Prepare to be scared with Paranormal Activity 2

— John Fernandez contributed with this report

It scared the life out of some audiences. It was laughed at by others. So was it real? Well for anybody who still believed it, the announcement of a sequel quashed those thoughts.

So we have a new setting, a new family, but one thing is the same — Katie’s back. However, the events of Paranormal Activity 2 happen before the events of the first film, with the action centring around the family of Katie’s sister and most importantly their young baby boy Hunter.

The film plays to the same rules as the first as well, using the Blair Witch/Cloverfield style of a handheld camera and as a new addition to the film’s security cameras installed in certain locations in the house.

So was there any need for a sequel? After being thoroughly underwhelmed by the over 193 million dollar grossing first dose, I had serious reservations about watching the second. How severely mistaken I was. Whilst I found the first film slow in build-up and disappointing in terms of pure fright factor, the second dose of the franchise reassured me from the start that it was going to be a different story.

Firstly the introduction of a baby to the film already had me scared. I mean, what is more frightening than a possessed or haunted baby? Nothing in my eyes, and this feeling was shared by everyone in the cinema.

Apart from that, though, what set it apart from the frankly average experience of Paranormal Activity? The scenes during the day were typically slow and you again found yourself waiting for the set pieces at night.

When night came, it was time for what goes bump in the night to not just bump, but hammer. The night scenes that frightened the living daylights out of punters last time were built up to a new level of suspense. You would find yourself waiting for a door to open or a shadow to come flitting out of nowhere only to be met by flying babies, or a dog’s helpless yelps of terror.

Truly they had stepped it up a level for the sequel, while for the first I found myself leaving the cinema with a sense of disappointment and a knowing that I would sleep well that night. After number two, I really cannot say the same. I will leave you with one warning. Do not watch this alone.

Rating = 8/10