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"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2" (2010) (Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Moderate Extreme Extreme None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy Extreme Minor None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Moderate Heavy Heavy QUICK TAKE: Horror/Suspense: A family must contend with an ever-increasing amount of paranormal activity in their house, all of which is documented on their surveillance and handheld cameras. PLOT: It's 2006 and Kristi (SPRAGUE GRAYDEN) and Daniel Rey (BRIAN BOLAND) are a happily married couple living in Carlsbad, California. It's his second marriage, with baby Hunter being the newest addition to the family that also includes his teenage daughter from his first marriage, Ali (MOLLY EPHRAIM), Abby the German Shepherd, and Hunter's nanny Martine (VIVIS). It's the latter who first senses evil spirits in the house, but no one pays heed to what they initially believe is just superstitious behavior. Notwithstanding that, and following an apparent break-in and vandalization of their home, Daniel has an array of security cameras positioned in and outside of the house, something that interests Micah (MICAH STOAT), the boyfriend to Kristi's sister, Katie (KATIE FEATHERSTONE). At first, those cameras just capture the family's daily life, with nothing out of the ordinary. But then weird things start occurring, progressively escalating to the point that first worries Kristi and then Ali that something is amiss. With Daniel having let Martine go, there's no one to protect the family and the paranormal activities continue to build, night after night. With the focus of that energy revolving around Hunter, and Kristi and Katie remembering similar events from their childhood, the family tries to figure out what to do before it might be too late. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the first film or just supernatural based horror/suspense films, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For some language and brief violent material. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: SPRAGUE GRAYDEN plays the young mother who's the first in the immediate family to believe something is supernaturally amiss in the house, partially due to her childhood experiences with the same. She uses some strong profanity. BRIAN BOLAND plays her husband who's in his second marriage (his first wife died) and is the last to believe in any paranormal activity, choosing to come up with what he believes are logical explanations for everything. He uses strong profanity and has beer in a few scenes. MOLLY EPHRAIM plays his teenage daughter (and Kristi's step-daughter) who initially thinks it would be fun to have a ghost in the house, but doesn't feel the same way later about a demon. She uses strong profanity. KATIE FEATHERSTONE plays Kristi's sister who reminds her to be cautious about such matters based on their childhood experiences. MICAH STOAT plays her boyfriend who's interested in Daniel's camera technology. He uses some profanity. VIVIS plays Hunter's nanny who's the first to sense something evil in the house and tries to do something about it despite the family doubting her. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a quick summary of the content found in this horror/suspense film that's been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 14 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue (including many uses of a slang term for female genitalia in one scene) is present, as are various views of cleavage (sometimes a lot), including in bikini tops, while a wife wants her husband to join her in a bubble bath. Violence consists of two deaths (a neck being broken and a person blasted backwards into a wall), while another is reported (that one results in blood soaked into the killer's shirt). A woman is yanked around a house by an invisible demon (the same occurs to a dog that's then injured) while a possessed woman attacks her husband. Those scenes, various jump scenes (using sudden noises and/or movement), the rest of the supernatural material, and the general dread the direction and shot selections exude could be quite unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to viewers. Bad attitudes are present, as is potentially initiative behavior (generally in the form of copying the scares that are present). Tense family material and thematic elements are also present, as is brief alcohol content. A little bit of crude humor occurs. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with camera movement, various amounts of handheld camera footage (sometimes quite bouncy) is present in various scenes. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Daniel has a beer. Daniel has a beer in the pool. About her dad and stepmom going out for the evening, Ali jokes to Kristi, "Don't get too wasted." BLOOD/GORE On footage shot by Ali upon Hunter's arrival home, we hear Daniel talk about already changing the diaper many times, while there's talk that Martine will do that from now on. In footage shot for Hunter when he grows up, the family shows off the house. That includes Ali showing her bathroom and telling Hunter not to pee on the toilet seat. Later, she states that Hunter is just like daddy in that he poops all of the time. Ali screams and Daniel races to find out what happened. But it's just Ali reacting to what's presumably a piece of excrement in her toilet (not seen) with her blaming him and vice-versa (all played for laughs). Daniel picks up a dead bird with barbeque tongs and pretends he's going to grill it, just to mess with Ali. Ali finds what she thinks might be some blood on the inside of the basement door. She then goes upstairs and sees Kristi sitting in a chair with what looks like a large bite mark on her leg. We see a person with a blood-stained shirt. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Daniel doesn't believe Martine's allegations that evil is in the house and then lets her go. The unseen demonic entity obviously has a bad attitude for its actions (terrifying a family, possessing several people, and killing several people). SPOILER ALERT: Desperate to protect his family and get rid of the demon, and despite Ali's protests, Daniel uses Martine's advice about how to transfer the demon to another person. We later see him burn a childhood photo of Katie to conclude that. FRIGHTENING SCENES The opening of the film has a title card thanking the family of the deceased for the footage. Based on what occurred in the first film, Katie's arrival at the house might initially be suspenseful, but this turns out to be before the events of the first film. The family returns home to find the place had a break-in and their possessions were vandalized (stuff is scattered and thrown everywhere in all rooms except the nursery). With a static camera shot looking outside at night, a title card reads "Night 1" and thus we anticipate (based on the first film) that something supernatural is going to occur as the shots cut from one surveillance camera to the next. But all that occurs is the swimming pool light going out. Martine says she senses evil spirits in the house and thus makes various cross gestures with her hands in the air. Ali screams and Daniel races to find out what happened. But it's just Ali reacting to what's presumably a piece of excrement in her toilet (not seen) with her blaming him and vice-versa (all played for laughs). With a static camera shot looking outside at night, a title card reads "Night 2" and thus we anticipate something is going to happen again. We then hear Hunter cry and Kristi goes to check on him, with our focus alternating between them and their reflection in the sliding closet door mirror. A title card reads that it's 60 days before Micah's death. Kristi tells Katie that she's having similar unnerving feelings like they did as kids. There's a sound in the house during the day and Kristi goes to check on Hunter, followed by another unexplained sound. As she looks in the bathroom while holding Hunter, the mobile above his crib slowly starts spinning. When she walks back out into the room, it stops. We see another nighttime static camera shot depicting another night, accompanied by the same sense of anticipatory dread. There's a sound at night (with all of the lights on) that gets Martine's attention and she slowly walks around to investigate (seen on the various static camera shots). That's followed by a sudden and very loud thump, and then the baby crying and the dog barking into the bathroom. As Kristi has the camera on Hunter, he keeps looking behind her at something she can't see. Daniel's night vision camera gives Ali glowing eyes as he tests the device. With a static camera shot looking outside at night, a title card reads "Night 8" and thus we anticipate something is going to happen again. The baby starts crying, Kristi goes to check on him, and hears sounds that start to spook her. As she looks out the window, we see the already open door behind her open even more. That's followed by a very loud thump. We hear odd noises on the baby monitor from another room. With a static camera shot looking outside at night, a title card reads "Night 10" and thus we again anticipate something is going to happen. It does in the form of the sound of a pan falling in the kitchen. Kristi goes to investigate, and moments after hanging the pan back up, it falls once again, startling her. The family watches a DVR playback of pool camera surveillance and see the automated cleaner lift up and out of the water by itself (proof of what's been occurring since Daniel finds it out of the pool each morning). On Night 12, the family dog is growling in the baby's room while we hear a low bass rumble. During the day, Daniel has Ali and Kristi come over to look into the pool and he then uses the remote control to make the pool cleaner pop out of the water (as a practical joke on them). With her parents out for the evening, Ali is babysitting and falls asleep on the couch. We then see a shadow move over that and onto her, startling her awake (and it's then gone). She then heads upstairs but finds the front door open. She closes that and starts up the steps, jolted by a sudden and loud bang on the door. She peeks out and sees nothing, and then goes out to see if it's her boyfriend, with the front door then slamming shut, locking her out. We then hear a loud thump in the house, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. We then see footage from the baby's room where Hunter is slowly dragged, sleeping, across the crib's sheet and then up the side of the crib. He's next out of the crib and wanders around the house, all while Ali tries to find a way back in. Hunter then follows music from an unseen baby toy and opens the basement door, but doesn't go down there. Ali does research on her computer (during the day) and then believes that they're afflicted with a demon rather than a ghost. She and her boyfriend also read that if a deal was made with a demon for personal gain, the first born male child is payment, and she realizes that's Hunter. We see DVR footage of the front door slamming (from the above scene). On night 17, there's a loud thump that awakens Ali, so she takes her video camera and slowly goes through the house (thus we see her POV). There's another thump, followed by one of Hunter's toys suddenly moving across the floor on its own, and then doing so again. Kristi and Katie talk about their childhood experience with an evil entity that fed on their fear. Katie tells Kristi to be careful or "You'll end up just like mom." As Kristi is seated in the kitchen, many cabinet doors and drawers suddenly fly open with a loud crash. She rushes out, only to have to return to take the whistling teakettle off the stove. On night 19, the basement door slowly opens, followed by the dog going there and barking, and then retreating in fear. We then see a partial view of the dog (the back half of her as a wall blocks the rest of our view as well as what she's barking and growling at) and then her being yanked away (we hear but don't see the impact). Daniel and Ali then leave to rush the dog off to the vet, with Daniel carrying the dog. As Kristi sits on the steps at night waiting for Daniel and Ali to return from the vet, she hears sounds from the kitchen. She then slowly walks around the house, ending in Hunter's room. She's then suddenly yanked off her feet and dragged out and partially down the steps. She gets up and rushes back to the room, only to have that happen again, except this time she's yanked all of the way to the basement with that door then slamming shut. After much time has passed, the door slowly opens and she slowly walks out, as if in a trance. Daniel has to leave for business, asking Ali if she can stay home and watch Hunter since he can't get Kristi out of bed. Ali is nervous, especially after hearing sounds and finding large scratch marks on the inside of the basement door, along with a spot of what she thinks is blood. She then goes upstairs (her POV) and sees Kristi sitting in a chair with what looks like a large bite mark on her leg. A sudden sound elsewhere startles Ali, who looks away. When she looks back, Kristi is gone, so she slowly enters Hunter's room, only to have Kristi come at her, yelling "Don't touch him!" We see footage of Daniel leaning in toward Kristi who's seated upright on a bed and then suddenly lunges at him. Right then, all of the lights in the house go out. Daniel then scrambles to find the night vision camera and we next see its limited footage as he cautiously makes his way through the house. We hear and see the end result of furniture being overturned and broken, with Daniel eventually going into the basement, searching for Hunter who he can hear. He ends up tripping and/or crashing through things, and drops the camera that's then nearly upside down. We see him reach out and find Hunter, with Kristi then moving in front of the camera. He then grabs that again and slowly pans it around the basement, first right, and then left, with Kristi suddenly in the shot. She then attacks him, the camera drops, and we see and hear the floor violently vibrate and shake (with small things on it bouncing up and down). Katie reports to Kristi on strange things occurring in her own home. SPOILER ALERT: We see an onscreen title indicating the date Micah was killed. We then see the following day where Katie is in the background of a room, behind Daniel who isn't aware she's there, wearing a blood-stained shirt. She then walks up behind Daniel and grabs and breaks his neck, killing him. She then goes to Hunter's room (we hear loud, demonic footsteps) and blasts Kristi back against the camera and wall, killing her. She then takes Hunter and leaves. There are various creepy sounds during the end title credits, but nothing is seen or comes of any of that. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "It's f*cking horrible," "What the f*ck?" "Oh sh*t," "Let me release the Kraken," "Maybe the spirits want some p*ssy," "Horny," "P*ssy hunt," "That would be sweet," "All crazy like," "Holy crap," "Freaked out," "You've got freaky eyes," "Crabby McRumplestein" (or something sounding like that), "That would be freaking awesome," "I was freaking out," "Haunted house crap," "That's pretty damn creepy," "I know this sucks," "Just drive us nuts" and "A giant-ass camera." Some kids might be inspired to try to copy the various frights (sudden noises, etc.) in an attempt to startle others. Daniel picks up a dead bird with barbeque tongs and pretends he's going to grill it, just to mess with Ali. During the day, Daniel has Ali and Kristi come over to look into the pool and he then uses the remote control to make the pool cleaner pop out of the water (as a practical joke on them). JUMP SCENES There's a sudden loud thump. There's a very loud thump in a tense scene. There's the sudden sound of a pan falling in the kitchen. Kristi goes to investigate, and moments after hanging the pan back up, it falls once again, startling her. Ali's boyfriend suddenly bangs on the sliding glass door. There's a sudden loud bang on the front door. Ali then peeks out and sees nothing, and then goes out to see if it's her boyfriend, with the front door then slamming shut. That's followed by another loud thump inside the house. On night 17, there's a loud thump that awakens Ali, so she takes her video camera and slowly goes through the house (thus we see her POV). There's another thump, followed by one of Hunter's toys suddenly moving across the floor on its own, and then doing so again. As Kristi is seated in the kitchen, many cabinet doors and drawers suddenly fly open with a loud crash. Kristi is suddenly yanked to the floor by an unseen force, and this happens again when she tries to return to the room. We see footage of Daniel leaning in toward Kristi who's seated upright on a bed and then suddenly lunges at him. Right then, all of the lights in the house go out. Daniel then scrambles to find the night vision camera and we next see its limited footage as he cautiously makes his way through the house. We hear and see the end result of furniture being overturned and broken, with Daniel eventually going into the basement, searching for Hunter who he can hear. He ends up tripping and/or crashing through things, and drops the camera that's then nearly upside down. We see him reach out and find Hunter, with Kristi then moving in front of the camera. He then grabs that again and slowly pans it around the basement, first right, and then left, with Kristi suddenly in the shot. She then attacks him, the camera drops, and we see and hear the floor violently vibrate and shake (with small things on it bouncing up and down). MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) While there's no traditional scary, ominous or suspenseful music, there is some rumbling bass from time to time in several scenes that somewhat serves the same effect. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 14 "f" words, 7 "s" words, 8 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy," 1 of which is spelled out letter by letter), 1 slang term using male genitals ("kraken"), 2 craps, 1 ass, 1 damn, 9 uses of "Oh my God," 2 of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Jesus," "Jesus Christ," "Oh Jesus," "Oh Jesus Christ" and "Swear to God." SEX/NUDITY In footage shot for Hunter when he grows up, the family shows off the house. That includes Daniel pointing out the fireplace as the place Kristi seduced him, and then the bed where they made Hunter. Kristi, Ali and Katie show varying amounts of cleavage in various outfits throughout the film. We see Ali in a bikini top and her boyfriend shirtless in the pool. We see Kristi in a bubble bath (nothing explicit seen) and she says it would be better with Daniel in there with her (he's videotaping her, so we see his POV). He states he doesn't want to "smash" her, but she replies, "I want you to smash me." He then jokingly says he should "release the kraken" and the scene ends there. Martine jokes about Ali's boyfriend being "handsy" and playfully says no about that to Ali. We see Ali, Kristi and Katie in bikini tops in or by the pool, with Katie showing a lot of cleavage, while Daniel is shirtless. About Daniel's camera, Micah jokes that he bets they (Daniel and Kristi) go "extracurricular" with that. Ali and her boyfriend use a Ouija board while her parents are out for the night. After Ali asks, "What do you want?" the slider starts moving and Ali reads aloud the letters as the slider stops over them. She ends up spelling "P..U..S..S.." and then stops when she realizes what her boyfriend is doing, with him adding the "Y" to that. They then joke about that, with him saying "Maybe the spirits want some p*ssy" and that they might be "horny." From another room, we hear them continuing, including him suggestively asking if she'd like him to go on a "p*ssy hunt." SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Daniel asks Ali what good would come of a séance, and she replies, "What if it's mom?" (referring to her late mother and the paranormal activity in the house). Daniel is upset with both Kristi and Ali about their haunting allegations, while Ali is upset with her dad the next morning for not believing her. Kristi and Katie talk about their childhood experience with an evil entity that fed on their fear. Katie tells Kristi to be careful or "You'll end up just like mom." TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Demons and demonic possession. Why people in movies never leave their homes when supernatural things start occurring. Ouija boards. VIOLENCE The family returns home to find the place had a break-in and their possessions were vandalized (stuff is scattered and thrown everywhere in all rooms except the nursery). On night 19, the basement door slowly opens, followed by the dog going there and barking, and then retreating in fear. We then see a partial view of the dog (the back half of her as a wall blocks the rest of our view as well as what she's barking and growling at) and then her being yanked away (we hear but don't see the impact). Daniel and Ali then leave to rush the dog off to the vet, with Daniel carrying the dog. As Kristi sits on the steps at night waiting for Daniel and Ali to return from the vet, she hears sounds from the kitchen. She then slowly walks around the house, ending in Hunter's room. She's then suddenly yanked off her feet and dragged out and partially down the steps. She gets up and rushes back to the room, only to have that happen again, except this time she's yanked all of the way to the basement with that door then slamming shut. After much time has passed, the door slowly opens and she slowly walks out, as if in a trance. We see footage of Daniel leaning in toward Kristi who's seated upright on a bed and then suddenly lunges at him. Right then, all of the lights in the house go out. Daniel then scrambles to find the night vision camera and we next see its limited footage as he cautiously makes his way through the house. We hear and see the end result of furniture being overturned and broken, with Daniel eventually going into the basement, searching for Hunter who he can hear. He ends up tripping and/or crashing through things, and drops the camera that's then nearly upside down. We see him reach out and find Hunter, with Kristi then moving in front of the camera. He then grabs that again and slowly pans it around the basement, first right, and then left, with Kristi suddenly in the shot. She then attacks him, the camera drops, and we see and hear the floor violently vibrate and shake (with small things on it bouncing up and down). SPOILER ALERT: We see an onscreen title indicating the date Micah was killed. We then see the following day where Katie is in the background of a room, behind Daniel who isn't aware she's there, wearing a blood-stained shirt. She then walks up behind Daniel and grabs and breaks his neck, killing him. She then goes to Hunter's room (we hear loud, demonic footsteps) and blasts Kristi back against the camera and wall, killing her. She then takes Hunter and leaves. Reviewed October 21, 2010 / Posted October 22, 2010

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