PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 – Tod Williams

I have spoken many times (especially this month), on all the different types of Horror films. One of the types I think I love the most is what I call; “It could really happen” catagory.

Films like The Exorcist, Poltergeist, 28 Days Later, or The Stand – are “possibility” type of Horror films. Well, last year, another film was added to my list of that catagory; Paranormal Activity. When it was released in 2009, I was SO wanting to see it, yet I was afraid, not of the film, but the HUGE disappointment of The Blair Witch Project which came out in the 90′s. I say this because there was SO much hype about Blair Witch (and I fell for it), after I saw the film I was VERY disappointed. Then, Paranormal Activity came out & here comes the BIG hype all over again. Not wanting to “fall for it..AGAIN”, I waited till DVD. It was one of those rare times I actually buy a DVD without actually seeing the movie first. I watched it alone & in the dark. It was a bit slow, at first, & then when the creepiness comes…well, it comes. I liked the ending & even the alternative ending on the dvd. I looked back to read my review of that film just a few minutes ago & I realized; I never gave it a star rating (it was the beginning of my review career when I wrote that), so, I will rate it now. I give the first Paranormal Activity – 3 outta 5 stars. With that said, here’s my thoughts on Part 2 …

When Hollywood has a hit on their hands, it’s a no-brainer to do a sequel. It’s what the fans want & it’s what the studio’s want (money wise). I wasn’t quite sure HOW they were gonna do a sequel to the first film so what they DID do was go BACK and tell you what happens right before the first film starts, but at the end of the film, picks up where Part 1 left off. So it’s a “Presqequel”. I’m sure glad I watched Part 1 again the night before to have it fresh in my mind before I watched Part2..it helped.

So, the story picks up before Part 1, we see Katie (from the first film), sister; Kristie and her husband; Daniel Rey and her Kristie’s step-daughter; Ali, bring home their new baby; Hunter. Living in a beautiful large home in Carlsbad, CA, all seems great and wonderful with the new addition to the family. Fast forward a little bit and Hunter is a little older and things are goin just fine until….The family comes home from an outing and it “appears” they had been robbed. Their home is totally thrashed! However, nothing is missing except a necklace. The family decides to install security cameras throughout the home & outside by the pool. Thinking this is gonna save them from anything else happening? Feeling like I’m watching a Reality show or Family home movies for forty minutes, it is (like the first film) a bit slow for about 40 minutes. If I saw one more video camera shot of that pool, I was gonna snap!

However, once the bumps, creaky doors, pots moving & dropping by themselves start to happen..that makes the film a little more interesting. Their German Shepard dog; Abby, barks and growls at shadows and at the sounds themselves (they say animals can see & sense things humans can’t and apparently that goes for Abby). They do have a housekeeper and she sense’s bad vibes in the house as well, but when the family comes home and catches her trying to get rid of the “bad spirits” with her mojo, she get’s fired cause they don’t believe her. From there, the creepiness comes and by the the last 35 minutes of the film..it comes in a BIG WAY! I’m here to tell ya, I DON’T (repeat), DON’T get scared at films (with the obvious exception of The Exorcist), but there is some scenes in this film that made ME even jump! One inparticular with Krisitie and because of my NO SPOILERS RULE I can’t say, but I ACTUALLY said, “F**K!” out loud & half the audience laughed & the other half were saying the same thing! You’ll know the scene when it comes.

There is a “backstory” in this one and I feel that’s where Part 3 will go and then flashforward to pickup where this one ends (like how they did with this one goin back & forth). Apparently, the step-daughter & her boyfriend and the Internet come to the conclusion that if someone makes a deal for a future of wealth and success, with a Demon, the first male child MUST be givin to it as “payment”. Well, they research back and there is no male child until….Hunter (the new baby of the family). That explains WHY the “bad spirits” are there, however, there is something else to the story and I don’t wanta spoil it for ya, plus, it’ll most likely be in Part 3 anyway. So, IS Paranormal Activity 2 worth your time? Is it scarier then the first? Was I a sucker and fall for all the hype..again? The answer; YES!

Bottomline: Katie & Micah return in this one from the first film and Katie is VERY involved with whats going on. Again, I did feel like it was too slow in the first half, WAY WAY too many security camera shots of the SAME thing. It was like, “Ok, let’s check the front door, the back door, the hallway, and the pool….AGAIN! And again and again! They REALLY could’ve edited out some of those repeat shots. The family was..ok. The step-daughter was the only one who seemed to have any brains or knew, “hey, shit’s happening let’s get the hell out of here!” (I know I WOULD!) Having the dog and mostly the baby involved added to the creepiness A LOT! Seeing what happens when we sleep..THAT’S creepy! And even tho the last 20 – 30 minutes really made the film, it’s that scene with Katie in the kitchen…WOW! Like the first film had maybe 2 REAL good scares, this one has 4 or 5 SOLID scares. I think the reason I have such a “gulity pleasure” for these two films is; I see what they tried to do (storywise & scarewise), but they drag it out WAY too long to get the audience to that point where we’re under are chair. I think in part 3 if they cut out the WAY too many camera shots and bring the creepiness sooner, it would make for an even better film. If you liked the first one, you’ll like this one (especially the last 30 minutes). If you didn’t like the first one, maybe give this one a try because it is a bit more interesting (story & scarewise). I will say at one point, I felt like I did back in 1982 when I saw Poltergeist for the first time..that creepiness and realistic way the film was going, at one pont I felt like that watching this film and THAT is when the real scares were happening. So, if you can make it through the first half, you won’t be disappointed in the end.

RANK: 6.5/10

Directed by: Tod Williams
Produced by: Oren Peli
Screenplay by: Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon, Tom Pabst
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Brian Boland, Sprague Grayden, Molly Ephraim, Tim Clemens