Haunted houses are scary. There's something deeply primal about the sanctity of a house — it is a source of strength against the evil outside. Often, horror movies play off this idea, with the main characters either being stalked by something external in their own house or being treated as the intruder in someone or something else's home.
"Paranormal Activity" (nationally released in 2009) used the idea of an intruded−upon haunted house, scaring audiences across the nation with fake−documentary, cinema−verite flourish. What made it different from other movies of the genre, such as "The Blair Witch Project" (1999), lay in the placing of the camera. While movies such as "Blair Witch" often used the personal camera technique to avoid having to show (and pay for) an actual monster or effects, "Paranormal's" fixed camera forced the viewer to watch the terror commence in unrelenting clarity.
It was a neat little trick, and it worked well. The problem with neat little tricks is that they only really work well once, and "Paranormal Activity 2" is no exception.
"Paranormal 2" takes place before, during and after the first movie, focusing on Kristi Rey (Sprague Grayden), the sister of Katie (Katie Featherston) from the first movie. Kristi, her husband (Brian Boland), their teenage step−daughter (Molly Ephraim) and their newborn son have just moved into an idyllic home near Katie and Micah's (Micah Sloat). Everything is peaches and cream until one day when someone breaks in and trashes the place, instigating the placement of five security cameras around the house. These cameras provide the trademark cinema that the franchise is known for.
From here, the story is nothing special. Of course, things start to go wrong, and Kristi becomes increasingly concerned for the safety of her young son. Her husband is skeptical of her obsession with the supernatural, her daughter is initially relaxed about it but grows to believe, and the stereotypical Latino housekeeper frequently waves candles in the air making crosses. In all fairness, the story does an incredible job tying together both movies: The timeline neatly and efficiently places the first "Paranormal's" storyline in step with that of "Paranormal 2."
The failing of "Paranormal 2" comes with a failing of the idea itself.
The first "Paranormal" was a movie with an abundance of thoughtfully suspenseful ideas. The nights were subtly terrifying, with Katie behaving in unexplainable ways. She would stand over Micah for hours, walk outside in the middle of the night or disappear out of the room only to appear later as if nothing had happened. It wasn't until the chilling vision of footprints in baby powder that the existence of something supernatural became clear.
Of course, "Paranormal 2" can't handle the slow, compounding realization of the demon's presence like its predecessor did. Having seen the first movie, the audience is already aware of the demon. But almost no attempt is given toward crafting any particularly noteworthy scares — instead, the movie jumps between loud noises, things falling and dogs barking to startle the viewer.
Horror is all about suspense, but the relentless jump−out scares show an incredible lack of consideration as to what is truly frightening about something going bump in the night. The novelty is almost completely gone.
But the worst directorial decision is committed halfway through the movie, when it's explained exactly what the demon wants. Part of what made "Paranormal" so terrifying was that the demon seemed to be hunting Katie for no reason other than a personal vendetta or the perverse desire to drive a human being literally insane. In other words, there was no reason why the demon couldn't have just as easily chosen to torment someone else.
"Paranormal 2," on the other hand, gives a clear motive, shattering any sense of supernatural mischief and removing the audience from the "reality" that this could happen to us, too. The characters also don't help the story, with the husband in particular remaining skeptical despite having clearly seen supernatural behavior on his security cameras. His ignorance is comical given the context, inspiring in the viewer a desire to punish him as viscerally as possible for his stupidity.
This is quite a lot of criticism to level against "Paranormal Activity 2," and for what it's worth, the movie is not bad. It's a dead−end road that does not come close to the novelty of the first "Paranormal," but it will still shock and surprise, especially when it comes to tying Katie/Micah with the entire cast of the second movie. It's enjoyable but ultimately forgettable, and you certainly won't regret missing it this Halloween season.
