For those who loved "Paranormal Activity," get ready. We now get the 2010 sequel, "Paranormal Activity 2," and the good news is that it brings the same shivers of the first film to full circle. The bad news...well, there's no bad news at all.
"PA2" follows Katie's sister, Kristy, and her family: Daniel, her husband, Ally, her stepdaughter, and Hunter, Kristy's one year-old baby. After they come home one day to find their house has been trashed and they suspect a burglary, Daniel sets up six security cameras around the house to record everything that goes on at night. It turns out that this was no burglary.
Oren Peli's "Paranormal Activity," the indie fright fest that was demanded in theaters across the nation, is one of my favorite horror films of 2009. I've only watched it twice: the first time in a theater, the second time at home. Ever since, I have been afraid to watch it a third time. It is a film that has the same horrifying impact each time you watch it.
Just months after the first film's success, rumors of a sequel started spreading. That was cause for the skeptics to flock. We know how sequels like "Blair Witch 2" can go. "Blair Witch 2" was big on budget, low on scares, and high on stupidity. "Paranormal Activity 2" could have been a big-budget bomb that completely ruined the greatness of the first film. But, no. Believe it or not, "Paranormal Activity 2" accomplishes everything the first film did. In a way, it's better than the original.
Most "PA" fans will remember the classic scenes of Katie and Micah's bedroom, and being on the edge of the seat with suspense, just waiting for something to strike. The sequel doesn't limit itself to just one room, but six areas of the house: the pool, the kitchen, the living room, outside the front door, the stairs, and baby Hunter's bedroom. The ability to have more cameras in the sequel heightens the tension much more. Once again, you are just waiting, looking at the different cameras, hoping that you will see something.
"Paranormal Activity 2" is almost exactly like the first film due to familiarity. But familiarity is part of the fun of the sequel. Just ask Dread Central.com: "Knowing what this family is up against makes things so much scarier." You WILL see slamming doors and creeping shadows, and hear rumblings and footsteps in the film's nighttime setting. But, wait. The sequel actually has more shocks than the first movie. What you see in "PA2" will scare you, indubitably.
I won't give anything away, but the sequel offers a great backstory and a wonderful freshness. You see, "Paranormal Activity 2" is more of a prequel, bringing events back over a week before the original film's incidents. You get to know Katie's family more and you're given time to care.
And like the first one, the acting in the sequel doesn't feel like acting...not at all. We get the feeling that we are looking at a real family suffer. And Katie Featherston returns in a great and effective supporting role.
Oren Peli takes the role of producer this time around, and in the directing chair is Tod Williams, who is completely uninvolved with the first film. With 3 million dollars, a slightly bigger budget compared to the $11,000 budget Peli had, Williams knows what to do. He avoids special effects and goes for the same formula of the first movie, letting the audience engage themselves in another wonderfully psychological and horrifying genre film. Be proud, Oren Peli, that direction for the sequel was in the right hands.
Now, not everyone loved the first "Paranormal Activity." So it's safe to say that if you didn't like the first film, don't see the second. However, if you're a big fan, like I am, the sequel's a match made in horror heaven. If you couldn't sleep after the first movie, if you had to keep your lights on when you were alone in your room, you ain't seen nothing yet. "Paranormal Activity 2" is the "Aliens" of the decade. Sweet dreams, everybody.
