The first Paranormal Activity movie was quite an original little film (well, as original as these 'found footage' movies can get): it had a domestic setting and the mysterious demonic goings-on were being captured by a couple who had cause to set up a camera in their bedroom. With the exception of a silly bit of demonic vocalization and some ill-judged CGI, it was a genuinely creepy little yarn, one that actually came back to haunt the viewer later if he or she was in the proper mindset. Put it like this: you'd never look at an open door leading to a stairs in the same way again
This sequel comes almost snapping at heels of the first due to its fast turnaround time. It's more of the same, of course, but with a slightly different angle on the original tale. For one thing, it's actually a prequel and this time round it's a married couple that is at the center of all the demonic activity. The man, a widower with a teen daughter, is married to a younger woman who we quickly discover is the sister of Katie from the original movie. The devilry is actually captured by a hi-tech multiple closed circuit camera system. The reason behind this is actually worked nicely into the plot: the couple are compelled to install the rig after they return home one day to discover they have been victims of a burglary but, ominously, one in which nothing was stolen. After the cameras are up and running, they start to capture strange goings-on, which start off creepily, though harmlessly enough, but gradually start to escalate to increasingly high levels with most of activity seemingly focused on a specific member of the family.
On the plus side, the film doesn't feel just like a cash grab. There is some thought put into the story. It's a logical sequel/prequel that feels true to the first. Micah and Katie from the original film even show up in a perfectly credible story strand and their connection in the prequel is written effectively into the plot. Overall the story is actually woven believably into the mythology established in the first movie and everything ties in nicely. However, this doesn't come without a price: the prequel is so intent at trying to get Slot A to fit into Slot B that it slightly deviates and in doing so, violates and contradicts some aspects of the original, but these only come to light if you're really looking hard enough. If you're not, chances are it won't be a problem for you.
If the first Paranormal Activity was all about subtle and believable scares, this one is more in your face and suffers all the more for it. Because the spooky happenings are bolder and more ambitious, the degree of realism that the original had all but disappears here. You quickly remember you're watching a film and not some intimate piece of authentic home movie footage. Furthermore, the film replays a lot the scare tactics from the original to the extent that the familiarity factor starts to creep in and any chance of real terror quickly dissipates.
Essentially it's not really all that scary, certainly not the type of film (unlike the first) that will give you the willies if you're all alone later on. Any shock/scare that does occur in the movie is of the loud banging variety and this in itself – as with the first movie, but more so here - is always anticipated by an annoying and continuous sub woofer rumbling which gives you forewarning. Surely a rapid thump without the silly build-up/notification would have been more effective? Even when they do get away from the bangs and crashes, the one standout sequence (shot in infrared) is executed so confusingly, it's hard to even tell what is going on.
Even though the multi-camera system does help to tell the story better and offers more coverage than a single camera would doing the job, a lot of the time it just feels like we're watching um security camera footage which doesn't in itself make a movie. We get endless static shots where nothing is happening and it does grow tiresome after a period of time. While this material is augmented by hand-held video footage (which is always preempted by an 'I'm going to record this' line from one of the protagonists) it doesn't have the same intimate feeling of the single camera approach of the original. Furthermore, because of the 'CCTV' aspect, it always feels like we're observing strangers caught on CCTV rather than getting actually invested in the characters. For this reason alone, the frequently utilized hand-held camera is a Godsend and just barely prevents the movie from becoming just a collage of static security camera images.
There are unanswered elements so presumably we can look forward to parts 3 and 4, as there is more than enough material for it. In this age of diminishing returns, by the time they get to Paranormal Activity 5, the demonic entity will surely be a fully realized computer generated Playstation game type creature. But the logical question is: is the film any good? There are two answers to that: as a standalone movie, it's perfectly watchable and enjoyable. But as a sequel to Paranormal Activity? It's not really that frightening. Loud – yes. But frightening? No. As with part one, the budget isn't spent on lavish computer animated effects. This is movie is all about loud noises and things that go bump in the night but those that are polite enough to give you ample warning first.
This sequel comes almost snapping at heels of the first due to its fast turnaround time. It's more of the same, of course, but with a slightly different angle on the original tale. For one thing, it's actually a prequel and this time round it's a married couple that is at the center of all the demonic activity. The man, a widower with a teen daughter, is married to a younger woman who we quickly discover is the sister of Katie from the original movie. The devilry is actually captured by a hi-tech multiple closed circuit camera system. The reason behind this is actually worked nicely into the plot: the couple are compelled to install the rig after they return home one day to discover they have been victims of a burglary but, ominously, one in which nothing was stolen. After the cameras are up and running, they start to capture strange goings-on, which start off creepily, though harmlessly enough, but gradually start to escalate to increasingly high levels with most of activity seemingly focused on a specific member of the family.
On the plus side, the film doesn't feel just like a cash grab. There is some thought put into the story. It's a logical sequel/prequel that feels true to the first. Micah and Katie from the original film even show up in a perfectly credible story strand and their connection in the prequel is written effectively into the plot. Overall the story is actually woven believably into the mythology established in the first movie and everything ties in nicely. However, this doesn't come without a price: the prequel is so intent at trying to get Slot A to fit into Slot B that it slightly deviates and in doing so, violates and contradicts some aspects of the original, but these only come to light if you're really looking hard enough. If you're not, chances are it won't be a problem for you.
If the first Paranormal Activity was all about subtle and believable scares, this one is more in your face and suffers all the more for it. Because the spooky happenings are bolder and more ambitious, the degree of realism that the original had all but disappears here. You quickly remember you're watching a film and not some intimate piece of authentic home movie footage. Furthermore, the film replays a lot the scare tactics from the original to the extent that the familiarity factor starts to creep in and any chance of real terror quickly dissipates.
Essentially it's not really all that scary, certainly not the type of film (unlike the first) that will give you the willies if you're all alone later on. Any shock/scare that does occur in the movie is of the loud banging variety and this in itself – as with the first movie, but more so here - is always anticipated by an annoying and continuous sub woofer rumbling which gives you forewarning. Surely a rapid thump without the silly build-up/notification would have been more effective? Even when they do get away from the bangs and crashes, the one standout sequence (shot in infrared) is executed so confusingly, it's hard to even tell what is going on.
Even though the multi-camera system does help to tell the story better and offers more coverage than a single camera would doing the job, a lot of the time it just feels like we're watching um security camera footage which doesn't in itself make a movie. We get endless static shots where nothing is happening and it does grow tiresome after a period of time. While this material is augmented by hand-held video footage (which is always preempted by an 'I'm going to record this' line from one of the protagonists) it doesn't have the same intimate feeling of the single camera approach of the original. Furthermore, because of the 'CCTV' aspect, it always feels like we're observing strangers caught on CCTV rather than getting actually invested in the characters. For this reason alone, the frequently utilized hand-held camera is a Godsend and just barely prevents the movie from becoming just a collage of static security camera images.
There are unanswered elements so presumably we can look forward to parts 3 and 4, as there is more than enough material for it. In this age of diminishing returns, by the time they get to Paranormal Activity 5, the demonic entity will surely be a fully realized computer generated Playstation game type creature. But the logical question is: is the film any good? There are two answers to that: as a standalone movie, it's perfectly watchable and enjoyable. But as a sequel to Paranormal Activity? It's not really that frightening. Loud – yes. But frightening? No. As with part one, the budget isn't spent on lavish computer animated effects. This is movie is all about loud noises and things that go bump in the night but those that are polite enough to give you ample warning first.