Although “Paranormal
Activity 2” is very similar to
the first film, it follows a new
family with the same story
line.
The first “Paranormal
Activity” was the big box
office sensation that came to
theaters in October 2009. This
big hit raked in $200 million
worldwide after being produced
for a shoestring budget
of only $11,000. It is safe to
say it was a love-it-or-hate-it
film that had everyone talking.
Considering the low cost of
the film and the great success it
had, Paramount was smart
enough to have a second one
out within a year.
“Paranormal Activity 2” is
scarier than the first one,
because it cranks it up just one
more notch on the fright
meter. The film essentially has
less scary moments than the
first one, but when the scary
moments do arrive, you really
get the “wow” factor.
The film does a very nice job
connecting to the first
“Paranormal Activity,” giving
the viewer more of a reason to
see the film and see how they
are connected to each other.
The film is kind of a prequel to
“Paranormal Activity” as it
starts two months before the
first one.
The premise for the film is
that a family has set up security
cameras after coming home
one day to find their house
completely trashed, as if someone
had robbed them.
Oddly enough, nothing was
stolen even though every room
in the house was wrecked
except for the bedroom of their
newborn son, Hunter. The five
security cameras give the audience
nightly views of the pool,
kitchen, entranceway, and
Hunter’s room.
The anxious nights start
soon enough, as the audience
tries to anticipate what scary
moment is going to arise next.
Although the anticipation of
something happening during
the night on the security cameras
is frightening, there are
many times that absolutely
nothing happens as viewers sit
there and wait.
The downfall of the film is
that for the first hour or so not
much is happening; many of
the terrifying moments are
consistently poured on during
the last 30 minutes of the film.
I also do not really see the
need for the “R” rating for the
film. The only reason it
seemed to have this rating was
due to the language, which
could have been changed to
make it PG-13. Maybe they
thought anyone under 17
would be traumatized by the
film.
If you are someone who really
enjoys a good scare to the
point where you are nervous
about going home and sleeping,
then the film is definitely
for you.
If the movie was being rated
on a scale of one to 10, I would
probably give it an eight, strictly
as a horror flick.
The ending of the movie sets
up “Paranormal Activity 3,”
which looks like it will come
out around Halloween in 2011.
It seems like the concept is
going to be overdone and
turned in to the next “Saw”
series. I guess we can all start
getting ready for “Paranormal
Activity 3-D” in October 2016.