Paranormal Activity 2 (2010): An Un-Necessary Evil

Last year's Paranormal Activity took the world by storm, using some creative marketing tactics on an old concept - the first person/found footage angle. The Hollywood formula is film + blockbuster gross = automatic sequel, so after being a box office juggernaut, an expedited sequel was not a surprise in the least. Unfortunately in this case, the powers that be in Hollywood should have just left well enough alone.

The second installment is more prequel than sequel with events taking place 60 days before Micah's murder at the end of Paranormal Activity. This time around, demonic forces target Katie's (Katie Featherston) sister Kristi Rey (Sprague Grayden) and Kristi's family which includes husband Dan (Brian Boland), stepdaughter Ali (Molly Ephraim) and newborn baby Hunter (William Juan Prieto and Jackson Xenia Prieto).

In an attempt to not reveal any major spoilers, the demon from the original terrorizes the Rey family with the same shenanigans, like door slamming and pot banging, that afflicted Katie and Micah in the first one. There might be some tweaks to the household appliances used to inject some of the film's scares, if you want to call them that, but at the end of the day it is all just a rehash that personifies the "bad horror sequel" stereotype.



There are some scenes that attempt to develop a little more backstory to the demonic forces that plague the two sisters since their childhood, while other incidents attempt to tie the original and sequel together. The problem is that these ideas deliver a sensation of being forced. Trying to invent some elements in order to continue a story for an originally unplanned sequel is one thing, but it is a known fact that this sequel is a complete afterthought, created with sole purpose of riding the Paranormal cash cow until it dries out. Therefore the attempted cleverness of trying to align these two films feels rightfully unnatural.

The original's slow pace was acceptable because it was all a setup for a fantastic set of effective payoffs in the late second and entire third acts. Meanwhile the sequel's pacing is even slower, less suspenseful and delivers a climax that is both rushed and absurd. It's too bad because the acting is quite good, especially with Featherston's reprisal of the Katie character and majority of the scare scenes carried by the young Eprhaim. Acting is definitely is not accountable for the overall disappointment that this film leaves you with as you exit the theater. And this disappointment stems from the fact that the original was eerie enough to get under my skin, but this follow-up is simply not scary. There might have been one effective, legitimate jump scene that was played for comedy unfortunately and wasted in the process.

Sure their wallets got a lot thicker after the record-breaking opening last weekend, but after the final product delivered in Paranormal Activity 2, I am sure a majority of the same moviegoers will be more cautious when an inevitable third installment comes around next year. Recommended for extreme fans of the original or those who want to see Katie's cleavage, which you do get to see a lot of this time around.


I was just kidding Katie. You know I love you.

But in all seriousness, don't go out of your way to see this in the theater and wait for DVD/Blu-ray - which by the way will contain a "shocking" alternate ending that will be available when it is released for home systems. Looks like they are already trying to cover up bad press with promises of meaningful deleted scenes and alternate endings. If these are going to be so good, maybe they should have been put in the theatrical release and not used by a safety net after the film's weaknesses are exposed.