http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/columnists/david-edwards/2010/10/22/paranormal-activity-2-film-review-scary-sequel-even-better-than-the-original-115875-22651028/
Paranormal Activity 2 film review: Scary sequel even better than the original
By David Edwards 22/10/2010
Cert 15, 91mins ****
Nobody was expecting much as we filed into the Odeon Leicester Square for an eve-of-release screening of Paranormal Activity 2.
Shaky-cam horror follow-ups have had a habit of disappointing of late (see REC 2, Diary Of The Dead). And the only chance critics had to see the film was at the deadline-defying hour of 6.30pm.
Then there was the name that gloomily recalled one of those cut-price horror sequels from the Eighties. Fright Night 2. Creepshow 2. Child’s Play 2. Couldn’t they have classed-it-up with a ‘Part’ or at least some Roman numerals? Or, given it’s a prequel, did nobody think of Paranormal Activity: Genesis or Paranormal Activity: Origins. Or Paranormal Activity: The Footage We Found Earlier.
Maybe it was these low expectations – or just the chilly cinema – that caused the goosebumps. Or maybe it was because we ended up watching one seriously scary movie containing at least five jolts that will lift you from your seat and/or make you fill your tighty whities.
There are a few downsides but for sheer nerve-shredding terror, this actually trumps the original, which was released this time last year and grossed north of $200million.
The action unfolds at the home of Daniel and Kristi (who just so happens to be the sister of Katie, the star of the original) who share an opulent home with their baby son, Hunter, and his teenage daughter, Ali.
After their home is broken into, the family invests in an internal security camera system which tracks most of the action, supplemented by footage from a camcorder.
Advertisement - article continues below »
Set two months before part one, it takes a while for things to take a supernatural turn. A saucepan falls from its hook in the kitchen. A pool cleaner lifts itself out of the water in the garden. Little Hunter and the family’s Alsatian are disturbed in the night by unseen forces.
At one point, Daniel rebukes the spooked Ali with, "I’ve had enough of this haunted house crap." Right with you, brother.
It’s a slow burn to be sure but, unlike the original, new director Tod Williams knows a thing or two about pacing, meaning that the chills kick in with a vengeance at the halfway mark. While part one was mostly build-up leading to that unforgettable climax, the prequel follows a traditional horror structure.
Doors slam louder. Creeping shadows are caught on camera. Little Hunter levitates over his cot.
And that’s just for starters, with events building to a shattering, terrifically scary finale that neatly links the film to part one, making it a perfect companion piece. Indeed, both Katie and her boyfriend Micah actually appear on a couple of weekend visits.
As for its faults, well, Ali’s online research into what may be spooking them raises an intriguing possibility that’s never fully explored while some may question the reliance on jolts (or ‘Lewton buses’ as they’re known).
But jolts work if they’re supported by atmosphere and at least half formed characters. And, despite the family’s residence being no Amityville, the use of dark lighting makes the house a suitably spooky setting for the horror.
So, a while perhaps not the prequel without equal, it’s certainly a harrowing, intense experience that just might cause you to sleep with all the lights on.
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/columnists/david-edwards/2010/10/22/paranormal-activity-2-film-review-scary-sequel-even-better-than-the-original-115875-22651028/#ixzz1MtmiQyMC
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/22/paranormal-activity-2-two-review
Paranormal Activity 2 – review
This 'found footage' follow-up is from the 'bigger and more' school of sequels. The extra effort isn't wasted
Phelim O'Neill
Guardian.co.uk, Friday 22 October 2010 11.53 BST
It can be tough to repeat the "found footage" routine that the first Paranormal Activity used. It's quite limiting; the bag of tricks can be pretty exhausted after one hefty dip into it. Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 dropped it entirely in favour of making a more conventional horror film sequel that hardly anyone could be bothered with, while the Spanish film [Rec] 2 was more successful in replicating its source's charm by having two teams of video recordists at play.
Paranormal Activity 2 follows the "bigger and more" ethos of sequels, while sticking to the ground rules laid down by the first surprise hit of a film. Of course "bigger and more" is a relative term. Here we get a slightly bigger home to be confined in and more people: two parents, a teenage daughter, a maid, an infant and a dog. The latter two make good use of the rather spooky thing that babies and pets do when their attention is fixed on something invisible to others. More cameras too: instead of the one image of the bedroom we get to cycle through six static security cameras (brought in by the family when they return to find their furniture and belongings in disarray, seemingly following a burglary, although nothing was taken). These changes aren't enough to distort or taint the basic premise.
This time out we are with the family of Kristi (Sprague Grayden), the sister of Katie (Katie Featherston) who surprisingly pops in for a visit very early on, looking like she hasn't a care in the world. It's quickly revealed that the events we are watching are happening 60 days before the climax of the previous film.
The sequel goes for the same slow burn and build up. There are plenty of times where there is very little activity, paranormal or otherwise, but these are there to lull you into a routine, to get the viewer used to the quiet, to scanning the slightly more elaborate framings, to lean into the movie. It all pays off when things start going bump in the night (very loudly. Like the first one this has a great soundscape, up there with Robert Wise's The Haunting).
They could have very easily got away with a straight rehash, but here they've tried to expand on things, successfully, with a film that complements and connects, in both story and style, with its predecessor. As well as playing on the common fear of all the noises a house can make during the night – this time, with a baby involved, it's even more harrowing for parents – there are also some nice nods to Spielberg's Close Encounters and Poltergeist, effectively adapted to this far less showy film-making technique.
It was never going to have the same shock of the new that the first had, but there are at least half a dozen moments that really suck the air out of the room with a collective audience gasp, and plenty of scenes that string out the dread. It has to work a little harder and, with more characters and cameras as well as a little more humor, it really pays off.
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/paranormal-activity-2-film-review-36316.html
Review by Matthew Turner 22/10/2010
Like the 2009 hit, this is an impressively directed, superbly acted horror flick that creates a creepy atmosphere and delivers some genuinely terrifying shocks, while cleverly building on the ideas from the first film.
What's it all about?
Directed by Tod Williams but produced by Oren Peli (writer-director of the first film), Paranormal Activity 2 is set around the time of the first film (primarily in August 2006) and begins as Kristi (Sprague Grayden), her husband David (Brian Boland) and her step-daughter Ali (Molly Ephraim) are making a video for their baby son Hunter. It soon turns out that Kristi is the sister of Katie (Katie Featherston, reprising her role from the first film), who's a frequent visitor to their house, along with her soon-to-be-dead boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat).
After returning home to discover that someone has trashed their home, David and Kristi install CCTV cameras in their house – the film we're watching is comprised partly of videos they make themselves and partly of CCTV footage, both watched and unwatched. Sure enough, it isn't long before strange nightly goings-on lead the family to believe that their house might be haunted.
The Good
The script is excellent, cleverly building on the first film and expanding the mythology - without giving too much away, the way the two films tie together is extremely well done. There are also several nice touches, such as the moment where Micah coos over Brian's new video camera and announces that he wants one.
The performances are excellent, although casting familiar TV face Sprague Grayden (she was in a whole series of 24) rather ruins the ‘found footage’ conceit that worked so well in the first film because you know you're watching a movie. Molly Ephraim is particularly good as Ali, who's initially excited about the idea of a haunted house because she thinks it might be the spirit of her mother.
The Great
As with the first film, Williams expertly builds the suspense of the night-time scenes so that you're constantly scanning the footage of the empty rooms, waiting for a sign of movement. The use of the baby (who can walk but not talk) is inspired too, simultaneously adding an element that wasn't present in the first film and ensuring that parents with young children will be doubly freaked out.
Worth seeing?
If you loved the first film, you won't be disappointed with Paranormal Activity 2 and the ending is, if anything, even more terrifying. Highly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment