Friday 6 May 2011

Paranormal Activity 2 - Phil's Five Words for Films

Paranormal Activity 2 A prequel-sequel, PA2 concerns the events immediately before those of the first film (reviewed here) and centers on members of the same family. Cleverly tied in to the storyline of the first film, PA2 uses more CCTV footage to capture the events that unfold and relies less on handheld, home movie style. The long, repeating shots of nothing happening are there to draw you deeper in to the film, pull you closer to the action, allowing the loud bangs and crashes to do their job. Again, it is the balance between menace and anticipation that gives the film its feel. There are some good scares to be had here and at times it is nicely creepy but, on the whole, there seems to be slightly less threat than before. The challenge was to add to the success of the first film and connect the two in a way that didn't feel contrived whilst delivering some spine tingling moments - they succeed. With clever use of plot, sound, dogs and babies, PA2 is a great pre-follow-up. Definitely a must see for anyone who has seen ( and enjoyed ) PA1.

7.5 out of 10
Cert 15 (uk )
2010.