Paranormal Activity 2: heart pumping, pulse racing, suspenseful thriller
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Paranormal Activity 2: heart pumping, pulse racing, suspenseful thriller
By: Mikali Talbott
Being a huge fan of anything paranormal helped
influence me to watch not only the first Paranormal
Activity but also Paranormal Activity 2. The trailers
helped grab not my attention along with my best friend’s
attention. The trailers showed bits and pieces of the
movie (which all trailers do) that kept us interested and
wanting more, so as soon as it came out in theaters we
purchased our tickets, grabbed our drinks and snacks and
headed into the dark theater. Like most scary thrillers
you manage to get yourself all psyched up and are
ultimately scared out of your shorts before you even sit
down in the theater or on your couch to watch the
movie. The trailer does this by showing you bits and
pieces of the movie in the right order to give you a mini
thrill before you actually see the movie. Paranormal
Activity 2 does a very good job of creating the thrilling
aspect that makes scary movies enjoyable.
We ended Paranormal Activity with Katie (Katie Featherston) walking off into the distance after
she kills her boyfriend. Paranormal Activity 2 starts out with the bringing home of Kristi
(Sprague Grayden), Katie’s sister, and Daniel (Brian Boland) Rey’s, Kristi’s husband, newborn
son Hunter (William Juan Prieto & Jackson Xenia Prieto). A year after Hunter left the hospital,
and came home, the house was broken into. The only thing missing from the house was a
necklace that was given to Kristi from her sister Katie (Katie Featherston). After the break in
strange things started happening around the house, things such as loud bangs, lights turning on
and off, doors slamming shut, etc. Meanwhile, Nanny Martine (Vivis Cortez) tries to rid the
house of all evil spirits/demons. She uses smoke while repeating a saying, in Spanish, over and
over again. Martine was then fired by Dan for doing “weird witchy stuff.” Strange things
continue to happen throughout the house and progressively get worse. We find out that the weird
things that are happening are due to a possible deal that Katie and Kristi made with a demon in
which the first born son, who happens to be Hunter, would be sacrificed. At the end of the movie
Katie then reappears and takes Hunter and walks away.
This movie has great features to help enhance the quality and thrill of the movie. The lighting is
very much used to benefit the scenes throughout Paranormal Activity 2. The lighting helps give
it that eerie feeling creating the mood of the scene and of the movie itself. A lot of the dark
scenes, such as the night-time scenes or the scenes in night vision help our minds become
acquainted with the reality of the scenes. The way the sound is used also helps create a great
atmosphere for the movie. The parts of Paranormal Activity 2 where it all of a sudden becomes
really quiet and still, then a loud thud comes along to scare the living daylights out of you also
helps create the mood and feel of the movie. These are two major skills that the director, Tod
Williams, used to his advantage when directing Paranormal Activity 2. According to Vasquez,
“Tod Williams thankfully does not serve us a half baked follow up to the original film as
"Paranormal Activity 2" is only the beginning of a grander story”.
The biggest factor, in
my opinion, that
makes the movie so
good, is how real it is.
I think the biggest
contributor to this is
the use of first and
third person cameras.
Not only do people get
to see what the cast
sees but they also
seem to react the way
the cast would. It
makes the experience
of watching the movie
much more intense
when one knows something is about to happen and they get a sense that themselves and the
character are experiencing the same thing. The third person cameras also make it realistic,
because one can then see the entire setting. It almost gives the home movie type of feel. Other
than the cameras, the movie is well documented. There are dates and times of events that happen,
which make it feel as if the events are more real. Throughout the movie, the time of day of each
scene is in the bottom corner of the screen, keeping the movie flowing.
Another contributing factor that makes the story believable is the use of a family and a modern
setting. The family includes two adults, a teenager, and a young child. The modern home relates
to most families and makes the movie more relevant to the audience. The movie makes one feel
so connected, that it feels like it’s possible for something like this to happen to them. When a
scary movie can do this, it has accomplished a lot, as it now has people completely consumed
within it. Wilson stated in her review, “The actors (doing a lot of adlibbing, if you believe the
press releases) are naturally funny, witty, and believable, paving the way nicely for actual
concern on the viewer's part.” With the connection that the family aspect makes one feel also
helps them bring these events to reality. Although we know that these events portrayed inParanormal Activity 2 aren’t going to happen as drastically as they do in the movie, they sure give us a sense of perception to paranormal event, such as doors opening, lights turning on, etc. Unlike other horror movies, Paranormal Activity 2 doesn’t have the ending one would expect. Most horror movies present the problem in the beginning, fight it throughout the middle, and in the end usually at least one or two of the main characters defeat the evil or they escape from it. In this movie however, the ending is different. There is one innocent main character that is not killed in the end of the movie, but she did not defeat, nor does it seem that she escaped the evil. This movie ends with evil in complete control. Because the movie is a sequel, it really ties into the first one. This movie is actually shown to take place at the same time as the first one, so the evil events that happened in this sequel were actually the very same that were happening in the first movie. This gives this second movie a greater importance due of the knowledge and realization that the audience experiences as the story continues from the first movie to the second. Paranormal Activity 2 is listed in movie genres as a mix between horror and thriller. This is clearly demonstrated throughout the whole movie. The director and actors do a great job of keeping our interest as well as maintaining suspense through the whole movie. This movie is great for people who love a scare every once in a while. If you enjoy other movies such as The Blare Witch Project, The Exorcist, etc. then you will enjoy the Paranormal Activity series.
Works Cited Vasquez Jr., Felix. Cinema Crazed. 27 January 2011 Web. 18 September 2012 Wilson, Stacy Layne. Horror.com. 27 January 2011 Web. 18 September 2012
Movie Review Summaries Paranormal Activity 2 DVD Movie Review By: Staci Layne Wilson Wilson has seen both the first and the second paranormal activities. Although she thought the first one was a tad bit slow she did go to the second movie. Wilson states, “I probably wouldn’t walk across the street to see it again, I was pleasantly surprised and reasonably entertained, watching it for the first time.” According to Wilson, “The actors are naturally funny, witty, and believable”, which help make the movie going experience worthwhile. Wilson enjoyed Paranormal Activity 2 and she would recommend it even if you didn’t like the first one of the sequels. Paranormal Activity 2 By: Felix Vasquez Jr. Vasquez states, “Paranormal Activity 2 commits what is almost an impossible task. It complements the storyline of the original film while also adding to it.” There is not much “blood and boiled tension” during the lives of those on the big screen but it shows that the family has a hard time believing that these things can actually happen, or at least Daniel does. The second movie helps incorporate the first movie all throughout the plot. This helps the view become acquainted with the first movie again. The writers did a wonderful job of hinting to us the details dealing with the deal that was made with the demon. Vasquez happily states, “it’s wonderful to see a new series of horror films that isn’t so much concerned with splashing blood on to the audience.”
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