Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams from a screenplay written by Christopher B. Landon, Michael R. Perry and Tom Pabst. It was produced by Jason Blum, Akiva Goldsman and the writer-director of the first movie, Oren Peli.
The movie stars Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston, Seth Ginsberg and Sprague Grayden.
This is a prequel to Paranormal Activity (2007), beginning two months before.
Plot:
Daniel Rey, his wife, Kristi; daughter, Ali; toddler son, Hunter, and their dog, move to Carlsbad, California.
A few days later their residence is broken into, however, nothing appears to be missing. In order to prevent re-occurrences, they install a number of security cameras that will record everything on a DVR.
After they hire a Spanish-speaking nanny to look after Hunter, she informs them that there is something wrong in their house and performs prayers, much to the chagrin of Daniel, who lets her go.
He subsequently regrets this decision as more inexplicable and strange incidents occur, with Ali concluding that their house may be possessed by a demonic entity…
Reviews:
“Even the acting is far more improved since the actors in this film end up seeming far more real and scared by remembering that “naturalistic” acting does not mean “not acting”. This didn’t total up to make a good movie but at least it helped the time pass by a bit more comfortably than the original.” Can’t Stop the Movies
“Williams doesn’t bring anything to the prequel besides a fatter budget and valuable hindsight, which beefs up the film nicely, allowing for more advanced special effects. The rest is just more of the same, with the cast aggressively trying to sell the “reality” of this found-footage picture, which only reinforces its obvious artificiality.” DVD Talk
“There are great horror movies about families who fall apart when goosed by the supernatural, but here, despite the humanistic background of director Williams […] the psychodrama is thin. I also found the ending too abrupt.” Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“Paranormal Activity 2 follows the same basic formula as the first film but ramps up the paranormal activity and jump scares. Observant fans of Paranormal Activity (2007) won’t be disappointed as the second film includes some great easter eggs and callbacks.” Found Footage Critic
“There are six speaking roles, not counting the non-speaking baby and the dog. Good odds, you’d think, that at least one of them would have something interesting to say, but no. The movie isn’t about them. They function primarily as Gotcha! separators, going through vacuous social motions between Gotchas!” Roger Ebert
“Williams, whose 2004 The Door in the Floor with Jeff Bridges was criminally undervalued, is too good for this nonsense. But he keeps the thrills coming, building menace into baby toys and innocent-looking household objects. The ending? It sucks.” Rolling Stone
Cast and characters:
- David Bierend … Surveillance Camera Expert
- Brian Boland … Daniel Rey
- Molly Ephraim … Ali Rey
- Katie Featherston … Katie
- Seth Ginsberg … Brad
- Sprague Grayden … Kristi Rey
- William Juan Prieto … Hunter Rey
- Jackson Xenia Prieto … Hunter Rey
- Micah Sloat … Micah
- Vivis Colombetti … Martine (as Vivis)
Release:
Paranormal Activity 2 was released in theaters at midnight on October 22, 2010 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Poland and Ireland. An unrated version of the film was also released.
Box office:
The film took $177.5 million worldwide on a reported budget of $3 million.
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