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”.