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.

Where do you go in a sequel to a horror movie that was shot low budget, came out of nowhere and was very creepy and scary something very rare in the horror genre now days. What you do is create an entire new set of ghostly visits and demonic possession that relies on and capitalizes on what made the first movie so good and successful. From the low budget, to the slow build up going from creepy, to terrifying to horrific, to a very believable premise that can scare you. Paranormal Activity 2 starts where the first film left off and is nearly as good as the original and just as scary.

Gone are the days when one could be fooled by a ad campaign that the Blair Witch Project pulled off in 1999. We as consumers have grown too cynical and tech savvy to fall for that kind of campaign again even though the original Paranormal Activity did a fairly good job of recreating it. The sequel was not able to benefit from that half plausible gorilla campaign though so instead they just went out and made a movie without it knowing they were not going to fool anyone. And this worked very well for them because they still have that creepy feel to the movie that is so low budget but you as an audience member don’t feel like they are working very hard to try and fool you. This tactic normally fails because the film then ends up feeling strained and like they are trying too hard something that Paranormal Activity didn’t suffer from luckily.

I am impressed by the ingenious idea of having what appears to look like a burglary at the start of the film allow for the entire house to be shot in a close circuit format from that point on. It removes that shaky camera effect that can make the audience sick and at the same time allows for multiple cameras and angles to tell the story. It adds a little to the sequel that the original was missing as now we have the ability to show more and get a larger picture. Granted you do lose a little of the creepiness of things happening off screen but I think it adds more than it loses.

Once again utilizing unknown actors is a key staple to how well the movie plays out. By casting actors that are not familiar to the audience it allows for the suspension of disbelief to be a lot easier. You are already asked to suspend a lot of disbelief with the story itself so it is good that you don’t remember the actors from other movies or shows they have been in. Paranormal Activity 2 is one of those sequels that manages to live up to the original and is perfect for a late night scare.

Grade: B+