'Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones' releases first trailer

(UPI) -- The trailer for "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" was released Thursday.

The fourth installment of the Paranormal Activity saga was directed by Christopher Landon, who wrote the three previous Paranormal movies, and it repeats the franchise's shaky-shots format. In "The Marked Ones" the characters are searching the house of a recently deceased woman.

The film centers on protagonist Jesse -- played by Andrew Jacobs -- who is "marked" and begins to be pursued by dark forces while his family and friends try to save him.

"The Marked Ones" hits theaters in January of 2014.