In 2009, after a groundswell of grass roots marketing two years in the making (having originally screened at a genre film festival back in 2007), Paranormal Activity made its way into cinemas and was met with much fanfare. With word quickly circling comparing the film to viral sensation The Blair Witch Project from ten years earlier, the “is it real” conversation started chattering away despite blatant signs to the contrary. As it quickly emerged that the feature was pure fiction (constructed by director Oren Peli and stars Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat as a low-budget, single-camera entry into the horror canon), it was just these elements that ensured that increased buzz equated to increased box office profits. An unexpected success within its genre, it was immediately apparent that sequels would be forthcoming, with the creatively titled Paranormal Activity 2 fulfilling that prophecy just one year later.
In what is likely to be the sophomore effort in a film franchise destined to continue to infinity and beyond, Paranormal Activity 2 replicates the first film as faithfully as possible, albeit with a much larger amount of funding. The basic elements are there – the warning message over the opening sequence (“Paramount Pictures would like to thank the families of the deceased and the Carlsbad police force”), a large house in the Californian suburbs, a likeable group certain to be frightened out of their wits (a family, complete with bouncing baby, precocious teen and pet pooch), the ever-present handy cam (and seven conveniently placed security cameras as well – a little too conveniently, perhaps), and the strange, unexplained happenings at the centre of it all – with a few specific changes thrown in for that slightly different slant. To say any more would be to say too much, suffice to say that audiences familiar with the first feature are well prepared for the contents of the second. What unravels is a standard spooky thriller offering, with nothing new added to the genre.
Paranormal Activity is a competent ghost film, borne out of Peli’s own fear of the supernatural and filled with things that go bump in the night as the perfect fodder for scares and shocks, spills and thrills, and a few jumps and screams thrown in for good measure. As often happens with horror film sequels, Paranormal Activity 2 sticks to the formula, yet despite much higher production values is unable to manufacture the authenticity of the original. Indeed, throughout the carefully cultivated, tension riddled scenes something feels just a little off, something more than the otherworldly presence possibly haunting the protagonists. It may be the professional actors trying a little too hard to imitate real home video footage, or the much less subtle activities that menace the scared family. Perhaps it is the drawn out nature of events, or the lack of originality in crafting a facsimile of the first film. Maybe the flaws in logic are too fatal, or the conclusion too easy to predict from the opening frame. Regardless, Paranormal Activity 2 wears thin fast, with the mild thrills cultivated too long in coming, and the few genuine jump-inducing moments too brief to be sustained.
Despite such criticisms, The Door In The Floor director Tod William’s take on the topic (credited as based on its predecessor, rather than remaking or following) is sure to be a hit with teen audiences if the screaming, cheering and sometimes jeering fellow patrons in my screening are any indication. A well-kept secret link to the first film adds interest, however the remainder is a paint-by-numbers spot-the-difference effort indistinguishable from, and less accomplished as, Peli’s effective initial offering.
As an interesting side note, it is worth noting that Paranormal Activity 2 is not the only sequel to Paranormal Activity currently making the rounds. A Japanese feature also entitled Paranormal Activity 2 – with the subtitle Tokyo Nights – is about to sweep Asia, and one can only hope that with Japan’s rich history in horror filmmaking to call on it adds more to the fold.
Paranormal Activity 2 is now screening.
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