In some ways this is a better movie than the first, but then Peli had a lot more money to work with this time and previously, so he could afford to splash out. Looking at it from a technical point of view, this one is much more complicated than the first, particularly since Peli is now using a baby and a dog (both of which are very difficult to make movies with at the best of times). Also the special effects are somewhat more impressive, namely because in this film he is using security cameras, so there are a lot more continuous shots and a lot more subtle things can be filmed. In the first movie the plot was limited by a single camera which means that only when the camera was filming, and the spot in which the camera was filming, could be shown. Not so in this film.
I guess Paranormal Activity 2 expands on what we saw in the original film, and with the extra budget, can be better with some of the things he shows. The shock value in this film is higher, due to the ability to use security cameras (and the scene where all of the cupboards in the kitchen fly open is one example, also when the demon drags her about the house when nobody else is home).
However there are some strange situations, such as when the fire spontaneously erupts in the kitchen and we never see the security camera footage leading up to it. Maybe it is because it is being left to our imagination, but I doubt that it could have been too hard, particularly since he is able to do a lot of other things.
The basement scene at the end was somewhat contrived, namely because I find it difficult to believe that the character would carry a video camera around the basement while trying to perform an exorcism on his wife. Maybe it was because Peli wanted the audience to see that scene, but I found it a bit unbelievable myself. Further, there are a lot of inconsistencies with the first film. I raise that because the events in this film are running simultaneously with the events of the first. Both Micah and Katie also appear in this film, but I was under the impression that Katie died at the end of the first film, yet at the end of this film she walks into the house, takes Hunter, and the film closes stating that Katie and Hunter cannot be found. It is as if a completely different film (one that I haven't seen) is being used.
I suspect that number three will be about Katie and her sister when they were haunted as children. There is a lot of references to that event, so I suspect it turns out that this haunting was filmed as well, and thus you have Paranormal Activity 3.
I guess Paranormal Activity 2 expands on what we saw in the original film, and with the extra budget, can be better with some of the things he shows. The shock value in this film is higher, due to the ability to use security cameras (and the scene where all of the cupboards in the kitchen fly open is one example, also when the demon drags her about the house when nobody else is home).
However there are some strange situations, such as when the fire spontaneously erupts in the kitchen and we never see the security camera footage leading up to it. Maybe it is because it is being left to our imagination, but I doubt that it could have been too hard, particularly since he is able to do a lot of other things.
The basement scene at the end was somewhat contrived, namely because I find it difficult to believe that the character would carry a video camera around the basement while trying to perform an exorcism on his wife. Maybe it was because Peli wanted the audience to see that scene, but I found it a bit unbelievable myself. Further, there are a lot of inconsistencies with the first film. I raise that because the events in this film are running simultaneously with the events of the first. Both Micah and Katie also appear in this film, but I was under the impression that Katie died at the end of the first film, yet at the end of this film she walks into the house, takes Hunter, and the film closes stating that Katie and Hunter cannot be found. It is as if a completely different film (one that I haven't seen) is being used.
I suspect that number three will be about Katie and her sister when they were haunted as children. There is a lot of references to that event, so I suspect it turns out that this haunting was filmed as well, and thus you have Paranormal Activity 3.