Paranormal Activity 2

     Now I have sat through scary movies in theaters before where you almost can't even tell if the audience is awake.  No screaming, no nervous giggling, nothing.  For "Paranormal Activity 2", the audience was completely immersed in this movie- jumping, hiding eyes, screaming, and laughing the entire time.  It was awesome.  I almost expected applause when the lights came up at the end.  People left breathless, excited, and laughing.  "Paranormal Acticity 2" did exactly what a scary movie is supposed to.  I personally found the sequel to be even more scary and disturbing than the original.  And I find it frustrating that so many people out there rip these movies to shreds, yet go on and on about the wonders of the latest "SAW" or Michael Bay remake.  

     I am pleased to say that I found "Paranormal Activity 2" to be the scariest, most disturbing horror film I have seen in years since, well, "The Descent".  I was truly on the edge of my seat, and found myself 100% creeped out by this movie.  It brilliantly knows how to induce real tension and dread.  No, it's not "The Amityville Horror" or "Poltergeist" with over-the-top effects.  It's not supposed to be.  That's the whole point.  It's not often that I'm truly frightened by a movie, especially these days.  Long gone are the day of "Halloween", "Friday the 13th", and "The Exorcist".  Most movies today are just over-the-top gore and effects, because that's all that most filmmakers today know how to create.  Rob Zombie or Eli Roth, anybody?  But once in a while, certain little movies with absolutely no budget but tons of imagination come along and frighten us.  "Paranormal Activity" and its sequel certainly fall into that group.    

  

     Go and read all the reviews of "Paranormal Activity" on IMDB or Netflix and you'll see that they all pretty much say the same things- terrible special effects, terrible acting, and cheaply made.  Like I said before, if it doesn't have Jessica Biel running around screaming or in-your-face gore, then apparently it doesn't qualify as a horror movie.  All kinds of things can scare us.  Some prefer a more subdued, quiet scare.  Others like to be hit over the head.  I'm not saying that everybody should like "The Blair Witch Project" or "Paranormal Activity".  But I am saying that there are many movie-watchers out there that cry foul anytime something dares to stray away from "formula".  I honestly didn't think I would like this movie near as much as I do, and I'm so glad I saw the first one.  And you'd better believe I'll be there opening night for "Paranormal Activity 3"...