Yes, yes, all those of you who hated the first film, you can leave your "I told you so's" at the door. (Yes, Kelvin, I do mean you!)
And yes, all those of you who liked the first film but knew the sequel was going to be pants: ditto.
So, I saw PA2 yesterday, and it was dull. It wasn't rubbish, but it was a huge disappointment after the first film. But... why?
1. They handicapped themselves from the outset by making this a prequel. Or a three quarters-prequel, anyway. The film deals with the sister of the heroine from the first film, and tries its best to develop a backstory regarding where the family's curse comes from. That's all very well, but in doing so it hampers itself - because if anything truly awful happens to the sister and her family for the most part of this film, then the characters in the first film would have been more aware and prepared for what happened to them. Which they weren't... which is why PA2 saves its real shocks for the final 5 minute epilogue which leaps forward in time to after the first film.
2. They go out of their way to avoid using the same shock tactics as the first film. Which is to be applauded... except... they don't actually come up with much to replace them. I spent the majority of PA2 waiting for something to happen. Anything! The first film was a slow-burner, but this didn't even start until the last 20 minutes. By which time most of the audience were tired of waiting for a jump.
3. The night-time highjinks of the first movie were captured by one video camera set up amateurishly on the dressing table. This time the family in question set up a whole houseful of CCTV cams to observe their spooky goings on... though there's actually less to observe. A definite case of more = less, the rule of thumb for all unsuccessful sequels.
4. The low-budget cast of the original were unknowns, and that worked in their favour. Although they reprise their roles here, the main characters are played by proper actors - recognisable actors in the case of the lead, Sprague Grayden, previously known as President Taylor's backstabbing bitch of daughter from 24. Her stage-school brat step-daughter stole even more of the shaky amateurishness that made the first film such a gem.
5. Maybe there's something to be said for the madness of crowds. I saw PA in a packed cinema full of jumping, screaming teenagers. Yesterday I went to a matinee with 10 other people, and nobody even squealed. I heard the occasional yawn, but that was it.
Maybe the true problem with Paranormal Activity 2 is the problem with all horror sequels. What made its predecessor work for me was that I didn't know what to expect. This time I went in with a bunch of preconceived notions... and they really couldn't win. Either they give me what I want, and I moan I've seen it all before... or they don't and I moan about that. You can't fool all the people all the time...
