Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 129
Fresh: 76 | Rotten: 53
Paranormal Activity 2 doesn't cover any new ground, but its premise is still scary -- and in some respects, it's a better film than the original.
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 26
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 12
Paranormal Activity 2 doesn't cover any new ground, but its premise is still scary -- and in some respects, it's a better film than the original.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 97,134
My Rating
Movie Info
The sequel to the low-budget blockbuster Paranormal Activity takes place a few months before the events of the first film. Katie (Katie Featherston), the much put-upon leading lady in the original, has a sister living in an upscale Los Angeles suburb named Kristi (Sprague Grayden). Kristi has a new baby son, Hunter; a likable lug of a husband named Daniel (Brian Boland), who owns several fast-food joints; a teenage stepdaughter from her hubby's first marriage, Ali (Molly Ephraim); and a large,
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Cast
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Katie Featherston
Katie -
Micah Sloat
Micah -
Brian Boland
Daniel Rey -
Molly Ephraim
Ali Rey -
Sprague Grayden
Kristi Rey -
Seth Ginsberg
Brad -
William Juan Prieto
Hunter Rey -
Jackson Xenia Prieto
Hunter Rey -
Vivis Colombetti
Martine -
David Bierend
Surveillance Camera Exp...
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Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer & Photos
All Critics (129) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (55) | DVD (9)
Like Oren Peli, who created the first film, director Tod Williams keeps the dialogue So-Cal dumb and colorless, which must be part of the scare plan but makes both these movies hard to sit through.
Top CriticLess scary than a toaster.
Even knowing what's likely to come -- the doors opening on their own, the skeptical characters scoffing at metaphysical explanations, the unheeded warnings from paranormally gifted guests -- doesn't make it any less nailbiting to watch.
It's simultaneously a lot more expensive and a lot cheaper.
Demons of mediocrity, be gone! Here we have a shrewd sequel a touch better than the original.
What's unusual about these movies is that we know those scares are coming, and the filmmakers' drawn-out approach makes them even more effective when they finally arrive.
It's the scariest movie in years.
To put it simply, if you've seen the first film, then you've seen this film. There's nothing new offered here, so there's not much of a point in bothering with it.
While the meagre rationing of shocks is undoubtedly frustrating for the bulk of the movie, this allows the final act plenty of room to crank the fear factor up to 11.
The good ol' child-in-peril gimmick is the only new thing offered by Tod Williams' follow-up to Oren Peli's 2007 hit.
Instead of being trapped in one bedroom, this family has quite a few escape routes that they use quite a bit, which doesn't really help build a sense of dread. It just makes you think, "Get out of the house, fools. The door's right there."
The scares in Paranormal Activity 2 aren't as frequent or always as well built as the original film's, but those that exist are still pretty effective.
Not only drags out too long, it fails to pay off at the end.
[A] title card end[s] the film on another ominous ellipsis, ominous primarily because it guarantees the need for a third film, most likely to be released in 3D, it is assumed.
...you have to sit through eighty minutes or so of tedium for the final ten or fifteen minutes of confusion and mayhem. (Blu-ray Combo Edition)
For me, the meager payoff wasn't worth the effort in time and patience. The bother wasn't worth the wait.
I enjoyed Paranormal Activity 2 and I'd recommend it even if you weren't a fan of the first.
I anxiously await the third leg in the series.
Revealing more of the mystery reduces the scare factor but ups the intrigue.
PA2 actually isn't that frightening, but it complicates the questions of documentation, memory, and history in ways that make any possible answers at least a little unnerving.
full review at Movies for the Masses
Audience Reviews for Paranormal Activity 2
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Daniel Rey: (regarding Kristi after watching pool cleaner crawl out of the pool) Her hormones are all kooky! She's got, paranoid mommy!
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- Kristi Rey: Leave me alone!
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- Daniel Rey: Hey! Who left the front door open?
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- Ali Rey: It wasn't Witchy! It made her feel better.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on Paranormal Activity 2
November 18, 2010:
Paranormal Activity 3 Coming in 2011According to Oren Peli himself, the third "Paranormal Activity" will reach theaters on October 21,...
October 25, 2010:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Paranormal Activity 2 Scares Up The Top SpotMoviegoers were in the mood for a good scare as the supernatural thriller Paranormal Activity 2...
October 22, 2010:
Critics Consensus: Paranormal Activity 2 Is A Solid, Scary Follow-upThis week at the movies, we've got spooky spectres (Paranormal Activity 2, starring Katie...
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Foreign Titles
- Paranormal Activity 2: An IMAX Experience (DE)
- Paranormal Activity 2: An IMAX Experience (UK)
