hundred feet underground. Fuck those guys. The next text reads March 14, 2021. We see Dale and a few people pushing his van. Marg goes to Jacob's room to look for him, but he's not there. So she then goes inside and looks around but doesn't find anything. But then she notices his closet has a lock on it. She then goes downstairs and grabs a set of keys hanging up by the door. Once she's gained access to the closet, she finds a laptop, and on that laptop there's a picture of Margot along with a conversation, and as she searches the laptop, she finds more and more information, but it's soon interrupted when she hears voices approaching, so she rushes to return the keys. And as soon as she does, Jacob walks in asking if everything is okay. So she tells him, Yeah, she was feeling a little under the weather, but she's better now, and he responds, Good. Chris tells her that the battery to the van is totally dead. She comments that they've been watching her. Sam didn't leave the community to go find himself, he left to go find her. This whole thing has been a setup, so he comments to her to slow down. Now outside, Chris tells her that he thought they couldn't have computers, and Margot comments that the emails went back and forth for over a year, way before Sam contacted her. They knew where she lives. They had her address, they have pictures of her, they had her class schedule, and that they've been watching her. They brought them there for a reason. So Chris questions why would they do that? But she doesn't have that answer and she doesn't know. But she is freaking out and she tells Chris that she wants to go home. So Chris asks, How? They have no car and no phone, and there's no one around for 30 plus miles. You can see the disappointment in her face as she comments that this is so fucked. Chris assures her that tomorrow, first thing in the morning, they'll head into town and get a battery for the van. And the next scene, we see Margot wakes up visibly scared and frightened as there's several noises being heard around her, and when she looks around, she notices the bedroom door is sitting open. So she tries to wake Chris and Dale, but they are out cold and will not wake up. I could see one of them not waking up, but both. So it kind of begs to differ. Like, were they drugged? I mean, par they probably weren't, but still, to not be able to get both of them up is kind of strange. So as she continues trying to wake them, she looks out the window only to see people standing outside staring up at her window. She slowly approaches the door and stands in the doorway, but suddenly a loud, loud roar forces her to flee back into the room, slamming the door behind her, but it doesn't last long. An unseen force bursts through the door, knocking her over to the floor. She makes attempts to crawl towards the camera, and in true paranormal activity fashion, she is then lifted up into the air. Her screams become silent, but if you look closely, you can see someone is standing in the doorway whispering. In the next scene, we get a text that reads March 15th, 2021. We see Margot standing in front of the window, and Chris is trying to get her attention, but she's catatonic and unresponsive. But then Dale points out a puddle of blood on her sheets and on the floor leading up to where she's currently standing. And that's when they notice she has blood on her pants. So Chris is calling out to her, and while he's doing that, he sits the camera down, but is pointing upwards towards the ceiling. And we, the audience, can see the massive amount of blood that's on the ceiling, but Chris and Dale don't see it. A moment later, Marg is laid back down and an older woman comes out the room and tells them that she's resting again. Another man who also walks out of the room, Chris asks him what's wrong with her, and he answers that he thinks it's exhaustion coupled with an unusually high menstrual cycle. She lost a fair amount of blood, but she's going to be fine. Dale asks if they should take her to a hospital, so the guy tells him no, she doesn't need a hospital, she needs rest. Chris chimes in and questions if he's even a real doctor, but he annoyingly responds that he needs to just listen. He needs to let her get some rest, and if her condition worsens, they'll get her to a hospital. After he walks away, Del questions unusually strong menstrual cycle, and Chris asks if he believes that. Dell doesn't answer. My question is, how can they not see the blood stain on the ceiling? I can see standing under it and not really noticing it, but from the hallway, we can see it's on the ceiling, so how come they don't see it? A moment later, Dale and Chris are walking along the road in the middle of a snowstorm. Chris comments that it's stupid, nobody is coming, so Dell asks him if he has a better idea. He doesn't see any Amish auto parts around, so what else can they do? While walking, they finally see a car driving towards them, so they manage to flag him down and ask for a ride into town. So the driver tells them to hop in. While in the vehicle, we see that the driver is actually a mailman. He compliments the camera that Chris has and they tell him that they're shooting a documentary at the bailout farm. So he asks what the documentary is about, and they answer, Amish people. The driver asks if they're staying at the bailiff farm, and Chris tells him that they've been there for about a week filming, and the driver drops the bomb. The bailers aren't Amish. Chris argues that of course they are. The driver tells him, Yeah, okay. He's been working that route for over 40 years because, like I said, he's a mailman. He asks that he knows every family within a 50 square mile area, and most of them are Amish, and they all will tell them that the boy but the bailers aren't Amish. And the next scene, Chris and Dale are at the auto parts store looking for the battery. So the salesman doesn't have it on the shelf but tells them that he's going to go into the back to see if they have it. Chris asks if they can use the computer, and the salesman tells him to go ahead, but don't look up anything weird. Chris mentions to Dale maybe they shouldn't have left Margot, but then asking why would they pretend to be Amish? And Dale answers he doesn't know. Maybe hiding in plain sight, they look like them, they blend in. They're off the grid, and it's kind of a genius idea. So Chris asks, Why would they need to be Amish? What's the point in that? Chris tells Dale to search Asmodeus, Asmodeus, on the computer because that's the name that they found at the church. Dale read Asmodeus is the demonic prince of lust, suffering, and wrath. Asmodeus is the overlord of the nine hells, and he is the prince of demons. I did look this up and I throughout different literatures, Asmodeus is real, and within different literatures, he is a demon. And while doing my research, I found doing my research for this episode, I also saw a few comments that Toby from the first six films is Asmodeus. I couldn't find much info on it because I think this I think this is more so fan theories, and I think that for many reasons. One, Asmodeus is a real life thing, a real life demon. And Toby isn't. There is no demon named Toby. And Toby already achieved his goal of getting a physical form. So why would he be that? And three, Toby was named after a dog from one of the crew members or something like that. So Toby and Asmodius are not the same. Anyway, they all come. To the conclusion and tells Chris that he knew that these people were devil worshippers. He goes on to say the Norwegian village of the Beskater was beset by a pestilence, crops and livestock perished, neighbor turned against neighbor in an abhorrent acts of violence, the same stuff that was seen in the church. It was believed to be the work of the demon as Modius. In their desperation, the village turned to a white witch for help. It is said that the witch trapped the demon inside of a chosen woman of God, her body a holy vessel, vessel to ensure the powerful entity be kept at bay. Through her bloodline, from daughter to daughter, the demon Asmodeus be passed, lest it be unleashed upon the world. Dale comments that they trap they trap them inside the women's bodies. Chris responds, Witches, demons, those aren't real. But Dale argues, even if it's not real, they could still very well believe it. Think about it. Margot's mom runs off and she hides her, she hides her baby to keep her away from these cultures people. But they still find her somehow and they lure her back to do whatever this shit is to her. We cut to them arriving back with the battery. Dale tells Chris that he's gonna go deal with that and to meet him at the house just to go get Margot and get their shit so they can get the fuck out of there. Chris walks inside, but when he gets upstairs, one of the girls is in her doorway, and as Chris gets closer to her, she closed the door, locks it, and ignores him. He goes into the room that they're staying in, he calls off for Margot, telling her that it's time to go, but she and all of their stuff is gone. Chris turns around only to see Sam standing at the top of the stairs, so he asks, What the fuck is going on and where's Marg? At first he's ignoring Chris, but then he turns towards him, telling him that women are the most powerful creatures on earth, givers of life. That is why their sister bears that burden. They're the only ones strong enough to hold him back. Chris asks, What is he talking about? But then the bell from the church starts ringing, and Sam tells him that it's time. Stay behind locked doors and don't come out until the bell stops ringing, and then he runs off. Chris runs down to the kitchen and grabs a knife, and then runs out to the church, and when he gets inside, he sees the trapdoor is wide open, and Margot's screams can be heard from down below. Chris calls her name from up top, and as she continues screaming, suddenly Jacob comes from the corner holding a shotgun, telling Chris, don't try to stop it. Her body is the only thing that can hold the demon, and if it gets set free, he'll be able to possess anyone. Chris repeatedly tells him to put the gun down, and Jacob slowly continues walking towards him. Chris telling him, or telling Chris, the demon will jump from body to body and he will kill all of them. Chris asks, What are they doing to her? He then puts the camera down, urging Jacob to put the gun down. Jacob starts speaking in German, and then all of a sudden, a shot rings out, a struggle ensues between the two, and now Chris and Jacob are on the ground fighting. Jacob manages to get on top of Chris and puts a book on his throat and applies pressure in an attempt to suffocate him, cut off his hair. But Chris has the advantage and reaches for a large bracket that's on the ground from the pulley, and he smacks Jacob with it upside his head. And when he gets hit, Jacob rolls over and he falls over towards the hole and starts sliding in. Unable to grab onto anything, Jacob falls down a hole to his death. Chris puts on the harness and lowers himself into the hole in search of Marg. When he gets down there, he locates Margot laying on a board surrounded by water, while a woman dressed in the same outfit from one of the paintings is chanting over her body. Chris tells her to stop it repeatedly before finally throwing the woman off of her. As he tries to wake her, wake up Margot, the woman in a panic tries to fix a circle of salt that she had put down meant to protect her. Finally, Margot wakes up and the woman tells Chris that he doesn't know what he's doing. When suddenly a creature off to the side starts growling while sitting in a chair, catching all of their attention. Chris asks, What the fuck is that? and then telling Marg to run. As they start to run, the creature attacks and kills the woman, and it begins to soon chase after Chris and Margo, but it is chained up, so it can't reach them. It falls to the ground when it makes this attempt towards them. Just when they think there is no way back up, Dale comes to the rescue and calls down from them up above. Chris tells Dale that they're trapped down there and they need the harness. Dale drops the harness down there, so Chris sends Margo up first and then himself. Back up top, the three start to leave, but then suddenly they hear the pulley start working. Chris tries to stop it only to see the creature is now climbing up the wall. So Chris drops the camera and in the process of them getting to run it. We get this really cool slow motion shot of the demon climbing out of the hole. They all take off running into heavy snowfall, which limits their visibility and their sense of direction. They start looking around because now they are getting lost, but in the background, you can see the demon creature is right behind Dale, but he doesn't know it. And before they can do anything, the creature attacks Dale, throwing him to the ground, and then we get another cool slow mo slow motion shot of it ripping Dale either his jaw, jaw off, or his throat, effectively killing him. Poor Dale, R.I.P. man. He was a funny character. He didn't deserve that. Rest in peace, man. Margo and Chris have no choice but to keep running. They end up in a barn to hide since the creature is banging on the door trying to get in. All of the animals start to go off, drawing their attention to them, but it doesn't matter. The creature finds them, so they go and have behind stacks of hay. It's been quiet for a brief moment. So assuming it's safe, Chris peeks out only to come face to face with the creature, who then starts attacking him. Margot grabs a hook and demands it get off of him. So then only does it get her or does she get it attention, she calls it Sarah and it stops attacking Chris and redirects his attention towards her. Margot tells her, Sarah, to look at her, asking if she remembers her. It's her daughter. She's here now. But it doesn't last long because once she gets closer to Sarah, she swings the hook to stab Sarah in her neck. Sarah unfazed, tilts her head and then throws her down. And they're both fighting over the hole for the bell drop. And now Margo is hanging directly above it while Sarah is holding onto her legs and feet. So then finally, Marg gets the upper hand and she kicks she she kicks Sarah in the face, which obviously gets her to lose her grip. And Sarah falls down on the spikes and that kills her. Chris and Marg continue to escape. They finally reach the van, but then they soon realize the keys are with Dale. So they have to go back to his dead body and retrieve the keys, and which they do, and the bell from the church starts rapidly ringing. They make it back to the van, and the community is in an uproar. It's just utter chaos. There's all it's shit's crazy there. There are town folks on fire, walking on fire at that. They're killing each other, just like they said they would. All hell has broken loose. There's nothing but pure carnage, blood, fire, everything. So while trying to get the van started, townsfolk start attacking the van. One of them bursts through the window on the driver's side. Another one's on the other side trying to bang in. And just when he finally gets it started, he goes drive off, speeding and bursting through the doors. There's a townsman right there with a gun, and he fires a shot but misses. And Chris basically runs him over. So as they're driving through the community, they finally get to the entrance or out to the main road, and Margo lets out this blood-curdling scream. Like it's kind of reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre when the girl was in the back of the truck laughing. But this one, Margo is screaming and she just looks horrified. And the next scene, we see a police officer arrive on scene requesting additional units because there's dead bodies all over the place. And at this time, there's no activity. So I'm assuming that everybody is dead. So they all killed each other. Even the livestock itself are dead as well. So as the officer searches the property, he starts to hear a baby crying in the distance. So he he tracks the sound to the barn, and as the officer approaches, he sees a shirtless man, and you would assume that he has the baby, but as he's standing up, the noises slightly change, and that's when the officer realizes that the noise was coming from the man. So the officer demands that he show his hands, and when he turns around, we see that it's Sam. He slowly puts his hands down and tilts his head, and we then see the officer lower his gun, but then out of nowhere, he forces the officer to shoot himself in the head and then walks out of the barn. Another officer arrives and sees Sam walking out of the barn, so he tries to stop him, and Sam does the same exact thing to him and makes the officer shoot himself in the head. Sam gets in that officer's car and turns off the dispatch radio and turns on the radio. Hello darling by Loretta Lynn starts playing and the movie ends. That's it. That is your paranormal activity next of Ken. And that is a wrap on our coverage of the Paranormal Activity franchise. Before we move on to rankings, I have a few quick notes to go over with you. Shortly after the release of this film, the eighth and final installment of this franchise was greenlit, and it was going to be titled Paranormal Activity, The Other Side. And it was going to tell the story of four young friends who moved into Katie and Christie's childhood home only to discover its gruesome past. And was also meant it was also meant to address the fire that destroyed the home that was mentioned and the you know the other entries. This film was to be set in the 90s, the early 90s. Paranormal Activity 3 was set in 1988, and the fire happened either in 1992 or maybe 1994. I can't really remember, but it definitely would have been within that window. Jason Blum himself has said that he hated this film, he thought it was absolutely terrible, and he was already ready to move on from this franchise. So due to how poorly this movie did, it helped him close the door on the franchise. And as of right now, I looked around. There are no plans to add another entry, there's no plans to continue to reboot or remake. So paranormal activity in itself is finally done. I have a quick ranking of my favorite from favorite to least favorite. And it goes Paranormal Activity 3. That honestly was the best in the franchise. So then Paranormal Activity 2, which was it was good in itself. I liked it. The marked ones loved it. The marked ones definitely was a good, solid entry. Of course, the OG, the the first one, but then the ghost dimension. The ghost dimension was sloppy. It was all over the place. It's slightly entertaining, but all in all, it's just not a good movie. I'm just going to keep it a buck with you. Trying a whole 3D thing, just completely, you know, it just it ruined it. And being able to see the actual activity takes away from the effectiveness from the first three. Because again, the unseen is usually more frightening than the scene. That's just how it goes. But anyway, after Ghost Dimension, I'll go ahead and inside with Next of Ken. It was slightly entertaining, but yes, itself, the storyline was it was stupid. It was just horrible. But I have that above Paranormal Activity 4. Paranormal Activity 4 is the it's it's it's horrible. They all have a slow burn, but this one just like really drags it on. It's just not a good movie, to my opinion. Paranormal Activity 4 is a lot of people's least favorite. Um so yeah, but that's that. So with that being said, again, this is it for our coverage of this franchise. So, ladies and gentlemen, this is it for this week's episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review andor five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean.com. It helps us reach more horror fans like you. A good way for us to interact would be on Instagram and TikTok at Chills and Thrills Podcasts, or on Twitter slash X at Chills and Thrill, or even via email, chills and thrills podcast at gmail.com. In closing, as Ghostface always asks, what's your favorite scary review? Because next week we'll be reviewing your next nightmare. Until then, see you next week.