10 Bad Movies That Killed Great Horror Franchises

7. Paranormal Activity 4

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation Renee Zellweger Matthew McConaughey
Paramount Pictures

If Paranormal Activity would have been capped at three movies, we could be looking at one of the all-time great horror trilogies. Instead, the franchise limped on for four further pictures, with another believed to be in early development.

To be fair, 2014's Latino spin-off The Marked Ones had some promise, but interest in the IP had long soured by that point. And so much of said souring was thanks to the awful Paranormal Activity 4.

Picking up after the events of Paranormal Activity 2 - PA3 serving as a prequel, of course - this fourth offering centres on the Nelson family and the spooky happenings going on at their home. Coincidentally, this just so happens shortly after Katie and "Robbie" (actually Katie's kidnapped nephew, Hunter) move into the area.

Paranormal Activity 4 tries to make things a little different by having teens leading the investigation into these strange shenanigans, including the use of webcams to try and capture this action, but PA4 just falls totally flat. This is a film that doesn't really bring anything particularly new to the franchise, yet simultaneously does offer up some answers to what's been seen in prior movies. All in a painfully dull way, though.

Given the cheap cost to make these films, the Paranormal Activity franchise has continued to make major profits - a nearly $900 million box office from a combined budget of less than $30 million - but wider interest in the series dropped dramatically after Paranormal Activity 4.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.