Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole Ashland
Markus Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Rated R for some language and brief violent material (should have held a PG-13 rating).
With somewhat more advanced visual scare tactics mixed with a larger, more compelling cast of characters (the inclusion of a small child and a dog); “Paranormal Activity 2” is a slightly more intriguing version than its predecessor. That may be all you needed to hear in order to make your decision on whether to spend over twenty dollars to see this film (meaning two tickets) or not. Not to say that the movie is so scary you should not go alone, because it’s not; I’m saying that you will need to by two tickets because this is a horror “date night” movie (guys, you know what I mean).
One sentence recap of the first “Paranormal Activity”; SPOILER ALERT: Micah and wife Katie (if you need help here, Micah is the boy) are newlyweds and for some reason Katie is hounded and then possessed by a demon…or something, that starts doing a whole lot of paranormal stuff (aka moving furniture and making footstep noises and killing people).
“Paranormal Activity 2” picks up months prior to the first film, following the sister of the woman (Katie) in the first film and her family as they welcome a newborn child into their two story home (a two story home is very important in movies like these). With the appearance of said child, comes the unwelcome appearance of a demon, who begins to wreak havoc in the house aka: moving furniture and making footstep noises. Thinking that these odd happenings are burglars, the family decides to put security cameras all throughout the house, but what those cameras capture are way more horrifying than what anybody had in mind.
Some audiences will not like “Paranormal Activity 2” for one simple reason, the “Blair Witch Project” syndrome: “The first one was good because it was a new and fresh idea, but the second one feels like a replay/spin-off of the first and in turn loses its uniqueness.” For those who say that, I believe there is something to be said for building onto an idea that may have been unique years ago to make it fresh again for a new audience (and NO, I am not talking about the God awful remakes of 80’s slasher films). With all of the same sudden loud bangs and unexplained movement of furniture the first film brought you, “Paranormal Activity 2” raises the bar by incorporating larger, more aggressive scare tactics as well as incorporating a baby, a dog and more violence, which are always crowd pleasers. There are definitely some visually stunning paranormal scares, which set the sequel apart from its predecessor. For some this will be the scariest film of the year and for others “Paranormal Activity 2” will be yet another reason why they will not purchase a two story house in today’s market (because demons have an affinity for stairs, duh). That could be the reason why demons never haunt apartments. I’m getting off topic….
Final Thought: This is nothing more than a fun movie. Not a movie with huge depth, but a movie where the audience is screaming and talking to the screen telling the girl not to go into the room when obviously the girl cannot hear them (if this annoys you, wait for DVD). This is a movie that plays off of the fears of being home alone, swearing you closed that front door. This is a movie that, despite popular belief, children under six should not be subjected to if you (as a parent) value sleeping at night without little Timmy or Tania’s knee in your back the entire night. I know you have that business presentation tomorrow morning, but you chose to take your child to see “Paranormal Activity 2” last night and scare the living bejesus out of him/her. Anyways, if you enjoyed the first “Paranormal Activity” or still believe this crap is real, go see this movie!
