Last year Paranormal Activity was released nation wide and became the new Blair Witch Project, it was a movie you just had to see because all you kept hearing was how scary it was. The trailer was pretty clever in only showing the audience's screams and members hiding under their coats and covering their eyes. I thought it was an extremely clever film and one of the best horror movies we have had in a while and I noticed others, either they loved it or they hated it. In my opinion as a film buff, it's what we don't see and our imagination that is most terrifying, but in this generation of internet, texting and TV we have a bunch of ADD people who need to see blood or monsters in order for that to scare them. Paranormal Activity was a huge hit at the box office and a sequel was immediately planned, which I didn't appreciate because now it's about the money. However I still decided to give the film a chance and see how the story continued and it actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Instead we get more of a prequel to the first film and it explains how Katie became haunted by the demon. This time the demon is haunting her sister and her new family in their beautiful home.
In 2006, a "burglary" occurs at the home of Kristi and Dan. Every single room is completely trashed except for their infant son Hunter's bedroom. The only thing stolen is a necklace that Kristi's sister, Katie, had given her. Dan installs a number of security cameras throughout the house to watch over their son, Hunter. The family starts to hear noises and see items fall or move on their own. Martine, the family housekeeper and nanny, believes evil spirits are the cause and attempts to cleanse the house of "evil spirits," and Dan fires her after catching her burning sage. Katie and Kristi talk about being tormented by a demon or unknown spirit when they were children. Dan's daughter, Ali, begins investigating the mysterious happenings. She discovers that on occasion, a human can make a deal with a demon for wealth or power by forfeiting the life of their first-born son. She also realizes that until Hunter, there had not been a male child born in Kristi and Katie's family since the time of their great-great grandmother.
What I liked about this film was the characters who were a bit more likable than the first film, they seemed so real to me. The family reacted exactly how most people would act towards finding out that they are being haunted by a demon. There are some genuinely creepy moments, one of the biggest being when Kristi is sitting in the kitchen and BAM(!!!) the cabinet doors fly open as she's trying to keep it together and trying to convince herself that it's not real. There are some laughable moments like when the demon keeps knocking the cooking pan off the rack and all I'm thinking is how bored is this demon that he just wants to more annoy Kristi vs. terrify her? I tell you though, clean freaks beware of this demon! My only other complaint being is that the effects were a little bit cheesy with the demon pulling Kristi out of her room. The first film seemed more realistic with the way the demon was behaving by dragging Katie out of bed. However I did like how the film ended and I think this was a fun addition to the Paranormal Activity story. I wouldn't mind if the sequels continued on other characters, but for now I think it's a good closure and we should leave it at that. I do recommend the movie for a fun scary night, it's always more effective when you're at home alone in the dark.
7/10
In 2006, a "burglary" occurs at the home of Kristi and Dan. Every single room is completely trashed except for their infant son Hunter's bedroom. The only thing stolen is a necklace that Kristi's sister, Katie, had given her. Dan installs a number of security cameras throughout the house to watch over their son, Hunter. The family starts to hear noises and see items fall or move on their own. Martine, the family housekeeper and nanny, believes evil spirits are the cause and attempts to cleanse the house of "evil spirits," and Dan fires her after catching her burning sage. Katie and Kristi talk about being tormented by a demon or unknown spirit when they were children. Dan's daughter, Ali, begins investigating the mysterious happenings. She discovers that on occasion, a human can make a deal with a demon for wealth or power by forfeiting the life of their first-born son. She also realizes that until Hunter, there had not been a male child born in Kristi and Katie's family since the time of their great-great grandmother.
What I liked about this film was the characters who were a bit more likable than the first film, they seemed so real to me. The family reacted exactly how most people would act towards finding out that they are being haunted by a demon. There are some genuinely creepy moments, one of the biggest being when Kristi is sitting in the kitchen and BAM(!!!) the cabinet doors fly open as she's trying to keep it together and trying to convince herself that it's not real. There are some laughable moments like when the demon keeps knocking the cooking pan off the rack and all I'm thinking is how bored is this demon that he just wants to more annoy Kristi vs. terrify her? I tell you though, clean freaks beware of this demon! My only other complaint being is that the effects were a little bit cheesy with the demon pulling Kristi out of her room. The first film seemed more realistic with the way the demon was behaving by dragging Katie out of bed. However I did like how the film ended and I think this was a fun addition to the Paranormal Activity story. I wouldn't mind if the sequels continued on other characters, but for now I think it's a good closure and we should leave it at that. I do recommend the movie for a fun scary night, it's always more effective when you're at home alone in the dark.
7/10