Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin Plot Synopsis
If you’re ever interested in checking out your family history, you might want to curb the temptation to visit long-lost relatives if they are anything like the people in this movie.
Margot (Emily Bader) quickly regrets her decision to learn more about her family after her cousin Samuel gets in touch with her. She learns the mother who abandoned her as a child came from an Amish community and upon visiting the farm in which her relatives live, she discovers far more about them and her mother than she ever wanted to.
There are surprises in store for Margot and her travelling companions, Dale and Chris, and their stay on the farm is far from a pleasant one. Samuel is in for a surprise too and as the movie concludes, it is clear something isn’t right with him.
Keep reading to learn more about this chilling new entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise.
Are Margot’s relatives pleased to see her?
After Samuel reaches out to Margot on a family ancestry website, she is keen to visit Amish country to visit her biological family. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get the warm welcome she expects when Jacob, the family patriarch, turns Margot and her friends away upon their arrival.
However, it’s not long before he changes his mind and invites everybody back for a stay on the farm. Margot’s room is shabby and cobweb-infested but she still manages to tell Jacob how nice it is while lying through her teeth.
The people of the community, including members of Margot’s family, are distrusting of these outsiders at first. This is partly because of the GoPro camera that Chris constantly carries around with him to document their trip as technology is a big no-no within the community. However, the farmland folk quickly become more accepting and Margot and her friends do what they can to fit in with the traditions of the people around them.
Unfortunately, things go downhill for Margot and her friends after she makes a surprising discovery about her mother Sarah.
What does Margot discover about her mother?
After a few days of exploring the farm, during which time Margot almost falls to her death through a hole in the barn, she has an encounter with a young girl. The child tells Margot “she is still here,” ominous words that later clue Margot into the fact that her mother might still be alive.
Before she comes face to face with her ‘mother,’ Margot seeks answers from her family about her mom. She finds out Sarah had been cast out of the community after having sex out of wedlock and becoming pregnant with her.
Margot also finds a letter written by Sarah to her family. Within the letter, Sarah calls the community “a sick cult” and tells them they can’t have her baby.
We later learn Sarah eventually handed the child to a family outside of town, presumably to keep the little girl safe.
These discoveries are surprising for Margot but there are further shocks to come.
What else does Margot discover?
Margot and her friends explore the nearby woods and end up at an old church. They try to gain entry but then Jacob arrives and warns them against doing so.
At this point, they leave the church and head back to the farmhouse with Jacob. But the next day, Dale distracts Samuel by agreeing to horse riding lessons while Margot and Chris return to the church.
After making their way inside, they discover strange symbols on the floor which indicate some kind of sacrificial ritual. One of the symbols has the word Asmodeus written on it. This name refers to the prince of demons and it later becomes apparent that the community have been making sacrifices to this evil spirit.
Margot and Chris then discover a deep well underneath the rectory. Chris lowers Margot down but after spotting crosses on the walls of the well and hearing strange sounds from down below, she is spooked and asks Chris to lift her out of the hole.
Back at the farmhouse, Margot continues to investigate the possible strange goings-on and finds a laptop in Jacob’s closet. After examining the emails on this, she learns Samuel had been sent out to bring her to the farm for an as-yet undisclosed reason.
The laptop is evidence that the community are not Amish and this is confirmed when Margot and her friends later hitch a ride with a mailman and discovers her family are not who she thought they were.
Who are Margot’s family?
It turns out that Margot’s family are the last line of defence against the demon Asmodeus. We learn the women of the family have to be sacrificed to contain the beast in the well and that Sarah had hidden Margot away so she could escape this terrible fate.
We then learn that Margot was lured to the farm by Samuel so she could take her place as the next keeper of the demon. As is revealed when the demon escapes from the pit, the current keeper is Sarah, although due to her demonic form, she looks nothing like the mother that Margot had seen in pictures.
Unfortunately, there is no time for a family reunion with Sarah as the demon is in full possession of her. When it emerges from the pit, everybody’s life is in danger.
Do Margot and her friends escape the demon?
Chris finds Margot unconscious in the pit and about to be sacrificed to Asmodeus. He is able to rescue her but by breaking the ritual, the demon is released from its shackles.
After climbing out of the well, the friends flee for their lives but Asmodeus catches up with Dale and kills him.
Chris and Margot manage to get to the car, only to find the keys are on Dale’s body. After retrieving the keys, they manage to get back to the car but not before witnessing the carnage around them as Asmodeus turns neighbour against neighbour.
The last we see of Margot is her terrified face screaming from inside the vehicle. We don’t quite know what she sees as the picture blacks out and the next thing we see is footage coming from a police car that is arriving on the scene.
What happens to Samuel?
When the police arrive on the scene, they hear the sound of a baby crying in the barn. Upon investigation, one of the officers discovers the sound is coming from Samuel. However, Margot’s cousin is no longer the man he once was. With no woman to possess, Asmodeus has taken over Samuel’s body.
The creature disposes of the police officers by making them kill themselves with a gunshot to the head. Using Samuel as its vessel, it then gets into the police car and drives away, presumably to unleash hell on earth.
Is Margot dead?
We don’t know if Margot and Chris make it out alive but it can be assumed that they do. If this is the case, Margot, as the only remaining woman in the family, could be the only person to stop Asmodeus from causing worldwide devastation.
Unless a sequel happens, we will never know. One thing is for sure though – if she is alive, she will certainly think twice about a family reunion if the demon-possessed Samuel later reaches out to her from another website!
Read More: Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin Movie Review
Thanks Stephen, I appreciate your kind feedback.
Lee
Just watched this, best review by a mile
I didn’t pick up on that but thanks Craig, I really appreciate your help with this one.
If you pause the video just as the van breaks out of the barn, the camera shows a glimpse of the rear seats which shows what looks like the creatures head. Maybe the creature was in the van with them?