Believe only in what can be seen. At least, that’s how Dan Rey, the main character in Paranormal Activity 2, lived his life. The film starts out with a family outing, transitioning to an apparent burglary. The housekeeper senses an evil spirit in the house so how does the non-believing Dan treat her? He fires her. Losing a job because one has an unusual ability is something I’ve lived through. I’ll give them credit for establishing a connection to real life.
In the movie, the family unit consisted of a teenage daughter from a previous marriage that belonged to Dan, and a new wife who gave birth to Hunter, the first born son. While the movie’s premise of making pacts with demons is cleverly revealed through the daughter’s keen internet research skills, I was amused with the “supernatural” events and intrigued by one of the movie’s themes. Let’s ignore the fact that everything we read on the internet must be true. (This is when you raise your eyebrows while I grin). I preferred to focus on the scare aspects of the film. There were a few brief moments when I wondered, “Oh, oh. What’s going to happen next?” Unfortunately, I thought the element of surprise wasn’t exploited enough. Yes, I enjoyed a kitchen scene. And a couple of gravity defying episodes did put a smile on my face. However, if you’re a fan of gore and shocking horror, this isn’t the movie to watch. Nevertheless, the fact that this movie served as a prequel to the first may instill a need in you to solve an old mystery.
Rather than delve on the movie’s imperfections. After all, I watched a newborn grow into a toddler rather quickly. The writers did a splendid job making me think about how horrible some of us humans really are. The non-believing Dan gets to make a decision that affects another household. As a result of this revelation, I did not feel sorry for some of the characters with one exception and as far as I know, that character survived.
Battling demons without knowing it, or refusing to admit it, is quite exhausting. When it comes to horror, what you don’t know can do more than hurt you, it can kill you. Anytime ignorance is blatant in a movie, it usually spells for an entertaining time. So perhaps if you watch this sequel, some issues that may have sprung from the first installment, may get answered.
My personal opinion, I wouldn’t have linked this episode with the other. Regardless, I’ll give the filmmakers credit for trying to pull off another first person movie, with more third person angles. At least this time, I didn’t wind up with a headache.
Knight Chills gives Paranormal Activity 2 three kills out of a possible five.
See you on the dark side.
Nomar Knight
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