MyRating: YYY1/2Director: Tod Williams
Cast: Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Vivis Cortez, Seth Ginsberg
MPAA: Rated R for some language and brief violent material
Following the huge success of the surprised hit of 2007's supernatural horror film, Paranormal Activity (widely released in 2009), which with only US$ 15,000 budget, resulting in a worldwide box office of more than US$ 193 Million (all thanks to the brilliant viral marketing strategy and good words of mouth), here comes the sequel, Paranormal Activity 2, which is actually a parallel prequel to the original movie.
The story begins two months before the scary event happened to Katie and Micah (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) in the first movie. This time it happens to the family of Micah's sister, Kristi (Sprague Grayden), who lives in a beautiful home with her husband Dan Rey (Brian Boland), together with her stepdaughter Ali (Molly Ephraim), their baby boy Hunter, and their dog. After a mysterious break-in occurred at their house, Dan decides to install a set of security cameras surrounding their house to protect his family. But what they don't expect is the cameras start to record the 'unexpected' things, as strange 'activities' start to occur around the house and terror the family. When they suspect that all these 'happenings' may have something to do with what Kristi dan Katie experienced when they were children, which was being tormented by a demon, they realize that the dark spirit may somehow prey for their baby boy, Hunter.
This sequel did not yet lose its 'paranormal' charms. In fact, they did it again, now with much higher budget of US$ 3 Million, directed by Tod Williams, a different director from the first movie. More of the same story, with the setting inside a house and a family terrorized by ghost. But if you thing you have known everything about Paranormal Activities, then wait until you are being startled and jump at your seat together with other audiences in the theatre. If one camera in the first movie scared the hell out of you, then imagine it with six cameras, in a bigger house, captured by the blue screen cameras. It was creepy, especially everytime the night came, that will make you hold your breath to wait whether something will actually happen or the night will just pass to morning.
The story was 'interestingly' scary, mostly will scare you psychologically than visually, which has become the trademark of this series. Not totally fresh in the story, as this is a sequel, but the moviemaker surely did not lack of new ideas to shock you. The story also has a parallel correlation with the original movie, and if you have not watched the first one, then this sequel will spoil the important outcome of the first movie, but at the same time will answer your 'unanswered' questions towards the first movie. As for the acting, like the original one, all the actors gave natural and believable performances, that made all the scares valid.
This is another good horror movie shot with camcorder (and security cameras). Wait for the third one in 2011, and see what other tricks they will offer us again next year. (MJ)
