Customer Reviews

Paranormal Activity 2 (Unrated Director's Cut Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Paranormal Activity benefits from a slightly larger budget, but suffers from not being as unique as the first. The story is a prequel and sequel, it wraps around the original story and adds more layers to it. It is good and has some decent scares. If you loved the first movie, then I think this is a must for you.

The first paranormal activity blew me away...it was intriguing, creepy as hell, and believable. The Prequel...Not so much. Paranormal activity 2 has its flaws. First of all the setting, felt like a rerun of MTV'S "The Hills." Not enough confined space, opposed to the first one. Secondly, the first forty five minutes or so is a total drag, many boring scenes. There wasn't enough questioning the demonic force, or researching it to be known even after strange events start happening. The characters didn't seem believable, until the second act of the film...where it actually picks up and isn't such a total bore fest! I thought the concept of the movie was great, just not enough action, and a little too much humor between the characters for my tastes. Just like the Quija board scene, that would have been creepy if it had the affect the first one did. The girl wasn't even acknowledging that her baby brothers name was being spelled out, and was cracking jokes about the word vagina. I blame the writers for that though. There are however some creepy scenes towards the end of the film, nothing spectacular although. More or less, the same as the first in that sense. This one definitely did not mount the horror, or the dread, night after night, leading up to the occurrences like the first one did. The best part in the movie is the ending with Katie, have no complaints about that. And what about the dog? Never did find out if it was okay, after the attack by the demon...oh well, too many loose ends in this underrated prequel. Hope the film makers go back to the basics with the third, and make it a noteworthy sequel... PARANORMAL ACTIVITY *** STARS OUT OF FIVE. Last thoughts?...Okay, but just mediocre.

The Good -- This movie builds the suspense nicely. Whereas the first movie was practically non-stop chills, this one doles out the creepiness in little doses, increasing the fright until the inevitable end.

The male lead here doesn't act like such an jerk like the male lead in the first movie. I appreciated that greatly.


The Bad -- While not essential, watching the prequel beforehand will really enhance the complete viewing experience. Events in the prequel are referenced and will make more sense after watching this one. On its own, Paranormal Activity 2 is good, but not great.

Another stain on this decent film is that the family installs security cameras throughout their house, but only check the footage occasionally, therefore not validating their individual supernatural experiences. That's just dumb.


The Ugly -- Comparisons between this and the first movie are bound to exist. While watching this one, I kept expecting scary things to happen because, after all, they did in the first one. Watching the first one to compliment each other is a double-edged sword because neither now stand on their own. However, that's not enough to downgrade this movie to a lower rating.

I actually thought this one was better than Paranormal Activity 1. I liked how this one gave way more background on the back story of the series and how it was able to connect both movies together. That was really neat.

DISCLAIMER: I loved, loved, loved Paranormal Activity. If you didn't, then don't watch this. This was made for people who liked the original. The people involved in making this flick saw no need to modify that which a lot of folks already liked. So here we go...

In any movie where we, the audience, will watch a group of people under emotional duress it is the screenwriter and director's job to have us identify with them somehow; humanize them. So let's meet the players. This family has QUITE a house (much like the pleasantly affluent couple in Paranormal Activity). The man of the house has not one but two--TWO--man caves!!!! The first-born daughter is a hand full. I was looking forward to the lines that would pour out of that sassy mouth. How does such a child get raised? Well, that double-man-caving husband coupled with a wife who clearly never plans on doing a diaper. And why bother? She has a Latin nanny to whom she may delegate at will. The nanny tends to the baby, their infant son, who dad thinks will favor father-son Chargers games over video games as he enters adolescence. Good luck with that bonding, dad! Relating with this American portrait yet?

This family is living the American dream. A McMansion of a house, a nanny, an adorable baby, sunny California BBQ's by the pool, and a dog that doesn't seem to bark, bite, drool or hump anything. I don't want it to end. The father even quotes Highlander while dunking his nephew in the pool. "There can be only ONE!" Perfect. A little too perfect?

BAM! The house is dilapidated! It looks like they owed a hurricane money and it took it out on their interior decorating. Without being any less intriguing for it, we find ourselves playing the exact same game as I did during the first Paranormal Activity. We listen for strange noises. We focus our eyes on random objects trying to convince ourselves whether or not they're moving ever so slightly. When the dog stirs, stares or barks, we try to see what the dog is focusing on. We get involved and otherwise meaningless security-cam footage of an uneventful house becomes a suspenseful ocular-sleuthing marathon. Kudos to the filmmakers for taking me on this journey. The movie develops from that point on and, well, you should know the kinds of things that follow.

Completely off-topic, but the Latin maid speaks very little English, however she talks quite a bit. No subtitles are offered to the audience when she speaks Spanish (to herself, in panic, in prayer, etc.). But if you understand what she's saying, the movie is actually even more interesting. Even more interesting than if they gave subtitles...because you know that you caught something that wasn't meant for everyone in the audience. As I found myself understanding it I stopped to wonder how monolingual Americans would react to these indecipherable mutterings--would the mood be different? No subtitles was a brilliant call. Also, adding not only a dog OR a baby, but both, was a great call. You'll find that you watch the baby much in the same way that you watch the dog. They're both like windchime-harbingers of strange goings-on.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. There were times when I was watching the screen SOOOO carefully with my eyes darting about at details like a devout Ghost Hunter. This movie was admittedly very similar to the prequel, but it was not a blatant repetition. This sequel, unlike the original, also had a distinct protagonist: the daughter.

With a much bigger (if still small by Hollywood standards) budget than the excellent original, this upstart does it again. We discover that this is really a prequel that sets the stage for the who, why and when all this ghostly stuff occurs. We move beyond the young couple in "1" and here see a complete family unit. A father on his second marriage - with a teenage daughter in tow - his new wife and their newborn son. After strange sounds and events begin the couple installs strategically placed cameras throughout the house. This of course is how we see all the spooky stuff...but not any physical beings...until the end. Plenty of gotchas of course, but genuinely creepy. Stillllllll! At some point don't you call 911?

This 2 disc combo pack includes the theatrical version and an unrated version which includes 7 minutes of "found footage." Also it includes an unrated DVD version as well as a digital copy. All presented in glorious DTS-HD Master Audio in addition to Dolby Digital 5.1.

I think this was much better than the first movie. It was a lot scarier and I liked the story line better.

I saw PA2 in Blu-ray of course. Someone still rents or buy DVDs ???
The movie has its moments but it is all. Just to have some fun.

This movie is awesome, it's a must watch if u haven't yet watched it, it's great if you love scary movies.

I ordered Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity 2. The first movie worked fine and the picture was awesome- I loved it. The Paranormal Activity 2 movie I ordered skipped several times throughout the movie despite it being brand new. There were also parts in the middle of the movie that looked to be of very poor quality for even a regular DVD(I ordered blu-ray). I would not recommend buying this product.