Is "Paranormal Activity 2" Worth Watching?

The return of the 2009 monster hit is upon us. Is it another Blair Witch 2? Or could it be the horror sequel we've all been waiting for...

Where's the baby??

4 years ago, an underground directer named Oren Peli set up a movie dubbed Paranormal Activity. With a budget of about $11,000, Peli released a movie about a young suburban couple who set up a camera in their bedroom while they sleep, and learn that a menacing demon is haunting them throughout the night. This movie went on to gross over $100 million by 2009.


What made this low-budget flick so profitable? Well, scary movies are meant to scare you right? So what is more scary that watching doors open by themselves and lift blankets while you sleep? The thrills and jumps in the first movie were breathtaking, and they certainly left me sleepless for a few nights.


So they did a sequel. Generally, sequels to horror movies don't exactly fair well (Hostel 2, Hills Have Eyes 2, Blair Witch 2, The Ring 2, Descent 2, I could go on and on and on). This sequel is quite the exception. What works with this sequel is that it effortlessly ties the first movie into the sequel (like a good sequel should) and is bigger and better than the first.


So here's the setup, a family comes home to find their house trashed. Scared out of their minds, the family has security cameras set up throughout the house. This was a great directing tactic in that it broadened what we saw as an audience. If you had complaints about how the first movie was shot entirely from the perspective of one handheld camera, you can watch this with glee. With multiple cameras (and one handheld camera) the terror is amplified without removing that sense of being alone in the dark. The movie plays out a lot like the first one in that the "activity" gradually grows from random occurences to persistent phenomenon.


My only problem with this movie? The pacing was not as spot on as the first. The first movie had a much better flow in terms of the demon's appearances. In the sequel, there is an abrupt change in pace. What I mean is that things get chaotic way too quickly, and there's no definite climax. What makes this problem worse is that the beginning dragged on even more so than the first. What redeems this problem is how absolutely freaky the movie gets in the second half. Kudos to the new director of this project (Tod Williams) for delivering a sequel that expands the first movie without losing that gripping charm.

You MUST see this movie with a full audience

Fans of the first Paranormal Activity will absolutely love this movie.
If you haven't seen the first, I don't wholeheartedly recommend this until you do. While you may still find the sequel terrifying, it won't have the full effect unless you have a better grasp of the context.
The movie can be hit or miss. People tend to love or hate this movie, and it really depends on how superstitious people are. Atheists might as well steer clear, but if you even have lingering curiosities about the supernatural, this is the thriller for you


--Ace


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