Tuesday 30 November 2010

Paranormal Activity 2


I liked number one: it scared you without using a lot of gore, which is not easily done. The human possession element was the most scarey part.

Number two involves human possession, but doesn't bring it in until near the end. The first three-quarters of the film are boring. Most of the action consists of doors slamming and things going bump in the night. Also, it's never really explained why this family are recording everything that happens in their property through several different cameras, with which everybody (including the teenage daughter) is perfectly comfortable. In the first one, there was only one camera and there was some dialogue to show that the girlfriend did not approve of the boyfriend's filming obsession.

The last fifth of the film is where it gets interesting and you wonder whether the good guys will triumph. The calling of the housekeeper who they had sacked for her unusual rituals reminded me of the Exorcist's being called to save Megan, but it was nowhere near as interesting. There is a part where some fighting takes place off-screen. It's not clear what happened, as the only character to not appear afterwards is the superstitious housekeeper, and she had not entered the cellar where the fight took place. Those few minutes could have been excluded without any harm to the plot.

I think the ending was supposed to be funny. It struck me as unimaginative.

You can tell that I wasn't impressed: 3/10.