Star cast: Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston.
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Plot: A family, that has just moved into a new house, installs security cameras in the house after a break-in. But weird incidents continue to happen. Soon, they realise that they are being haunted by a demon.
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What’s Bad: The screenplay takes a lot of time to build up; some viewers may get bored.
Verdict: Paranormal Activity 2 might not be as novel as its prequel, Paranormal Activity, but it certainly is as scary.
Loo Break: During the initial few reels.
Watch or Not?: Watch it for the chills it offers; a midnight show is recommended.
Blumhouse Productions, Room 101 and Paramount Pictures’ Paranormal Activity 2 is the sequel to 2007’s Hollywood horror hit, Paranormal Activity. The story of Paranormal Activity 2 chronologically precedes that of the original, in which Micah (Micah Sloat) and his girlfriend, Katie (Katie Featherston), try to capture on tape the paranormal incidents happening in their bedroom. Many nights later, their lives meet with a horrific fate.
Paranormal Activity 2 begins with husband and wife, Daniel (Brian Boland) and Kristi (Sprague Grayden), moving into a new house with their daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim), infant son, Hunter, and a German Shepherd dog, Abby. They also have a Spanish maid, Martine (Vivis Cortez) who takes care of the infant.
Kristie’s sister, Katie, and the latter’s boyfriend, Micah, often visit the family and all of them have a good time. Hunter is also growing up and has started walking around the house. One day, their home is broken into and vandalised but nothing is stolen. Finding Kristie unnerved, Daniel installs security cameras in the house. The next day, when Martine and Hunter are alone in the house, Martine hears some weird sounds coming from the basement. She tries to “keep out the bad spirits” by burning incense sticks and mumbling prayers. But Daniel is not pleased and Martine is asked to leave. Ali is excited that they are being contacted by a ghost. She alongwith her boyfriend, Brad (Seth Ginsberg), even tries to communicate with the paranormal spirit.
Soon enough, both, Kristie and Ali, start experiencing strange incidents – Ali is locked out of the house, Kristie hears strange sounds all the time, Hunter keeps looking at the roof etc. Ali even shows her dad the footage from the security cameras to prove her point, but Daniel does not pay heed to their warnings. A scared Kristie, in the meantime, discusses the strange incidents with her sister and asks if these might be connected with their childhood nightmares. Katie is furious and asks Kristie to ignore all this, lest it gets to her mind. What really happened in Katie and Kristie’s childhood? Is their home haunted? What happens to Daniel and Hunter, who are oblivious to the obvious paranormal activity in their house? The latter part of the film reveals the rest.
Script and Screenplay
First up, one must commend the unique filming style of Paranormal Activity 2, as the film has been shot with only hand-held cameras and CCTV cameras, thus imparting the horror story with a sense of reality. This, more than the story or the screenplay, excites and scares the audience.
Michael R. Perry’s story intersperses well with the prequel’s, especially its surprise climax. Although there is nothing novel about the plot, it is better than the original (Oren Peli) because it extends the horror to a whole family, an infant and a dog included. The screenplay (Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon and Tom Pabst) builds up the narration in a step-by-step manner, taking it to its high point — the horrifying climax. However, in the initial few reels of the film, a few scenes are repeated over and over and might bore the audiences. Also, since we have seen the same cinematographic technique being used for many films (Paranormal Activity, Love Sex Aur Dhokha), some audiences, by now, might be used to this format of storytelling.
Star Performances
As far as the performances are concerned, the actors deliver fine performances despite not being star names. Sprague Grayden takes the cake. Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim and Katie Featherston do well. Seth Ginsberg, Micah Sloat and Vivis Cortez provide able support in their small roles.
Tod Williams’ direction is the real star of the film. In spite of an average plot, he takes the narrative ahead at just the right pace to blow the audience over with his climax. Michael Simmonds’ camerawork is good and so is Gregory Plotkin’s editing. There is no conventional background score in the film except for Foley sounds.
The Last Word
On the whole, the story of Paranormal Activity 2 has quite a few surprises and that itself makes it worth watching. Fans of the franchise and anybody looking for some good chills should go for it. Expect an average response at the Indian box-office, as the film has been publicised well in the cities.
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