Hatchet reporter Henry Morillo shares his latest flicks.

“Paranormal Activity 2” (2010)

“Paranormal Activity” is back with a sequel that in many ways surpasses its original. “Paranormal Activity 2” delivers all of the thrills and chills that we got in its predecessor, but in a bigger – and often better- way. This is likely due to a larger budget this time around, which in the movie translates into a larger family, a bigger house, many more cameras and even a dog. This installment is actually a prequel and a sequel to the original Paranormal Activity and without giving too much away I will say that some things are explained that left audiences in the midnight premier I attended vocally connecting the dots.

This time, the family being haunted is that of Katie’s, from the original,  sister Kristi. After a mysterious break-in, the family installs several security cameras around the house and these allow the audience a multi-room view of the house. Unlike the first movie, where most of the action takes place in the last minutes of the movie, this one delivers screams all throughout while still giving us a hair-raising climax and finale.

The larger cast offers greater opportunities for the filmmakers to terrorize both the characters and the audience, and while we know from the first movie that more often than not, the scariest parts are when nothing happens, don’t assume you know the rules because in a sequel all bets are off. In the end this movie is a rare find, a horror prequel and sequel that actually surpasses the original, because it provides both the background story and the aftermath of the first movie. It’s all the thrills of the first movie plus a plot, a baby and a dog.

Genre: Haunted House Film, Thriller, Supernatural Thriller

Director: Tod Williams

Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim, Sprague Grayden

Released: Oct. 21, 2010