Paranormal Activity 2

"The most anticipated horror event of the year".....??? Well of course I had to be in attendance! Ooookay, let's get into this one.

First off, I'm just going to assume you've seen the first one. If you haven't and you want to see this one, rent the first. It's not like it's extremely necessary, but this one will make more sense if you have.

The story of this movie takes place a little before the first movie, and a little after. Thanks to titles that pop up on the screen, you'll have an easy time figuring out how things fit together. I don't want to give too much away, but basically, this story involves a family who, just like the couple in the first movie, are haunted by some sort of demon. Lots of craziness happens....and like the first movie, lots of nothingness happens.

Overall, I liked the movie...I'll just say that. It's a movie that's kind of fun to get in to. So if you liked the first movie at all, you'll enjoy this one.

Now, here's my problems with it.

1. It's too similar to the first movie. Everything starts off happy, then slowly gets creepy, then gets insane by the end. Much too similar.

2. There are several times in the movie where it leaves you saying, "that is NOT what a person in this situation would do!!"

3. While I like how creepy the movie is, it still just relies on jumpy moments to scare you. This is NOT true suspense. Here is an example: Remember watching the movie "The Ring"? (My favorite scary movie by the way) Think of the scene where the main character returns to the creepy dad's barn/house and sneaks in at night. The house is dark and the lighthouse light keeps shining in. Then she finds the tape of crazy Samara in the nut house? Remember how scary that scene was? It's scary b/c the whole time you're thinking, "Get out of that house!!" It was scary b/c you can imagine yourself there.

That is true horror. This movie isn't like that. You may be scared, but you're only scared b/c you're waiting for the next [Extremely loud] jump out scene. Make sense?

Anyways, overall, I liked it. There was one scene that made us all want to pee, so I think you'll like this movie.

B-

Devil

Sounds scary right? Well, not really.

Think back to the summertime when you first saw the preview to this movie. You remember where you were. You were sitting in the theater, getting ready for Inception to start.

(Side note: if this doesn't ring a bell, there is something disturbingly wrong with you)

Anyways, you were probably a little intrigued until you saw the phase, "From the mind of M. Night Shyamalan"

Then you probably laughed, or as I said, "Next"

It's true, Shyamalan is pretty awful....but the good thing is, he only wrote this movie, he did not direct it.

Okay, okay, on to the review. Basically, this movie involves 5 people who end up on the same elevator at an office building. We soon learn that all of them have a shady past. As we hear a narrator explain, every now and then, the Devil takes the form of a human to torment those that are not living right. All kinds of craziness happens in that elevator, but for me, it wasn't that scary. It was interesting in parts and creepy in others, but overall, not the scariest movie I've seen.

In the end, there is a good message to this movie, although you wouldn't catch that from the previews. The movie moves quickly, and at only 80 minutes, you won't be in the theater for too long. Overall, I would say that you should see this movie...but maybe just rent it. It's definitely better than Shyamalan's last 3 movies, but it's not quite like his first. Oh, and watch out for the devil.

B-

Paranormal Activity

So. I really like scary movies. I figured, since jess is gone, this is the perfect time to rent one that I've been interested in seeing for a long time. I had seen all the previews for this movie and I thought It would be scary and fun to watch. The movie is shot with a handheld camera by the couple in the actual movie. It's all from their perspective. ( at least thats how it's made to look) Basically, the girlfriend in the movie has been seeing things since she was a little girl. She thinks a demon of some sort is haunting her, so her boyfriend sets up a camera in their bedroom in order to catch all the happenings. Sounds scary enough.

So heres the disclaimer: I watched this movie at about 4 in the afternoon all by myself. I really think this movie would have been 10 times scarier to me had I watched it with someone else, in the dark, at night.

That being said, this movie was honestly boring to me. I think it could have been scary had I been in the right situation, but it just wasn't all that exciting.

Night #1: you hear footsteps

Night #2: you hear banging on the walls

Night # 8: the door slams shut

......see where I'm going? It's just not that exciting. There were about 3 nights where cool, scary stuff happens. Other than that, it's a bunch of nothing. Tiddy was scared b/c it would go from being really quiet to really loud sometimes, but he's just a cat so his opinion doesn't matter. In my opinion, if you're gonna see this movie, see it with friends and make sure you really get into it so it will scare you like I think it could.

C

Quarantine

This is a horror movie, based after a Spanish version called [REC]. The movie is shot in the hand held camera style.
A reporter and her cameraman are following a group of firefighters into an apartment building where there has been a 911 call. One of the residents has been screaming in her apartment. Basically, there is some sort of rabies virus that turns people into zombie-like animals, and it is spreading throughout the building. The tenants (and firefighters, reporter, ect) are then locked in the building by the center for disease control, thus preventing them from escape. Let the madness begin.

Okay, so that wasn't a very good explanation of the movie. Here's what you need to know:
-The camera is not nearly as shaky as some other movies shot in the same way.
-Lots of people die
-This movie is very cool.

Granted, you will have to like horror movies to enjoy this, but it's pretty intense and exciting. Rent it...if you dare. Muah ha ha ha......But seriously, check it out.

A-

Orphan

Finally, back to the movies I like, the scary ones. This movie has been portrayed as a horror film, although I'll let you know it's mostly a suspense/thriller. (oh....besides the killing)
Esther is a 9 year old Russian Orphan who is adopted by a family who has recently lost a child at birth. She seems like a perfectly polite little girl at first, but obviously, things change very quickly.
Accidents seem to follow Esther everywhere she goes, and her past is almost impossible to uncover.
Esther has a secret.....and it makes for a very exciting twist and ending.
There are funny parts in this movie too, including the end line of the movie which mimics (and mocks) the last line of "The Ring 2". Remember that one?
I liked it. If you like scary movies, you'll like it too.


B+