Review of Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) by Jim G — 27 Nov 2011

Definitely not a sequel in the conventional sense of the term and not quite a prequel either (since not all of the action in this film takes place before the action in âParanormal Activityâ?), âParanormal Activity 2â? is kind of a co-quel to the original.

The story here focuses on Kristi and Daniel, a married couple who with a newborn baby, Hunter, and Danielâ(TM)s daughter from another marriage, Ali. The link between this film and the first does not become apparent until Kristiâ(TM)s sister Katie and her husband Micah (the main characters from the first film) arrive for a visit.

When Micah first appears, a graphic on the screen informs us that we are seeing him 60 days before his deathâ"and the puzzle pieces begin coming together. Since thereâ(TM)s a small child and a dog involved in this story, the terror potential is a bit higher than it was in the first film, but it seems to take an unbearably long time (and a seemingly infinite number of surveillance camera shotsâ"of the same household scenes) before anything happens.

The home video/documentary style narrative still works and affords us just enough information to co-construct the narrative, but this film delivers fewer spine-tingling and genuinely creepy moments than the original.

When the action does happen, it is abrupt. And even though this film fills in some of the gaps in the original narrative by providing some additional information about the demonic power thatâ(TM)s terrorizing Katie and Kristi and their families, it also ends with a scene that appends some information to the conclusion of the original and ultimately points the way to the third film in the series.

Despite some inevitable disappointment, fans of the original will probably enjoy this one as wellâ"but not as much.