I walked into this movie, locked and loaded to ridicule. This is the fifth installment in a franchise that I despise, and a cash cow that keeps feeding itself into the grinder and sieve, all the while lacking the sense of preservation and decency that make us want to see another day. I like to imagine an old abattoir converted into a bordello, so willing to whore itself morally that all the Dateline specials and UV lights in the world could never expose the whole truth. Floors covered in dirty money and the stickiness of shame that . . .

Oh, sorry. I was getting off track. I don’t really like this franchise. But I actually liked this one.

Following their graduation (and the acquisition of a new camera), three high-school friends discover that the neighbor below their apartment was practicing brujeria on young women. After a few deaths and an unfortunate exploration, the teens realize that one of their own become possessed by more than just the spirit of curiosity, and they get caught up in a web of witchcraft. Can he be saved in time, or is it too late for the group of friends?

Looking at the overall narrative of the Paranormal Activity franchise is a big mistake here, and the alarm of that information is loudest with The Marked Ones. And since it is only toward the end of the film that numero cinco ties into the rest, treat this movie for what it is: a completely disposable piece of fun. It’s a quick jaunt through a haunted house that will more than likely fall apart if you stick around for too long.

Otherwise, there are too many missed opportunities (yet again) to justify seeing the film.