'Paranormal Activity 2' is a Decent Enough Sequel

Paranormal Activity 2 reviews have hit the Internet. At Rotten Tomatoes, it received a Tomatometer of 76% and an audience rating of 69%. The score is reflective of the general consensus of the film - it works well as a sequel, but leaves us ambivalent about the ending. "Where is Steven Spielberg when you need him for a clever ending? I had trouble sleeping for three weeks after the original film but I slept perfectly fine after the sequel," said Kevin McCarthy of BDK Reviews.

Paranormal Activity is a film that was considered the scariest for the year 2009. Written and directed by Oren Peli, and costing only $15,000 to make but earning millions at the box office, it is the story of what happens to a California couple, Micah and Katie, who, after experiencing a supernatural presence in their home, decide to capture what happens on their video camera.

Paranormal Activity 2, directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry, begins months before Micah and Katie's experience. The film's focus is on what happens to Katie's sister Christina and her husband John, who have a baby boy named Hunter. Their home is broken into and ransacked, yet no valuables are taken. John then installs a home security system that videotapes what goes on inside and outside the property.

While the first movie likely had you flipping on the lights and checking the closets as soon as you got home, the second movie may or not cause you to do the same. For many, it will depend on how much you buy into the paranormal. Often those things that one thinks could actually happen are the scariest.

Paranormal Activity 2 gives us a slow build up, much like the first movie. Along the way we're hit with various scary moments, building up to those that are downright frightening. But while Paranormal Activity gave us a heart attack at the end, Paranormal Activity 2 is kind enough to give us a cool down. But sometimes kindness isn't so good for a horror movie.

However, the reviews that acknowledge the first movie was better than the second movie, but the second movie is not so bad, are the most accurate. Most movies, it seems these days, you'd just as soon wait for them on Netflix, but Paranormal Activity 2 is worth the ticket price for a fun Halloween experience at the box office.

Sources:

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Rotten Tomatoes

Jolie du Pre, Paranormal Activity Movie Will Guarantee Sleepless Nights, Associated Content