Paranormal Activity 2

If you liked the original Paranormal Activity, you'll like this one. Myself, I was not really that impressed with the original, and I liked this one quite a bit better. The mood and creepiness was pretty intense at times.

It is NOT just a remake of the original movie, as some would have you think. Yes, it uses that format, and follows it pretty closely, but does it better and takes it a few steps farther. Just because it uses the same format doesn't mean it is the same movie. That is like saying all 'Cop' movies or all 'Buddy Pictures' are the same, just because they also follow the same format.

If you saw the first movie, you will recognize everything that is happening here, but that doesn't decrease the sense of dread and hair-raising-on-the-back-of-your-neck scariness. Instead, I think it will increase your enjoyment as you watch things develop. Talk about things that go 'bump in the night!' And sometimes in the daytime, too! I thought this movie was more intense than the original, and it helps to put the original into a context, and makes more sense out of it all.

Is it a perfect movie? No, but show me a perfect movie. They all could be better in SOME way, and this is no exception, but I think it is a pretty darn good movie, and worth the time.

Oh, I should also tell you kind of "Where I'm coming from." I LOVE a good horror movie. I LIKE to be scared. But I hate slasher, torture, vicious movies or movies that get too overt about hurting people. Give us something we can feel, something we are afraid of, but don't make us sick. I think Paranormal Activity 2 is just my kind of horror movie.

I love a good horror story, and the premise behind this is a good one- that the sins of the "Father" may be paid for by the "Son." There are strange occurrences in the household, including the house being trashed during a supposed break in. This prompts the installation of video cameras with recorders to record events in and outside of the house. The daughter stumbles across something on the internet suggesting that there may be a demon in the house. This is seconded by the nanny, who senses an evil presence. Sounds like a kind of scary premise, right? Well, that's about it- the premise is never developed. While We learn that the mother and her sister experienced "Disturbances" when they were growing up- we never learn what was the nature of them, only that they do not talk about them. We never learn if there was an ancestor that made a "Deal with the devil," it is brought up and suggested and the movie fleshed out with that premise just accepted. However, it is never explored in any way- and that really makes the plot WEAK.

I know it will seem a cheap shot but I will make it anyway- on the cast listing on IMDD the camera installer man is listed at the top. He gave perhaps the most solid performance of any of the actors and actresses, so perhaps it was meant that way.

Three stars is my rating- a good premise developed with a weak plot and mediocre acting only goes so far. The sad part is that this could have been so good, and so frightening. My gut tells me, like other reviewers have mentioned, that this was a rush job to capitalize on the first movie, and not an attempt at a good, memorable movie- as it is not.

Saw the movie today. Only a handful of people in the theatre but it was a 2:30 show.

Here goes......... I had some mixed feelings about PA2. I would sum it up as not quite good enough.

It's a decent flick but can't measure up to the original with the scares or the ending. Actually for me, the ending felt somewhat rushed and just wasn't that scary. Disturbing, yes. Scary? No. And the pace was a tad slow at times.

The film does in my opinion, an excellent job actually, at establishing the introduction of the characters and very nicely ties in the events of this film with PA though there are some unanswered questions.

Why if Katie's sister is having problems with things going all "paranormal" doesn't Katie then mention this while talking about it to Micah when filming during their paranormal events. And how did that burnt pic get into their attic? But I digress.

I had mixed reactions to the explaining as it were, of the demon's intent and motives outlined by the one of the character that actually uses their brain in this movie and does some investigative work.

I thought it an interesting twist that nicely tied the events of both movies through the obviously frustrated demon and ultimately using Katie to get the job done though it had some help from one character that ultimately involves betrayal. People should be talking about this.

One major nitpick?

The slow buildup up in tension never comes close to delivering anything to what PA did and I really let down with the general lack of overall good scare moments and just how few and far between the great ones there were.

I was hugely disappointed with this. My biggest nitpick of the movie.

The best ones take place in the kitchen and with the daughter on the couch. That entire sequence in the basement where the mother takes the baby, was annoying and fell flat. Not going to lie to you, that second kitchen scare got me though.

One of the few truly, good scare moments.

Also, the the scene with the daughter sleeping on the couch is another. Why, oh why, couldn't they have had more scenes like this? What she experienced was genuinely creepy. I just wished they had more of these types of scares throughout the movie.

It would have been brilliant. And what was the deal with the demon and the basement?

Unlike others, I found the acting was just fine in my books. I saw nothing that indicated lousy, unconvincing acting for the most part. Just a couple of parts that felt forced.

But for all the hype, I still walked away thinking that despite a great job of tying in the events and the overlap between both movies, that it felt like they struggled to come up with something fresh to scare us with this time.

And how can they possibly do a third PA with what happened at the end and the fate of several of the characters? Who gets haunted next?

The movie is going to be successful and I did enjoy most of it despite my nitpicks but still...... They dropped the ball somewhat.

Six months before Katie and Micah are terrorised by a demonic force in their own home (as documented in Paranormal Activity), Katie's sister Kristi (Sprague Grayden) and her family suffer from a series of similar terrifying supernatural occurrences that appear to be focused around toddler Hunter.

Having recently watched the first Paranormal Activity, I was keen to discover what new tricks the film-makers had devised to ensure that the prequel remained fresh and unpredictable. In short: they hadn't! With the exception of some preposterous exposition in an effort to link the plot of Paranormal Activity 2 with events in the original, the format of this film is virtually identical to the first, only a lot more monotonous.

Once again, the action consists of spliced together video footage, primarily from the series of security cameras installed in Kristi's luxurious home after an apparent break in, but also from the hand-held camera belonging to her teenage stepdaughter Ali (Molly Ephraim). As the supernatural events escalate, Ali desperately tries to convince her sceptical father Daniel (Brian Boland) that something is terribly wrong in their home (apart from the fact that the parents let an Alsation sleep in the baby's room and haven't installed stair gates!).

For much of the time Paranormal Activity 2 feels like the cinematic equivalent of a Where's Wally book, only instead of wasting time searching for a bespectacled man in a stripy outfit, the idea is to try and spot almost imperceptible movement in an otherwise seemingly static environment, the most likely result of which will be eye-strain rather than abject terror.

After much unspectacular supernatural malarkey, the malevolent demon finally musters up the energy to make more than a baby's mobile rotate slowly or a saucepan fall off a hook and delivers some genuinely effective scares (accompanied by very loud noises to wake up those who might have dozed off), but when all is said and done, this second movie is far too similar to its predecessor to be considered a worthwhile follow-up.

4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

The audience jumped, and begged for it to be less scary. A really fun night out that must be seen in a cinema, otherwise you're just a big scaredy-cat.

I purposely avoided trailers for this because I didn't want any of the story spoiled and I can safely say I wasn't disappointed. Top notch acting, especially the younger sister - I hope we see more of her on the big screen in future.

The original is better but this is a class act too and some very spooky moments.

One scare in particular is worth the ticket price alone.

Go see it!