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Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Starring Brian Boland, Sprague Grayden, William
Juan Prieto, Jackson Xenia Prieto & David Bierend
Written by Michael R. Perry, Christopher B. Landon,
Tom Pabst, Michael R. Perry & Oren Peli
Directed by Tod Williams
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Oren Peli hands off his viral-marketed genius, $15 thousand dollar budget "Paranormal Activity," to a higher budget but less than stellar delivery in "Paranormal Activity 2."
What made the first film so superb was that it was first. The writers, Michael R. Perry, Christopher B. Landon, and Tom Pabst weave what almost could be a prequel or maybe in some instances, a parallel telling of the story of Micah and Katie of the first movie. After a series of would-be "break-ins", Daniel and Kristi, (Brian Boland and Sprague Grayden respectively) the sister and brother-in-law to Katie setup a slew of security cameras in their home. What occurs after is waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the activity to begin. It does in very slow spurts, like a door moving on its own, or odd pounding mainly from the baby's room. Yet as it happens, viewers of the first film just want to get to the good stuff. I know I did.
You know what's coming; you're not quite sure how it's going to happen or in what room or to whom, but you know that the big jump scare is right around the corner, followed by many more, just more intense and amplified. Then finally they happen. And with a very big bang might I add. However, after the first major incident felt by Kristi, the activity speeds up to predictability and to a not very scary ending. The filmmakers involved needed to leave alone the fake "based on a possible true story" motif and just make it a full-on watchable experience, one with unexpected twists and amazing effects that makes you yell out, "How the fuck did they do that!?" But no, instead we get a lame back story tying the first film to the second (yes, the simple fact that Kristi and Katie are sisters is not the only tie in).
The one bright spot to the film is the scenes with the baby, one of which was spoiled in the trailer, like most of the film. How they were able to do the things they did to an infant is beyond me, but were totally a breath of fresh air. When things go so well for a movie it is very easy to praise the director, writer, maybe even the producer, as well of course the actors. But when a movie gets to be bad, where does the blame go?
Let's start at the bottom, the actors. All were very good and at least helped the film along to where you wanted to at least see how things would turn out for them. So kudos there. Next will have to be the writing team. Why the studio decided to throw three writers into the sequel writing room as opposed to getting the originator to the laptop solo is another question left unanswered. Money perhaps? It could have been so much better if they took the elements of the first film and made a stand-alone sequel. How many shows are on TV about the paranormal? It doesn't just happen to one family. Tod Williams took the reins from Oren Peli and I honestly have to say that he did OK. He tried really hard to work with what he had in the script and nailed some great effects shots, so it is very hard for me to bash the guy. Therefore, there must be one group that needs to take one on the chin and they are the producers. I understand stroking the golden goose but come on, at least up the ante a bit, take it to another level. We all knew what was going to happen in "Saw 2" but at least the filmmakers kept us on the edge of our seats until they got us there.
The worst part, "Paranormal Activity 3" is in the works and sadly, I still want to see what they'll come up with the third time around. But I pray massively to the horror film gods that it is better than the second one. Otherwise, I won't be seeing number 4 because you know there will be one.
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vincent