EMILY:
When I saw the trailer for Paranormal Activity 2 earlier this school year, I figured it would be the same as the first: really slow, a little intense at times, a couple of loud bangs to make you jump, then a really messed up ending.
Needless to say, I was right! Yes somehow, Paranormal Activity 2 outdoes it predecessor and is exponentially more messed up and action-filled. I was actually super creeped out for more than ten minutes, compared to the first movie where I was creeped out for about three minutes.
Basically, this prequel to Katie and Micah’s demon problems in Paranormal Activity follows Katie’s sister Kristi, her husband Dan, and their family. One year after their son is born, the family experiences a supposed break-in and wires up the house with cameras. Strange occurrences start happening and are shown in the camera footage (exactly like the first movie!). Their housekeeper warns the family of the bad spirits in the house, and of course, the family doesn’t listen. In a cliché manner, they don’t really listen … …that is, until Hunter’s toys begin to follow people, the dog begins to detect the demons, and Kristi gets violently attacked (as seen in the previews of the movie) by unseen forces. Not until then is something done for the well-being of Kristi … but is it that good in the end?
All I’m going to say about it is have a lot of patience. The first hour is SO slow. However, the last twenty minutes made it totally worthwhile. The action is nonstop by that point, and it surprisingly ties right back to Paranormal Activity. It’s almost as if these two were planned together and not two separate movies directed by different people.
If you like to have some good psychological freak-outs and even remotely enjoyed the first movie, go see Paranormal Activity 2. Oh, and be ready for some really nasty and uncomfortable noises….
BREANN:
I’m kind of a fan of watching horror flicks - I like being scared and I love watching movies with large groups of people because I’m scared. So, that’s why I was looking forward to Paranormal Activity 2, because the first fulfilled those needs. The action in the first started right away, and moves fairly quickly.
Imagine my surprise when nothing really happened during the first hour of the sequel. It offered an opportunity for me to reply to e-mail and and share my thoughts on the film through texts, one of which said “I am SO bored.”
However, if you can make it through the first hour, you’re in luck. That’s when the movie hits its turning point. You know, pantry doors slamming, a baby being dragged out of its crib and toys going crazy, etc. That’s all creepy, but then, the moment when you realize that this film can’t end well (if the first movie didn’t already tell you that) hits. About 15 minutes before the film ends, whatever said thing is causing the paranormal activity attacks the family dog. I was no longer frightened, but uncomfortable, which is a perfectly acceptable horror flick reaction. I have a movie rule: animals or children are not allowed to be injured or frightening. Paranormal Activity 2 violated that. From there, the movie went on to deliver the unpromising end.
The best part of the movie was the plot – not that it was fantastic, but because it served as the prequel for the first film, starting 60 or so days before Micah from Paranormal Activity, dies. It filled in whatever plot holes the first had left, and answered what always bothers me in any horror movie – why this thing is happening.
