I watched “Paranormal Activity” in midst of the hype and before the ending could be spoiled for me. Like many who watched the low budget horror flick, I was scared out of my mind. Even worse, I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep for at least a week because as a kid I was afraid of things that went ‘bump’ in the night. I’m not entirely sure if director and writer Oren Peli realized he’d induce nightmares amongst the millions who watched the low budget horror flick, but I’m positive he’s happy he was able to do so. Mission accomplished.
A year later, we now have “Paranormal Activity 2.” Because of the original’s huge success, ($193 million worldwide) a sequel was obvious … and unnecessary. The moment confirmation hit the web that a second was in the making, I thought the following: It won’t be as good as the first. Not that it matters to the studio. In the end they just want to make a profit. However, Oren Peli has been very vocal about not letting his fans down. So, with that said I watched both trailers with an open mind.
I liked the first teaser. Not much was given away and the viewer was reminded of just how terrifying the first film was. The second trailer … revealed too much. Complete with haunted baby, it feels gimmicky. What’s pretty clear is that a new family has settled into Micah and Katie’s former apartment and as expected strange things started to occur shortly after moving in.
Cut to surveillance footage where we see a door shutting on its own, a guy running blindly in the dark and a baby pulled the back of the crib, save for the infant part, there’s really nothing new to see here. But since Peli is adamant about this being just as good as his first creation, one can only guess and hope some original scary bits weren’t shown in the trailer.
Meh. I’ll see it.
“Paranormal Activity 2″ opens Oct. 22.
