After experiencing what they think are a series of “break-ins”, a family sets up security cameras around their home, only to realize that the events unfolding before them are more sinister than they seem.
With the humongous success of “Paranormal Activity” a sequel was simply inevitable, so there was no shock when this was announced.
I have one big problem with this film, I saw the trailer for it and thought to myself that it looked quite interesting and I was curious to see where they’d go next. The problem was the studio used a lot of footage that didn’t appear in the movie and I felt cheated, the Directors said they had to do that because of the storyline but I still wasn’t happy and it turned out I wasn’t alone as many, many others felt the same way.
Because of this experience the film was tarnished for a while with me, in hindsight I understand in a way why the Directors did what they did but viewers hate feeling cheated and that’s exactly how we felt, cheated and manipulated. But I do hope that they have figured out that hey could’ve done something different for a trailer, I know they lost quite a few fans because of this.
To the film itself, I was quite confused that they jumped straight to a prequel, That’s usually saved for further down the line in a series and a lot of us wanted to know what the aftermath was of the first film. This was a swerve that caught fans off guard, it wasn’t exactly a nice surprise after the whole trailer fiasco. They managed to shoot themselves in the foot more than once.
The films format is exactly the same as the first film and it’s something that the franchise became known for, this can be a problem for some viewers as they find it quite boring but I enjoyed the format and was glad to see the studios stick to this simplistic formula instead of trying to do a big budget revamp, which has happened before. This shows that original ideas are needed to keep things fresh.
“Paranormal Activity 2” is a decent enough sequel/prequel, if you enjoyed the first film you’ll certainly enjoy this.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
The preview for this film was banned in some theaters for scaring teenagers and small children viewing PG-13 films.
On the official site for the film, there are secret messages when the trailer is fast-forwarded or rewound. Additionally, after the trailer finishes playing, the baby appears in the mirror but isn’t present in the nursery. Also in the mirror, letters written in what seems to be blood spell a message. Upon flipping the picture horizontally, the message reads, “What is happening to Hunter?”
Upon release, this broke the record for the biggest midnight gross of an R-rated movie with $6.3 million, and the biggest opening for a horror movie of all time, earning a total of $41,500,000 in its opening weekend.
This film was announced shortly after Paranormal Activity (2007) was released into theaters in 2009.
Kevin Greutert was initially hired to helm the film but was forced to work on Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010) when the producers of that film exercised a clause in his contract, forcing him off Paranormal Activity 2 (2010).
During the climax, immediately following when the power goes out in the house, there is a single, out of focus, frame of Hunter crawling in the street that quickly flashes on and off screen.
There are two Ramones and one Misfits poster in Ali’s room. Daniel Rey, namesake of Brian Boland’s character, produced albums for both The Ramones and The Misfits.
Shipped to theaters under the code name “Sharpie 79”.
Brian De Palma, Akiva Goldsman and Kevin Greutert were all considered to direct.
As with the first film, Paramount Studios utilized world-renowned paranormal expert, Christopher Chacon, to assist in internationally promoting and publicizing the film.
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