It`s that time of week again, a time of which I bestow upon you my humble Movie Musings. As per usual, if you disagree with my review, you are most likely wrong.
Why? Well, the movie I`m reviewing this week is the sequel to one of the greatest comedies of all time - Paranormal Activity 2.
I saw the first one the day it came out, and I was greeted with a long line of eager moviegoers looking for a good scare - which led me to believe that it was going to be another over-hyped cultural phenomenon. Personally, a movie hasn`t truly scared me since I saw "Wolf" when I was three years old. It was a double feature at a drive in back in the summer of 1994. My parents thought I`d be asleep after the first feature was over - wrong as they usually were. I was scared fecal matter-less. Ever since, all the "Saw" and "The Shining" movies in the world have only made me laugh, although those are all quality made movies for their genre.
I`m not one of those uptight nimrods that looks for complete realism in movies, you know, just a decent plot, good acting and a gripping factor is good enough for me. Apparently, it`s good enough for some of the more famous critics as well. So when I saw Paranormal Activity 2, my expectations were lower than Justin Bieber`s level of relevancy in this culture.
Good thing, because this movie would make Alfred Hitchcock want to start making children`s animated features. It would make Shyamalan want to start a clown college and give Spielberg the desire to direct porno movies. However - it was HILARIOUS!
To me this movie was the same crap with a different twist. Cameras, pictures, trepidation, superstitions and minimal shock value. I think people are willing to be scared by this movie irrespective of the similarities to the first because we all love a good paranormal ghost story, especially one that seems realistic with handheld cameras and minimal Hollywood production. We all have our own tales of encounters with ghosts, which just adds to the scare value. However, I`m a skeptic of ghosts and demons - that probably doesn`t help me enjoy movies like this.
In the end, I don`t despise this movie because it had another contrived, dull storyline with more demons, scared girls getting sucked away, burning pictures and insipid zombie ladies killing more main characters. It has nothing to do with my skepticism of paranormal activity in life, it has everything to do with the fact that this movie is just plain terrible. How many times can you have the same antagonist from a previous film end up as the flesh fiend in the next?
However - if you`re like me and get laughs out of horror films, this film is tailor made for you. Be aware, just like horror film fans don`t like watching them alone, it`s better to watch this in a theater full of people - it adds to the comedy of the entire thing.
Grade: F in terms of being considered a real film, but I give it an A for contrived comedic value.
Now, if you`ll excuse me, I have to go kill the monster in my closet to clean my palette free of this cinematic car bomb.
Until next time!
If you disagree with me, email me at undertakerlives@gmail.com so we can discuss how wrong you probably are.
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