I absolutely adored the first Paranormal Activity. It was clever, inventive, and proved that you could scare an audience senseless without relying on blood and gore. And now, one year later, the inevitable sequel is released. Is it as good as the first? No. Is it still a good horror film? Yes. The film follows the family of Kristi, the sister of the woman from the first movie. Her family is assaulted by another vengeful demon that likes to manifest itself with by knocking down frying pans and making kitchen doors fly open. But then it begins to get more angry and destructive. The family figures out that the demon is after their newborn son Hunter. The film is full of effective scares and the same suffocating atmosphere that made the first so successful. But here's my big problem: they go overboard with special effects and shatter our suspension of disbelief. Here's one of the main reasons why the first film worked so well: with the exception of the very last scene, everything strange and unusual that happened to the couple could be explained and rationalized. There was a sense that this really happened and that this was authentic found footage. In Paranormal Activity 2 we see people grabbed and dragged down flights of stairs and kitchen cabinets instigate full rebellions. Paranormal Activity 2 feels like a staged horror film. But it still remains one of the best horror films to come out in years. It isn't a masterpiece, but it'll get the job done.
7/10
This one was good but too many of the scares tried too hard to be over-the-top which kind of annoyed me, but then again I still freaked out a lot. Good review.
ReplyDeleteYeah...it was obvious that they were trying much harder. I'm curious to see if the third film will continue this trend.
ReplyDeleteNate,
ReplyDeleteGlad you reviewed this one. I was fortunate enough to follow your tweets as you watched it and I must say it was quite amusing.
I really did like PA2 but I agree that the first one was better. Perhaps it's that way with every film that spawns a sequel (now a 3rd) but we go into the 1st one without expectations or knowing what's in store for us good or bad. During the first film I enjoyed the subtle things that started happening, all while focusing on that darn video time stamp in the bottom corner.
Another thing that I thought was crazy exciting in the first one was the alternate endings, the PA board discussions on it were awesome.
Now to PA2. Bringing back the original characters just had me a bit irritated, perhaps because you need continuity when you rewind before certain events plus they didn't go into the sisters history and how things all started once they were together. Then there's the fact that I wasn't all that crazy about them. Of course the fact that the actors stink is what gives the PA films their realness.
I actually convinced my parents that the 1st one was actual events caught on tape and they believed it throughout the film. Just another thing that made the first one stand out,some people believed it was REAL life events unraveling and we were lucky enough to find the tape.
The end of PA2 was a real let down (will avoid spoilers) but I love the concept and if I wasn't such a coward I would already have seen PA3.
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Thanks, Page!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that you tricked your parents like that! Anyway, I think that a lot of the continuity questions that we have are supposed to be answered in the third film.