Being Midnight Hollow’s lead video researcher I felt it was necessary to review the currently playing movie Paranormal Activity 2 as this site seeks to redefine the paranormal. Ok, ok, ok, so I just really wanted to see the movie and thought I could pass it off as research. I really liked the first installment and was not disappointed in the sequel. I must say though, judging from the comments from the gentlemen seated next to me who obviously had not seen the first movie that you will get so much more out of the second one if you have seen the first one first. It took me a few minutes to make the connection between the first and the second movie, but after I did it explained everything for me. I thought the movie makers did a very good job of tying the two together but at the same time keeping them separate entities. I also thought that they once again did a very good job explaining why there was all of the videotaping going one. That is one thing that I have encountered so very many times in watching videos for this site; taping for absolutely no reason at all. Which quickly leads me to start rolling my eyes and moving on to the next video and chalking that one up as a fake.
I thought the reasoning the teenage daughter came up with was a slight stretch, but it was plausible enough for me to say “ok slight stretch, but I guess I can buy that.” A later discussion with my boyfriend, Jim, who I went to see the movie with, revealed the fact that making that kind of a deal was not based off the bible. But it still made for a good plot explanation. That’s one thing I can’t stand is a lame plot explanation or major holes in said plot explanation. Jim did seem to think the reasoning was a hole in the plot but that is because he knew that was not possible, but at least it didn’t ruin the movie for him.
The experience of seeing this particular movie in the theater was part of the fun. Not only the whole movie theater atmosphere, the industrial sized tub of artificial butter flavored popcorn, the bladder bursting cups of soda, boxes of candy that you can find nowhere else for which there is a reason, but the audience completes it all. Everyone screaming in unison during the scary parts, laughing during the funny parts added to the movie. I would have enjoyed this movie anywhere but seeing it on the silver screen made it somehow better. I am sure though however that no matter where we saw the movie, my darling boyfriend the love of my life, would still have tried to scare me by suddenly shaking my leg. It didn’t work… or at least that’s the story I’m sticking to.
At least this member of Midnight Hollow was willing to go see Paranormal Activity 2 and review it as our fearless (or full as the case may be) leader said it would freak him out too much. Blame it on the original Psycho with Anthony Perkins… he was never the same after watching that movie. It started my love for scary movies.
But when all is said and done, I really enjoyed this movie. It seems that this is the type of movie that you either loved or thought was lame. This isn’t to say this was another Blair Witch Bomb… that was just lame all over the place. The movie was good, the plot was good, the premise of why all the taping was good, and the scares were good as well. So this video researcher gives this movie on a ghost scale of one to five, a 4 1/2.