Review: Paranormal Activity 2

Last year, mainstream cinema was seized by an unseen force in the guise of things that go bump in the night. Horror fans love nothing more than a good, chilling flick to get the adrenaline flowing and keep us up at night, right? And when a film bleeds into public knowledge it's nothing short of gratifying. Add to that the fact that Paranormal Activity can surely be described as a phenomenon. It cost about seventeen cents to make and grossed about fifty go-zillion (numbers are estimates for entertainment purposes only. Not to be used in conjunction with any other ointment or...damn. I mixed up my disclaimers). You get the idea. It made an assload of green. I saw it twice. And while I've heard many complaints about the characters' interactions since then, that was one of my favorite parts. I saw Micah and Katie as a real couple. I believed that. That made it real.

Well, then we hear a sequel is coming. I was torn as I'm sure many of you were. On one hand, it would be really fun to go through that spooktacular ride again. On the other, we all know how the Hollywood machine works. Could I really stand to have what I enjoyed about the original chewed up and regurgitated back to me. Blecch. Even chocolate only tastes good the first time going down. Seeing the trailers really only caused more discomfort for me. The dragging bit? Yeah we saw that. But then maybe this demon is just a one trick pony. But you know me. I love a good scare and a creepy haunting story is one of the best ways to do it. But how? How can you do that again without seeming redundant? They figured it out for the most part.

This film surrounds a family who is seemingly well to do. They have a nice big home, an automatic pool cleaner (Poolba, maybe?), and some overall nice stuff. When an apparent break-in causes the family concern, they have it wired with cameras covering just about every inch. Well, that's pretty darned convenient, huh? Now we don't have to worry about how we see the stuff and we don't have to explain why someone has a camera stuck to their face all the time. I can dig it. But they still have the camcorder on way more than any normal family would. I mean it's not 1989 anymore. We're over that, aren't we? And unless these folks are just dying to make it on America's Funniest Videos before it gets canceled, I don't see how it works all the time. But that's a minor flaw.
What I really love here, as with the first one, are the familial interactions. I believe these folks are related. The dad, in particular, is just as annoying as any father I've ever known. I always enjoy when actors focus on the little things that make us human. The devil is in the details after all. And as we watch the family (including father, mother, teenager, baby boy and dog) go about their daily lives, it's like I know them. I'd also like to mention that I am impressed with Allie quite a bit. To be so young she conveys pure fright with ease. I feel perfectly comfortable saying that all the performances are impeccable. Good show.

But is it scary? Sure, if that sort of thing scares you. I was jolted a time or two but it didn't keep me up last night. Perhaps I was used to that. We did see several things we've seen before. They were presented differently but the effect is the same. As for action, though, if the first one was called "What the hell?" then this one might be "HOLY CRAP." There are still stretches of nothing which I don't mind (more realism, please. Thank you). But when the joint gets hopping, stuff is all over the place. That includes several of my fellow audience members. That's always fun. I also distinctly felt a temperature drop as the action revved. I wondered briefly if that was planned because I wasn't the only one who noticed. If so, I applaud them for that as well.

Nothing wrong with Castle-izing a picture. More film makers should go that route. Maybe horror fans would get their butts in the seats more often. If you were a fan of the first then you should enjoy this outing just as much, maybe more. Sadly, though, if you were not into the original then I don't think this one will convert you.