Paranormal Activity 2

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!

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.

A couple become increasingly disturbed by Paranormal Activity in their home that maybe linked to their an infant son. His teenage half-sister against their father wish tries to uncover the truth.

This sequel /prequel contains some quality direction by Tod Williams who takes over the reigns for this instalment. With the usage of static security camera's and some thought out camera work it gives P2 a slight edged and a grander film quality over it's predecessor. However, the jump out sound moments aside the sound effects and design appear less creepy this time around.

The whole cast are fantastic. The acting is plausible and natural by the leads, notably Molly Ephraim who plays the inquisitive everyday daughter and Vivis Cortez as the 'help'. Those with young children and pets will be left a little more disturbed by this follow up and fans of the first will be pleased by Katie and Micah's return.

Sadly, for the most part its purpose is to build up to a big scare at the end. Again it's simply another story told through the eyes of a camera lenses and the writers inject some unnecessary connections and exposition to the goings on which takes away some of the mysteries random edge.

It's nearly 15 years since the 'The Blair Witch Project' used the camera point of view and while Paranormal Activity 2 looks better than the first it goes over the same old formula.

If you enjoyed and were scared by 1st you'll be blown away by Paranormal Activity 2. Yet, old school haunted house fans maybe left less chilled and thrilled.

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.