Once Paranormal Activity became a hit in 2009, the studio cranked out sequels at a brisk pace. From 2010’s Activity 2 to 2015’s Ghost Dimension, we got five more entries in the franchise.

Though those all made money, the series went dormant for six years. Paranormal Activity finally returned with 2021’s Next of Kin.

Margot’s (Emily Bader) mother abandoned her as a baby. This leaves her curious about her past, and after she digs around the Internet, she discovers an Amish relative named Samuel (Henry Ayres-Brown).

Along with cameraman Chris (Roland Buck III) and soundman Dale (Dan Lippert), Margot attempts a documentary about this topic and visits the Amish community where her mother lived. Along the way, she finds some dark and potentially terrifying secrets.

With an emphasis on “potentially”, as the prior Activity movies rarely mustered actual scares. They generally showed moody creepiness punctuated by the occasional boo moment.

One shouldn’t expect that format to alter with Kin, as it seems pretty locked into the formula. Actually, it feels more like a “real feature film” than usual, which Kin attempts to excuse via the presence of the documentary crew.

This doesn’t work, as the end result lacks the desired “found footage” vibe. Unlike genre pioneer Blair Witch Project - which also focused on the efforts of a small group of filmmakers – too much of Kin seems “composed” and without the standard “you are there” vibe.

Admittedly, camera technology has improved immeasurably since 1999, so amateurs or semi-professionals can generate more film-like material than would’ve been the case 23 years ago. Nonetheless, for “found footage” to work, it needs a rough-hewn vibe that Kin often lacks – and lacks to its detriment, as we don’t necessarily buy the premise.

Kin also seems more like a traditional movie because it sports music. Granted, it lacks much score, but those snatches arise, and they further take us away from the “found footage” motif.

Even without these stylistic concerns, Kin sputters because it fails to find a compelling story. It telegraphs creepy moments and potential scares at every turn and can’t find anything clever to do with its basic plot.

I can’t count how many “creepy cult” horror movies we’ve gotten over the decades, and the “found footage” conceit doesn’t become enough to separate Kin from the pack. While it attempts some twists along the way, it can’t come up with the inspiration and creativity it needs to become a compelling tale.

I’m glad the Paranormal Activity franchise eventually broadened from its original characters – the focus of the first four – into an anthology concept. However, as demonstrated by Kin, the end result remains a dull, tedious stab at horror.

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The format restricted the image’s capabilities, but it usually looked pretty good.

Home video technology grew a lot over the decade-plus between the first film and this one, and that meant obvious improvements in quality. Sharpness benefited, as most of the movie looked pretty accurate and concise, with soft spots mainly during low-lit scenes.

Jaggies and shimmering became minimal, and I saw no edge haloes. The inevitable video noise crept into low-light bits, but other source defects failed to appear.

Whereas earlier films offered hues that matched what one would expect from “found footage”, Kin instead pushed for Hollywood Teal and Orange. That impacted the movie’s verisimilitude, but the disc depicted the colors as intended.

Blacks could lean a little inky but usually came across pretty well. Shadows were murky but that was a reflection of the source. Overall, this felt like a perfectly appropriate image – well, outside of the questionable color grading.

Like other entries in the franchise, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Kin largely remained low-key. Ambience ruled the day, though weather and some scare/violent moments managed to use the spectrum in a more dynamic manner.

These remained infrequent. For the most part, the track stayed with subdued elements and didn’t create an especially immersive experience.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that seemed natural and concise. A smidgen of score appeared and those elements appeared well-rendered, brief as they were.

Effects came across as accurate and full. This never turned into a memorable track, but it worked for the movie.

In terms of extras, we get seven Deleted Scenes. These span a total of 26 minutes, 13 seconds.

Most of these extend existing sequences or add minor character bits, so don’t expect much of real interest. A couple of additional creepy segments add marginal value, though.

An “Alternate Ending” gives the finale a different vibe. I can’t claim it works better but it offers a true variation.

After a six year break, the Paranormal Activity franchise resumed with Next of Kin. That time off didn’t rejuvenate the series, though, so expect another film long on tedium and low on inspiration from Kin. The Blu-ray comes with appropriate picture and audio as well as a collection of cut sequences. This becomes a forgettable tale.

Note that as of October 2022, the Next of Kin Blu-ray appears only as part of a seven-film “Paranormal Activity: Ultimate Chills Collection”. This also includes the first six Activity movies as well as an exclusive documentary called “Unknown Dimension”.