A sequel to the outstanding "Paranormal Activity" certainly wasn't needed, and upon first hearing about it, I wasn't even sure if I'd see it. Well, I was clearly unable to resist the temptation. Taking place before, during and after the events of Oren Peli's original, this one follows Katie's sister, Kristi, and her family as they're tormented by the same demon that was after Katie and Micah in the first. Kristi, along with her husband, stepdaughter and baby, moves into a new house which is soon thereafter trashed during a mysterious break-in. The weird thing is that nothing's missing. This prompts the family to install hidden security cameras all over the house and property. Eventually, strange incidents are caught on the security footage. Kristi and her stepdaughter come to believe that they're being haunted. Dealing with fear and memories of the past, Kristi feels helpless to escape the terror, especially since her husband refuses to believe anything paranormal is truly happening.
I just got back from seeing this earlier, and despite my initial reservations, I found myself quite taken with "Paranormal Activity 2". It isn't on par with the first, no, but it gets the general vibe right, it nails the intimate terror and makes a typical suburban home seem like a prison of horrors. There are some intensely effective scenes such as the kitchen bit where everything bursts open at once, the attack on the poor dog and Kristi getting thrown around the house. In fact, everything with the pooch was gold. It was an obvious, but inspired touch to add a dog into the mix. Other smaller occurrences like banging on windows and whatnot also unnerve. The atmosphere in and around the house quickly becomes suffocating, the tension between the family members always as present as the unseen being itself.
Sprague Grayden of TV's "Jericho" and "24" does well as the tortured Kristi. Despite being so familiar with her from those shows, she still manages to creep me out when she succumbs to the demon. The scene with the stepdaughter filming her sitting in the baby's room through the cracked door is one of the film's more tense moments. It was also so great to see Katie Featherston again. I love her, so the more she's on screen, the better. Micah reappears briefly as well. The other actors all do fine, though I found Kristi's husband to be a real scumbag and was actually hoping for his demise, a hope which reached a fever pitch following the actions he takes to rid his family of the demon.
With all of that said, I didn't care for the direction in which they tried taking the story of the first film. The piece of trash husband sends the demon to Katie in order to save her sister and his son? No, sorry, not in my book. In the first, the demon's intentions are painted as almost romantic towards Katie. Also, the way she describes her past experiences there, it's clear to me that the events as a kid happened to her. In this one, they try and say that her sister suffered the brunt of what occurred. Peli's film paints a far more intriguing situation than the cliché deal with the devil, demonic Rumplestiltskin kind of thing this one has going on. I admire the attempt to bring the two film's together, but I simply don't like this direction when thinking of the original much the same way I was against the sister idea being brought in for "Halloween II".
Looking at "Paranormal Activity 2" as it's own entity, it's a damn solid film that, just like it's predecessor, masters the art of sheer terror through minimalism. That's what I intend to do, too, view it as strictly it's own unique story. That way, my enjoyment of both films will not be affected. This one just doesn't work in connection to the first for me. When it comes to it's own merits, I don't think it quite measures up to the the original either, but it manages to be unsettling all the same. Personally, I feel that it's hard to top the creepiness of Katie standing over the bed for hours on end. This sequel never brings the horror into the bedroom. The one thing "Paranormal Activity 2" definitely has over the first, however, is Katie in a bikini. Wow!
I just got back from seeing this earlier, and despite my initial reservations, I found myself quite taken with "Paranormal Activity 2". It isn't on par with the first, no, but it gets the general vibe right, it nails the intimate terror and makes a typical suburban home seem like a prison of horrors. There are some intensely effective scenes such as the kitchen bit where everything bursts open at once, the attack on the poor dog and Kristi getting thrown around the house. In fact, everything with the pooch was gold. It was an obvious, but inspired touch to add a dog into the mix. Other smaller occurrences like banging on windows and whatnot also unnerve. The atmosphere in and around the house quickly becomes suffocating, the tension between the family members always as present as the unseen being itself.
Sprague Grayden of TV's "Jericho" and "24" does well as the tortured Kristi. Despite being so familiar with her from those shows, she still manages to creep me out when she succumbs to the demon. The scene with the stepdaughter filming her sitting in the baby's room through the cracked door is one of the film's more tense moments. It was also so great to see Katie Featherston again. I love her, so the more she's on screen, the better. Micah reappears briefly as well. The other actors all do fine, though I found Kristi's husband to be a real scumbag and was actually hoping for his demise, a hope which reached a fever pitch following the actions he takes to rid his family of the demon.
With all of that said, I didn't care for the direction in which they tried taking the story of the first film. The piece of trash husband sends the demon to Katie in order to save her sister and his son? No, sorry, not in my book. In the first, the demon's intentions are painted as almost romantic towards Katie. Also, the way she describes her past experiences there, it's clear to me that the events as a kid happened to her. In this one, they try and say that her sister suffered the brunt of what occurred. Peli's film paints a far more intriguing situation than the cliché deal with the devil, demonic Rumplestiltskin kind of thing this one has going on. I admire the attempt to bring the two film's together, but I simply don't like this direction when thinking of the original much the same way I was against the sister idea being brought in for "Halloween II".
Looking at "Paranormal Activity 2" as it's own entity, it's a damn solid film that, just like it's predecessor, masters the art of sheer terror through minimalism. That's what I intend to do, too, view it as strictly it's own unique story. That way, my enjoyment of both films will not be affected. This one just doesn't work in connection to the first for me. When it comes to it's own merits, I don't think it quite measures up to the the original either, but it manages to be unsettling all the same. Personally, I feel that it's hard to top the creepiness of Katie standing over the bed for hours on end. This sequel never brings the horror into the bedroom. The one thing "Paranormal Activity 2" definitely has over the first, however, is Katie in a bikini. Wow!