Paranormal Activity 2
| Paranormal Activity 2 | |
|---|---|
 Official film poster | |
| Directed by | Tod Williams |
| Screenplay by | Michael R. Perry Christopher Landon Tom Pabst Oren Peli |
| Story by | Michael R. Perry |
| Produced by | Oren Peli Jason Blum Akiva Goldsman |
| Starring | Katie Featherston Micah Sloat Brian Boland Sprague Grayden Molly Ephraim Tim Clemens |
| Cinematography | Michael Simmonds |
| Edited by | Gregory Plotkin |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$3 million[1] |
| Box office | Worldwide BO $114,525,363[2] |
Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 psychological horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry. The film is a parallel prequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in original film. It was released in theaters at midnight on October 22, 2010, in the United States, Mexico, Poland, Ireland, United Kingdom and Canada.[3]
Plot
In 2006, a burglary occurs at the home of Kristi (Sprague Grayden) and Dan Rey (Brian Boland). Every single room is completely trashed, but the only thing stolen is a necklace that Kristi's sister, Katie (Katie Featherston), had given her. Dan installs a number of security cameras throughout the house to watch over their son, Hunter. The family starts to hear noises and see items fall or move on their own. Martine (Vivis Cortez), the family housekeeper and nanny, believes evil spirits are the cause and attempts to cleanse the house of "evil spirits," and Dan fires her after catching her burning sage. Katie and Kristi talk about being tormented by a demon or unknown spirit when they were children. Dan's daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim), begins investigating the mysterious happenings. She discovers that on occasion, a human can make a deal with a demon for wealth or power by forfeiting the life of their first-born son. She also realizes that until Hunter, there had not been a male child born in Kristi and Katie's family since the time of their great-great grandmother.
The violence continues to escalate, and Kristi is tormented further; the family's german Shepherd dog, Abby, is attacked and pulled violently off camera and apparently suffers a seizure. Dan and Ali take the dog to the vet, leaving Kristi alone with Hunter. She goes to check on the baby and notices a light flicker off. She turns the light back on but then is dragged by an unseen force out of the room and halfway down the stairs before she is released. Kristi runs back upstairs into Hunter's room but is violently dragged back downstairs. This time she is dragged into the basement where she stays for several hours. Finally, the security camera footage shows the basement door opening and a possessed Kristi walking through the living room.
The following day, Ali is at home with Kristi, who won't get out of bed. Ali looks at the inside of the door to the basement to find it covered in scratches and something illegible carved into it. After hearing noises, Ali finds Kristi ignoring Hunter but aggressively demands she not touch him. Ali cries downstairs waiting for Dan to arrive home to bear witness to Kristi's strange change of character. When he arrives, Ali, who has now watched the security tapes from the night before, begs him to view the footage of Kristi's attack. Upon watching the evidence, he immediately calls Martine, who then prepares a cross that will pass the demon onto another blood relative, and that Kristi will have no memory of having been possessed. Dan tells Ali that he is going to pass the demon onto Katie so that Kristi and Hunter will be saved.
That night, when Dan tries to use the cross on Kristi, she violently attacks him, and all the lights in the house go out. They turn the night vision of the hand held camera on, and find that Kristi has disappeared after snatching Hunter. Furniture all over the house begins toppling over, and the chandeliers in the dining area shake. Dan chases Kristi into the basement and after a few minutes of looking for her, she attacks him. He touches her with the cross, resulting in her letting out a scream and collapsing as the floor rumbles, and loud inhuman growls are heard. The next scene shows Dan putting Kristi to bed and then burning a photo of a young Katie, which Micah (Micah Sloat), Katie's boyfriend, would later find in the attic of their house.
Three weeks later, on 18th September, Katie visits and explains how things have now begun happening at her house. After Katie leaves, we see her arrive at her and Micah's house, where he has just purchased a new video camera. On 9th October - the night after Micah is murdered (in Paranormal Activity) - Katie, possessed and bloodstained, breaks into their home and kills Dan by breaking his neck. She then climbs the stairs and confronts Kristi in Hunter's room, violently hurling her against the wall and taking the baby. The final scene is Katie leaving the room, cradling Hunter with a satisfied look on her face.
An epilogue text states that Ali was on a school trip and returned home on Oct. 12th to find her father and stepmother dead and that Katie's and Hunter's whereabouts remain unknown.
Cast
- Sprague Grayden as Kristi Rey, Katie's sister
- Molly Ephraim as Ali Rey, Dan's daughter
- Brian Boland as Dan Rey, a remarried widowed father
- Katie Featherston as Katie
- Micah Sloat as Micah
- Vivis Cortez as Martine
- Jackson Xenia Prieto and William Juan Prieto as Hunter Rey, Dan and Kristi's baby son
- David Bierend as Surveillance Camera Expert
Production
Paramount and DreamWorks hired screenwriter Michael R. Perry to create the follow-up. Oren Peli, the director of the first film, served as a producer for the sequel.[4] Kevin Greutert, director of Saw VI, was initially hired to direct the sequel. However Lions Gate Entertainment exercised a clause in Greutert's contract to have him direct the final film in the Saw franchise.[5]
Both of the main actors, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, reprised their roles for the sequel.[6]
Tod Williams directed Paranormal Activity 2, which started production in May 2010.[7]
After the success of Paranormal Activity 2 in its opening weekend, Paramount Studios executive Don Harris said that there may be a third part in the series, coming soon: “The company is certainly going to take a look at making a third but will be exceedingly careful in how to go about it.” Harris said.[8]
Marketing
In a special promotion set up by the film's producers, participants had a chance to win a free movie ticket if they were in the top twenty cities to demand the film, via Eventful.com.[9]
Release
The teaser trailer was seen with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse upon its release on June 30, 2010.[10] Cinemark has pulled the trailer from several Texas theaters after receiving complaints that it was too frightening.[11] In Mexico, it was attached to the 3D version of "Resident Evil: Afterlife".
A new theatrical trailer was released on October 1, 2010. The trailer was attached to Devil, My Soul to Take and Jackass 3D.[12]
The film was released in France on October 20, 2010, in Australia on October 21, 2010 and was released in the United States on October 22, 2010. The film will be also shown in IMAX.[13]
Critical reception
Paranormal Activity 2 has received mixed to generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 60% "fresh", or 6.1/10 rating, based on 105 reviews. The critical consensus is: "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."[14] On Metacritic Paranormal Activity 2 holds a 51 out of 100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [15] Roger Ebert, who awarded the original film three and a half stars, awarded this film one and a half out of a possible four stars.[16]
Box office
Paranormal Activity 2 broke the record for biggest midnight gross for an R-rated movie with $6.3 million beating previous Watchmen with $4.6 million.[17] On its opening day, Paranormal Activity 2 placed number one at the box office, making $20,100,000 and finished with a total of $41,500,000 estimated over the weekend, placing first at the box office.[2][18] Its current worldwide box office total stands at $114,525,363.
References
- ^ Fritz, Ben (October 21, 2010). "Movie projector: 'Paranormal Activity 2' looking to scare 'Jackass 3-D' out of the top spot". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ a b Paranormal Activity 2 (2010). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
- ^ "New 'Paranormal Activity 2' Trailer Delivers Some Answers -- Finally!". DiChiara, Tom. MTV.com. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
- ^ "'Saw VI' Director Hired for 'Paranormal Activity 2'". Newsinfilm.com. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ Holmes, Matt. (2010-01-28) "Kevin Greutert blogs his feelings on SAW 3-D vs. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 studio battle!" Obsessedwithmovies.com. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Singh, Shamsher. (2010-07-02) Paranormal Activity 2 “Too Scary” TopnNews. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ Leins, Jeff (2010-03-26) "Paranormal Activity 2 Director Found" NewsinFilm.com. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ^ Luyben, Liz. (2010-10-24) "Paranomral Activity 3 Talks" Celebla.com.com.
- ^ "Paranormal Activity 2". Eventful. Retrieved 10-19-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Paranormal Activity 2 Teaser Coming with Twilight: Eclipse". ComingSoon.net. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help) - ^ McClintock, Pamela (July 1, 2010). "'Paranormal' trailer pulled from theaters". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- ^ "Paranormal Activity 2". Apple Trailers.
- ^ Pupkin, Rupert. (2010-10-15). Paranormal Activity 2: Coming to You in IMAX?. Reel Movie News. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ^ Paranormal Activity 2 Reviws, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
- ^ Paranormal Activity 2 Movie Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (2010-10-22). Paranormal Activity 2 :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
- ^ 'Paranormal Activity 2' Breaks Midnight-Screening Record. MTV.com. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
- ^ Paranormal Activity 2 Tops Horror Box Office Numbers. MoreHorror.com. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
