Escape to the Movies: Paranormal Activity 2

walsfeo

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Feb 17, 2010
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Bob has it right, just doing things bigger is not the secret to success in horror storytelling.

For horror movie sequels to work something about the story need to change. The shift from Alien to Aliens is an extreme example, where the franchise changed from horror to action horror, though I suspect that'd be a tough jump for Paranormal Activity. Perhaps if they'd turned in a more weird tales direction, or even a n out of the house "look what these ATM or other public security cameras" see point of view.
 

ritchards

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Nov 20, 2009
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I preferred the original ending of the 2007 version, before they wussed out for mainstream America...
 

Frankfurter4444

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Aug 11, 2009
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You know what I kind of wish: when Bob picks a movie one week, but there are other movies that also came out that Escapist members might also consider seeing; I obviously think it is unreasonable to do two videos (or three or four) but since Bob has seen all of them (and that helps him decide which one he wants to do the video on each Friday) maybe he could just give a "it's good" or an "it's bad" thumb up/thumb down during the credits. You know, like is Hereafter any good?

Bob, if you're reading this: could you consider that?

Love the reviews, keep it up.
 

J-Dude

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Dec 16, 2009
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Personally, I saw the midnight showing, and I have to disagree about Bob's assessment of this, which is unusual given I tend to use his reviews as a compass for my taste in films.

This movie and the first movie both did enough to keep me bolted to my seat. Sure, yes, the demon's freakouts this time around are a lot less subtle and we're all just waiting to see it do it's thing, but I'm a total sucker for this stuff.

Blair Witch Project was one of the scariest movie experiences of my life, and I never even saw it in theaters. Nothing really "scared" me between then and now until Paranormal. There are just so few horror movies that offer a truly unseen, unfathomable entity that STAYS that way, and isn't merely defeated in the end. Those sort of films are extremely rare, and they frighten the living shit out of me. Much in the same way that "Despicable Me" wasn't the strongest movie I'd ever seen, but I loved because of it's ability to make me cry, the Paranormals' 1 and 2 can incite a primal fear within me that follows me home and can take days to shake off, and I love it, if only for that.
 

Rofl-Mayo

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Mar 11, 2010
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I'm going to watch it tonight with some friends, hopefully it's better than the review said.
 

Chancie

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Sep 23, 2009
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Huh. Well, I wasn't expecting too much from it, but I'll probably see it sometime anyways. I'll just go into it knowing that it won't actually be anything amazing.
 

roostuf

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Dec 29, 2009
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I was never going to see this anyway, but i am instead going to see PA1 which i haven't seen yet.




OT: do cloverfield how could you miss it like come on its perfect.
 

Enkidu88

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Jan 24, 2010
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That bit about the Robot in the credits demands explanation.

DEMANDS , Bob.

Don't fail me.
 

Nouw

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Mar 18, 2009
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Awesome to see him using the Extra Credit's voice. Good review, going to tell friends this.
 

Shameless

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Jun 28, 2010
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never been a fan of the first Paranormal Activity so why would I see this ?

seriously why people loved that movie ? it was boring.
 

[zonking great]

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Aug 20, 2008
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You know, even if it's a good idea to make a sequel (note: it is most certainly not), then giving it a timespan haphazardly stuck into the first movie's timeline is a bad idea.
Even I lost track of Saw with all those damn parallel timelines.
 

MadGodXero

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Dec 6, 2009
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Meh. Never cared for horror movies too much, never saw The blair witch project for that matter, so I'm going to say ...I'm skipping this, unless the horror movie-obsessed girlfriends begs me to watch it......
 

Distorted Stu

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Sep 22, 2009
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I enjoyed this film so much! Great cinema experience. with friends. Made even better by the peopel sat behind us going "Fuck this shit!" everything a suspencful moment of creepy scene came on lol

but saying that, it wasnt because it was a great blockbuster film. No, its because it was laughable at parts (that darn baby is so cute, even when in peril) and the only reason i found i was watching it was to find out if the Demon got what it wanted and so see how many more times it made me jump.
The fucking exploding kitchen made me shit bricks

[sub]Pool cleaning-bot <3 "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat" rofl[/sub]

What was sratched into the Basement door? I think it says Micah, but if it did, that doesnt make any sense since the Demon had not yet moved onto Katie.
 

mikepyro

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Sep 17, 2010
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I'm suprised bob felt this way considering the reviews for PA2 are just as good as the first. In fact, alot of critics are saying it's even better.
Normally I trust Bob, he's a damn good reviewer, but he seemed to be more pissed that it's a sequel than whether or not its a good film.

And the general public and critics seemed to love the last one, save a few guys hating to hate, or those who hate handheld no matter what it is. There's only a few naysayers of the original I've heard that can back up their bitching.

But yes, sequels often suck, remakes too, in fact most horror movies in general are flat out awful, which saddens me as I love the genre.
I blame the saw series and michael bay for producing horror remakes.

Yeah...remaking the thing...may just be the worst idea I've ever heard.
 

Olorune

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Jan 16, 2009
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I didn't even like the first one. It wasn't scary or even moderately entertaining, in my opinion. I do agree that once they show the highest level of danger in the 1st movie, the second one is nearly impossible to top...but then again, your just trying to top crap.
 

MovieBob

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Dec 31, 2008
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Enkidu88 said:
That bit about the Robot in the credits demands explanation.

DEMANDS , Bob.

Don't fail me.
25 years ago this past monday, the NES debuted in the United States. Video games were effectively dead here, so the only way Nintendo could get retailers to carry it was to put a Robot in the box and build the initial marketing around him - effectively selling it as a "toy robot" that interfaced with a TV via the console and cartridges.

Of course, within a few months of release the mega-popularity of "Super Mario Bros." made it no longer necessary to hide behind the 'bot, but without R.O.B. as the "trojan horse" for toystores it's possible that home video games would not have made a significant re-emergence in North America.