Did it freak my freak? No. Was it reasonably entertaining for a paranormal fan like, moi? At times, I suppose. Did it prompt my paranoia meter to spike a few degrees? Yes. "It" is none other than Paranormal Activity 2, a sequel that's probably as good as the original, but don't hold that against it. This trip through the ghastly ghostly follows a family of four in San Diego. It's a blended family comprised of Dan (Brian Boland) and Kristi (Sprague Graydon) with their newborn babe, Hunter, and Dan's daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim). Let's not forget Kristi's sister, Katie (Katie Featherston) and her boyfriend Micah, who float in and out as background characters. At any rate, strange things start happening--yeah, I know, odd twist for a paranormal flick. At any rate, cameras are set up house-wide after an odd break-in where the house was essentially turned upside down with nothing stolen. Next, we learn a tad bit about Katie and Kristi's youthful involvment with the demonic before weirdness intensifies and yadayadayada freaky takes center stage.
Paranormal Activity 2 has its moments and I actually liked it better than the original, which may not be a resounding endorsement. There are some pretty intense scenes here, which made me regret not packing along my defibrillator for my jumpy friend. Ultimately, however, I'm a stickler for plot--particularly as it enhances the flow of the movie. Plot is a major shortcoming here. The premise is there; it just could have been delivered much more effectively. With this flick, most of our time is spent watching, well...NADA. We spend probably 60 of the 91 minutes watching their security cams recording absolutely nothing of particular interest. That leaves about 20 minutes of potentially interesting dialogue, which half of that amount is delivered upon; and finally, ten minutes of seeing it all come together. And, no, I'm not even going to mention the documentary-feel with the first hand camera shots. That's a director's vision that is more distracting and nausea-inducing than anything. It's a shooting style, I get it. I just don't like it--personal preference on my end.
Ultimately, this one hovers between 2.5 and 3.0 Stars for me. The climax is over before you know--yeah, I know, that's what he/she said. The movie's pinnacle is all so muddled you're kind of left with a disappointing sense of being befuddled. I've heard of interpretative dance, but Paranormal Activity 2 is an interpretative flick. It unfolds in such a way where there is so much left open to guess-work, it's just unsatisfying. I guess maybe that was the point. After all, we're talking about the paranormal here--abstract city. Yeah, I'm a big fan of the paranormal and have even sat in on a ghost hunting group. It's a fascinating subject, but the things you look for in these kinds of movies are just not delivered. It leaves you with essentially the emptiness of a doing a dance with a ghost in the dark.
If you're really into the topic and enjoyed the first one, see this one Big. If you like the topic but didn't particularly like the original flick, just watch a particularly good episode of Ghost Hunters. Then, rent Paranormal Activity 2 when you need a little jump start in the paranoia department...or just watch the eleven o'clock news for that matter.
True...OUT!
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