REVIEW: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2

Paranormal Activity 2 is a movie I was very skeptical about when it was first announced. Not to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen the first, but nothing about it really suggested there needed to be a sequel. I’m happy to say that Paranormal Activity 2 actually works and it delivers the scares.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot cause it’s more fun to figure it out as it goes along. I will say that it follows a family of 4 as they have strange activity going on in their house. Fans of the first will enjoy how the plot of this movie ties into the events of the first.

The scares in this movie are numerous and enjoyable. My main problem with the first is that dragged pretty much until the third act. The $3 million budget, as opposed to $15,000 budget of the first, allows the films scares to be a bit more creative and frequent. The film still employs the “what you can’t see, scares you” tactic of the first and it’s still as effective. The movie does reuse some of the sequences from the first but that doesn’t make them any less creepy.

The only problem with this movie is it’s similarity to the first movie. They feel as if they’re two pieces to the same puzzle. The scares are similar, the camera style is similar, and the plots are similar. The only difference is who is being terrorized. This doesn’t ruin the movie or make it any less enjoyable but for those looking to see something drastically different from the first, you may be disappointed.

The acting in the movie is very believable. Paramount has yet to release the names of the cast so I’ll refer to them by their character names. Daniel, the dad, is the comic relief and skeptic of the movie. He’s both funny and also irritating when he refuses to believe what is going on around him. Kristy, the mother, pretty much plays the role of Katie in the first film. She’s legitimately freaked out when all the demon stuff begins to happen. Ariel, the daughter, is good as the teenage daughter who finds the whole situation “cool”. She did a great job irritating the audience with her reckless curiosity.

The main star here is the unseen demon though, and he/she/it does its job extremely well. Announcing its presence with a loud rumble, it manages to create a sinister tone even when nothing is happening. It does its job so well that whenever the “night #_” title card came on screen there were audible groans and curse words from the audience members. The audience experience is also another thing that makes this movie enjoyable. I had the pleasure of sitting in a crowd that was made of equal part cheerers and screamers. I myself cheered whenever something awesome happened.

Paranormal Activity 2 is an effectively scary movie. It’s not much different from the first but works a lot better than most sequels, and at the end of the day that’s good enough. I highly suggest seeing this in a packed theatre because people’s reactions are just as enjoyable as the movie. If you’re up for a scary good time, check out Paranormal Activity 2.