Iffy for 16+
Psychological horror sequel just as spooky as the original.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Paranormal Activity 2 -- a follow-up to 2009's low-budget horror hit -- is as full of dread and terror as the original. While hardly any violence is shown on screen (most of the scary moments involve loud noises and sudden movements), tension and fear are constant, and -- as in the original -- the viewer's imagination provides most of the fright. There's off-screen violence involving a dog, a toddler is put in mild peril, and one character's neck is snapped. Language is fairly infrequent but strong; it includes "f--k," "s--t" and "p---y." Teens who survived the original will most likely want to see this one, too.
- Families can talk about what makes a movie scary -- blood and gore or implied violence.
- What scared you most, and why? How did you feel about being scared?
- What would be the effect of constantly filming your life?
The good stuff
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Messages: These terrible things begin happening to this family -- presumably -- because of something an ancestor did; there's no sense of justice. During the crisis, the family works hard to protect the new baby, but at the same time, they don't seem able to work together. The father refuses to believe that anything is wrong. Toward the end of the story, the father makes a hard, cruel decision, which winds up biting him back.
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Role models: Dan refuses to believe his wife and daughter when they say that something is wrong in the house, and he fires the nanny when she tries to perform a cleansing ritual. Kristi isn't nearly as brave as the female character in the original movie, though teen daughter Ally shows some spunk from time to time.
What to watch for
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Violence: While there's no overt violence -- and only a tiny bit of blood (a bite mark) -- the movie has almost constant sense of dread and terror. Most of the fear involves loud noises and sudden movements, except for a quick sequence in which a character's neck is broken. There's some off-screen violence involving a dog and some mild peril involving a toddler -- an invisible demon slowly drags him across his crib, but he's unharmed.
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Sex: In one scene, a married couple considers taking a bath together and possibly having sex, though it's mplied through mild innuendo rather than shown.
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Language: Language includes a teen using "f--k" multiple times (while frightened). Other words include "s--t," "p---y," "ass," "crap," damn," "oh my God," and "goddammit."
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Consumerism: A Dunkin' Donuts ad can be heard on television. Characters play with a Ouija Board at one point.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Adults drink beer socially.
Fan Reviews provided by
1
Ruined the Horror of the First One by jparkerson2
The first Paranormal Activity terrified my girlfriend and I so much that we slept with the lights on for months (not exaggerating). We went to see this one, terrified, expecting similar horrors afterward. This movie put so many holes in the plot of the first one that the it no longer seems scary. If you really enjoyed the first and enjoyed the fear, either skip this one completely or do your best to not think about how stupid it makes the first movie seem. Now, when I think about Paranormal Activity 1, all I can think about is how their reactions didn't make any sense considering that they would've already known a little of what was going on. Plus, who gets a home surveillance system and only watches the video for one camera when something happens? Overall, too many holes...
5
This movie rocked! by wartlahc
My, oh my, did I love this film! (Our whole group adored it.) It scared my boyfriend so bad that he had issues driving home that night! I liked this movie a lot. It was terrifying - way more terrifying and thrilling than the first movie by far (although they DID wrap the first movie with this one, so, everyone, these two films connect very nicely!). The acting was grand (especially the nanny's and the daughter's. They were great).
They directed it perfectly to make the suspense just right. I'd say anyone who doesn't wet themselves at the thought of a ghost should see this! It was great. If you like scary movies, you'll like this! I am definitely going to buy this film when it comes out and probably see it again in theaters!
5
Terrifying!!! By far the best horror movie in YEARS! by fiercevanity23
By far, Paranormal Activity 2 is the scariest movie I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of scary movies, and I dont get shook up much, but this got me. SO much better than the first one, and the plot is way more developed. It almost went too far; people in the theater were crying and screaming. For a movie with very little violence, I was horrified. I promise you, you will have second thoughts about turning out the lights after watching this.
1
Waste of time and money by Alle
For most of this movie, nothing happens. Really...nothing. You are basically watching someone's lame home movies and security camera footage. It seems endless.....waiting for SOMETHING, ANYTHING to happen. Finally something happens and it isn't that scarey and it lasts for about 5 minutes.
I wish I could get a refund. The movie is just irritating.
I wanted to stand outside of the theatre with a sign warning others to not waste their money. Total boring rip off. Don't go!
5
Great Movie by stinkingbob
Paranormal Activity 2 is not a sequel, but rather a prequel to the original by the same name. In fact, cameo appearances by the first PA actors are strewn throughout this film. I would recommend that you see the first PA as there are references in that movie which tie in with this one. If you have sen the previews or have watched the original, then you already know what this movie is about: a family that is haunted by an evil spirit which grows more aggressive each day.
I had a blast watching this movie. It is not a scary movie meaning there will be nothing jumping out on screen to shock you; instead the suspense comes from unexpected sounds and creepy visuals. Trust me, there will be at least 5 times in the movie where you will jump because you were not expecting something to happen.
This film is much better than the original and very well scripted, so if you loved the first one, you will really really love this movie. Check this one out. I highly recommend it.
5
Must Go See All Paranormal Fans!!! by Neverlookback92
This one was better than the first! I'll admit I was a bit of a skeptic at first. But this one absolutely terrified me. I felt sick to my stomach from the fear. I was left with an adrenaline rush at the end. No other movie has come close to that. Even better if you go with good audience.
5
Great Tie In by suchasiam
SO, 1st OFF THE WAY THIS "SEQUEL" ACTUALLY INCOMPASSES THE TIME BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE 1ST MOVIE WAS REALLY QUITE BRILLIANT.2ND THE SCARE FACTOR WAS HERE, HOWEVER I FEEL THAT BECAUSE IT IS THE SAME FORMULA AS THE 1ST MOVIE, IT MAKES THE ANTICIPATION OF "WHAT COULD BE NEXT" A LITTLE LESS. 2 MOMENTS I FEEL WERE HOLLYWOOD CHEESE HOWEVER. ONE SCENE INVOLVING THE BABY AND ITS INTERACTION WITH THE "THING" AND A SCENE INVOLVING A HEAD TURNING SITUATION WITH THE DADA THAT FELT A BIT OVER DONE. I GIVE THE 1ST PARANORMAL ACTIVITY A 9.5 ON THE FREAKY FACTOR, WHERE THIS I GIVE A SOLID 9
1
Not worth even renting it. by cyan71
I went and saw this after my son told me it was better then the first. I will be grounding him for the time I lost watching this movie. It was no better then the first, it was the. Very slow in the start. Slow in the middle and finally medium in the end. There was no scare factor. People in the audience were laughing at every "scary" part. Even the kids. Please God, keep them from making a number 3.
4
scare factor by Smurf_Dingess4747
This movie was made to make people poo in their pants..
The scare factor of the movie was mainly due to sounds portrayed by the "paranormal activity", if you watch the movie blindfolded you would most likely be as scared if not more.
4
It was way better than expected! by rayray5100
like seriously. i thought it was gonna be one of those movies, kind of the like the Blaire witch project 2, where it looked awesome but actually wasn't... Well this was definitely not the truth. It was suspenseful in all the right places, did an amazing job at reacting with the first movie, and had a good sense of "comical" behavior kind of like how Mica was in the first movie being sarcastic about ghosts. The first movie actually made a lot more sense with certain things about the Demon following her after watching number two, the only thing i didn't like was the ending, it was a little too bland for my kind of endings, the first movie had a way better ending which left us about to pee our pants, this was a little...so-so but the movie itself was amazing, everybody was on the edge of their seat.