Paranormal Activity/YMMV

• Accidental Aesop: For no. 2: Never foist your problems on your in-laws.
• Complete Monster: The demon, of course.
  • The grandmother in the third film tortures and kills her own daughter, sets it so so that her two granddaughters are also tortured and killed, and also intended to give either her grandson or great-grandson to the demon. All of this just for a get-rich-quick scheme.
• Hell Is That Noise: This is a large part of what the demon does in the film. It spends most of the film just fucking around with Katie and Micah until the last 20 minutes or so when the demon decides to go for full-blown Nightmare Fuel.
  • The ambient rumbling noise that always accompanies the demon.
  • AAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGG! MICAH!! MICAAAAAHHHHHH!! AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGG--
  • Some viewers found the cutoff end of the scream and the span of time before the final scene scarier than the scream itself.
  • In an early jump scene, the protagonists listen carefully after Katie thinks she hears something. After a few moments of dead silence, there is what can only be described as an extended scream, followed by a massive thump. Bricks were duly shat.
  • The sequel manages to do this with a children's toy.
  • And let us not forget: during the day in the second movie you get about a minute of silence before everything in the kitchen flings open and falls
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks: An already common criticism of Paranormal Activity 2 is that it too frequently uses familiar scenes from the first movie.
  • It might be justified, though, since it's almost certainly the same demon at work, with the two movies taking place within a very short span of time.
• Jerkass Woobie: Micah.
• Nightmare Retardant: Although the movie is quite terrifying, close examination of its premise actually leaves quite a bit of hope for the viewer: Any evidence of demonic possession in your family? No? You're free, go out and enjoy life! Not that it helps much when you're trying to sleep, of course.
• Paranoia Fuel: The movies are basically engineered to play on fears of odd noises in your house at night.
• The Woobie: Ali. First her parents don't believe her when scary things begin to happen, one day her stepmother wakes up acting like a cross between a wolf and a serial killer. Then, oh, things are looking up! No horror for three weeks! Until you come home to find your family brutally murdered.
  • Any heroic dog in a horror movie is almost contractually obligated to be the most sympathetic character in the movie. Hence, Abbey. But thankfully she lived.
  • Dennis in the third film. He did cared for his stepdaughters and wife and wanted to find out about the demon and save his family. Yet his wife dies in front of him and is killed by his mother-in-law. All while trying to save his stepdaughters.
  • Kristi. The events of 2 and 3 would have been prevented had they just listened to her. Also, Dan (in the second) and Katie (in the third) are mean to her for little reason.
  • Katie.