The first one was a pop culture sensation that came out of nowhere to shock, scare and entertain us, but we can see this one coming. Does that mean Paranormal Activity 2 will suffer the same ignominy as the follow ups to other overnight sensations like The Blair Witch Project 2 and My Big Fat Greek Wedding the TV show?It's August 2006, and Daniel and Kristi are a married couple raising a little boy, and Daniel's teen daughter from a previous marriage, Ali. All is the picture of suburban domestic bliss in this Carlsbad, California town, until the family starts to hear bumps in the night.
And, pots and pans start falling off hooks.
And, the dog starts growling at stuff that isn't there, while vigilantly defending the baby's room.
And ... you get the picture.
What is in the house?
What does it want?
While the creative team behind Paranormal Activity 2 has changed from the first movie, director Todd Williams and writer Michael Perry follow the same formula, with mixed results.
Just like in the first one, the family has set up a bunch of security cameras to track the strange happenings around their home, which keeps the audience on edge, constantly scanning the screen for out of the ordinary happenings and indications that the evil forces are getting ready to shock us. Sometimes, we are rewarded with a good scare. Other times, the audience is left wondering when the action is going to kick in.
That's my biggest complaint about Paranormal Activity 2. The audience is left waiting too long for the big horror events to happen. Yes, Perry and Williams do a decent job escalating the danger, but it could escalate a bit quicker. Also, they toss in a bunch of little clues and hints that seem important, but don't get a great deal of exploration.
However, Paranormal Activity 2 is a good movie because of the last 20 minutes (which are full of the action the audience wants) and the biggest, most important decision made by the creative team. Stop reading now if you don't want to know an important fact about the movie that is revealed early on in Paranormal Activity 2.
Are you ready?
Paranormal Activity 2 is not a sequel. It's a prequel. Yes, Micah and Katie show up in a brilliant twist that makes Paranormal Activity 2 tie in with the first and helps it stay true to the first (and, before you get all angry at me, the actress who plays Katie is listed on the IMDB.com cast list, she is in the commercials and trailers and the studio released footage of her in the movie.).
I have to admit, it might be the only way Paranormal Activity 2 could have broken free of the preconception that it was a silly attempt at capitalizing and profiting from the first without any legitimacy. It's too bad the studio behind it (Paramount) did everything possible to foster those preconceptions by hiding it from critics and media until it was too late for most of us to talk about the film.
Paranormal Activity 2 is not as groundbreaking as the original, and it does set up a possible sequel, but it is much better than I thought it would be.
2 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Paranormal Activity 2 is rated R for some language and brief violent material.
Just like in the first one, the family has set up a bunch of security cameras to track the strange happenings around their home, which keeps the audience on edge, constantly scanning the screen for out of the ordinary happenings and indications that the evil forces are getting ready to shock us. Sometimes, we are rewarded with a good scare. Other times, the audience is left wondering when the action is going to kick in.
That's my biggest complaint about Paranormal Activity 2. The audience is left waiting too long for the big horror events to happen. Yes, Perry and Williams do a decent job escalating the danger, but it could escalate a bit quicker. Also, they toss in a bunch of little clues and hints that seem important, but don't get a great deal of exploration.
However, Paranormal Activity 2 is a good movie because of the last 20 minutes (which are full of the action the audience wants) and the biggest, most important decision made by the creative team. Stop reading now if you don't want to know an important fact about the movie that is revealed early on in Paranormal Activity 2.
Are you ready?
Paranormal Activity 2 is not a sequel. It's a prequel. Yes, Micah and Katie show up in a brilliant twist that makes Paranormal Activity 2 tie in with the first and helps it stay true to the first (and, before you get all angry at me, the actress who plays Katie is listed on the IMDB.com cast list, she is in the commercials and trailers and the studio released footage of her in the movie.).
I have to admit, it might be the only way Paranormal Activity 2 could have broken free of the preconception that it was a silly attempt at capitalizing and profiting from the first without any legitimacy. It's too bad the studio behind it (Paramount) did everything possible to foster those preconceptions by hiding it from critics and media until it was too late for most of us to talk about the film.
Paranormal Activity 2 is not as groundbreaking as the original, and it does set up a possible sequel, but it is much better than I thought it would be.
2 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Paranormal Activity 2 is rated R for some language and brief violent material.
Works well with its scares, and great deal of suspense. Almost better than the first, but yet, too rushed by the end. Nice post, check out my review when you can!
what did the letters "mels" mean that was written on the basement door? also i agree about too rushed by the ending, but i really did like the movie it had me at the edge of my seat the whole time