Trailer For Paranormal Activity 2 Hits

Like your horror films in the form of franchises who lose their luster after the first viewing?

Well then this trailer will be right down your ridiculous and turd covered alley.

In the year that was 2009, one film seemed to take the world by storm, with that film being the rather fun and shocking first-view-only horror film, Paranormal Activity. Pretty much, after that film hit theaters and made massive amount of bank thanks to one hell of a promotional machine, talk of a sequel hit the scene. Well, now, a year later, we have a trailer for the upcoming sequel, Paranormal Activity 2, and I must say, while it looks like the epitome of a carbon copy, there are a few points in this thing that are actually creepy, and make me think happy thoughts about the first time seeing the first film.

However, this looks to be doing absolutely nothing new, making this one of my least anticipated films of the year. It looks exactly the same both stylistically and scare wise, and while it is a great example of “it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” it also doesn’t nothing to improve on it. This will make a ton of money, but this is definitely one I’m not looking forward to.



Go see something good

NEWS: Oren Peli's Area 51 Gets Some Leads...

During their coverage of the American Film Market, Bloody Disgusting came across the names of the three leads for Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli’s next film, Area 51. The names are all unknowns, which is a great relief, as for most film makers, after a hit like PA, they would easily go Hollywood and look for standard lead actor picks. The three actors are Reid Warner, Darrin Bragg, and Ben Rovne.

The only one to really see the screen is Warner, and hasn’t been in much besides guest spots on The Unit and Eli Stone. The budget of the film is also a hint at what to expect, as it is somewhere right around $5 million, and can be expected that the majority of that will be put to effects.

Here is what /Film has to say on the upcoming film:

Peli began shooting Area 51, another found-video thriller which is described as a “claustrophobic terror”, last month in Utah. Peli is trying to keep details under wraps, saying “I’d rather not say anything about ‘Area 51′ except that I am very pleased to be working with the same team who stood by me for the two or three years it took ‘Paranormal Activity’ to get into theaters.”

Sure, I’m not the worlds biggest Paranormal Activity fan, but honestly, the idea of a found footage horror film set in Area 51 sounds like a film straight out of my dreams. Alien films have been scarce lately, and it is about time that this generation gets their Fire In The Sky. The idea of this film interests me like very few have, and I can’t wait to get a chance to find out more about it. Here’s the full press release:

PELI TO EXPLORE “AREA 51” WITH INCENTIVE AND IM GLOBAL

LOS ANGELES, October 6, 2009 - Writer-director Oren Peli is set to start production next week on AREA 51, his follow-up to the supernatural chiller PARANORMAL ACTIVITY which after creating exceptional underground notoriety since its production in 2007 is now in the early stages of its US release by Paramount.

The AREA 51 storyline is a closely guarded secret but is reputedly centered around three teenagers whose curiosity leads them to the legendary and mysterious Area 51 Air Force base deep in the Nevada desert. AREA 51 will, like PARANORMAL ACTIVITY employ a “found footage” narrative strategy. Though Peli will enjoy a significantly larger budget than the $11,000 he spent to make PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, he will continue to work with undiscovered actors.

AREA 51 is produced by Jason Blum under his Blumhouse Productions banner, with Room 101’s Steven Schneider and IM Global chief Stuart Ford serving as executive producers. The film was co-financed by Aramid Entertainment Fund and Incentive Filmed Entertainment, with IM Global handling worldwide sales and CAA co-repping the title in the U.S.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY has enjoyed sell out midnight screenings in 33 cities over recent weeks and Paramount is set to expand the film to around the clock screenings in 40 cities this weekend.

Said Peli: “Actually, I’d rather not say anything about AREA 51 except that I am very pleased to be working with the same team who have stood by me for the two or three years it took PARANORMAL ACTIVITY to get into theatres.”

Said Blum: “Oren has already proven that he has a unique gift for using technology and our inherent fear of the unknown to tell simple yet emotionally compelling stories. In this case his canvas is just a little larger.”

Said David Molner, Chairman of both Incentive and Aramid Capital Partners:” Not since ‘Blair Witch’ has such innovative film-making set off such a stampede among young movie audiences. We are proud and privileged to be in business with Oren and Jason and our longtime partners at IM Global.”

Said Ford: “We’ve already had a crazy ride with Oren and Jason on PARANORMAL ACTIVITY that looks set to get even crazier. It’s exciting to be launching into AREA 51 with Oren just as a worldwide audience is discovering his thrilling debut.”

Go see something good!

NEWS: Paranormal Activity 2 Coming Soon?!?

It seems like one train that just can’t be stopped is the train driven by Oren Peli, and it consists of his $15,000 indie, Paranormal Activity. With the film reaching $85 million in domestic gross, his film is easily one of cinemas biggest stories from this year, and it may be one of the biggest stories of next year too, if the film maker has his way.

Shot in a week at Peli’s home, PA has been scaring the shit out of audiences for about two months now, in what has been called one of the most inventive and impactful release patterns in cinema. Now it looks like Paramount hopes to feed off of that huge buzz, and bring it over into the much rumored and talked about sequel. Here’s the scoop from The Hollywood Reporter, via The Playlist:

It appears that the success of the film - it has grossed $85 million to date and is Paramount's biggest profit maker this year - has earned the attention of Viacom (who own Paramount Pictures) CEO Philippe Dauman. In an earning's call on Tuesday, while smartly noting that the breakout success of the film can't be duplicated, Dauman said, "Our team will come up with the right creative and marketing approach to make sure that we benefit from a sequel."

Translation? You can probably bet on "Paranormal Activity 2" being ready in time for Hallowe'en 2010. The "right creative and marketing approach" probably boils down to: don't spend a lot of money, do a lot of low-cost viral marketing and advertise to the core audience. It's a process that Lionsgate already has down to a science with the "Saw" franchise.

So, as many of you know, I hate remakes, and in many cases, sequels are equally as bad. This is one of those cases in my eyes. Instead of coming off of the success of this film and say, getting his area 51 film done by next year, we will see a useless sequel, which will probably tread the same ground as the first film. I have had my respect for PA grow over time, but overall, I don’t see the need for a sequel, particularly with how the first film ended. If the ending was a bit more ambiguous, sure, but it seemed to close a bit more Hollywood and a bit more solid, that it really doesn’t leave much room for a sequel. Sure, the marketing is going to be great and fun, but really, take a look at the Saw franchise for why I don’t think this will work really at all.

The report continues and mentions that Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick are set to pitch Blair Witch 3, and it is an interesting comparison between PA and Blair Witch, one that I think, with the 10 year anniversary of BW here, I may have to revisit and do an editorial on. It’s also going to be interesting to see what other micro-budget horror films get pushed into production to play off of PA’s success. Could this be the new fad, taking the place of torture porn?

Go see something good!

REVIEW: Paranormal Activity...

So, it's almost Halloween.

That means, amongst other things, a rush of horrible and uninteresting "horror" films (I have a hard time classifying Saw as a horror franchise). Ranging from the simply boring like the Halloween series, which the latest installment H2 is getting a much uncalled for rerelease, to the unfrightening like Saw. Instead of true scares, we get constant shots of labotomies and boobs, which not a good horror film make.

That said, this year has also seen its fair share of legitamate horror. Sure, it's on a much smaller scale, but then again, isn't that what we all want? Along with the VOD only (right now) House of The Devil, a take on true '80's horror (a film I am working on seeing) to the twitter friendly Paranormal Activity, '09 is looking as being a solid step in the right way for horror.

Now, about that Paranormal Activity. Sure, the Twitter-sphere was a buzz with this 11,000$ horror flick, but was all this buzz completely worth it? To an extent, yes.

Paranormal Activity is not a film with the deepest of plots. PA follows a young, middle class couple, who after moving into what seems like a typical suburban 'starter' tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. And for the most part, it works.

The biggest triumph of this film is in it's horror. It's not based on gore or any superficial thing like that, it's just a slow, slow burn of a horror film. The films nearest kin is The Blair Witch Project, and while I think that film is more fulfilling at the end, this one works far better as a true horror film. There are several shots, actually, all of the scare shots in the films first 80 minutes, that will be embedded in my brain as I go to sleep for a long time.

The film is done through a first person style perspective, or at least through the couples own personal camcorder, so the film quality isn't to great. A true Hollywood horror film this is not, yet, I must stand up and applaud director Oren Pelli for this fact. It's a slow burn, and the visuals fit that perfectly. Ranging from foot prints pointed out by baby powder, or a ouija board bursting into flames, the film maker is able to truly create a legitamate world, which, when something strays from the norm of this world, becomes something truly creepy. From the first 10 minutes on, from the first shot of a door slightly moving, this film had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It starts ominous, with things that could be explained as say, the wind blowing, then the scares start ramping up, until the climax.

That god damn climax however. The first 80 minutes of this 90 minute film, are some of the most frightening I have seen all year, if not the past 5 years. Not since the Decent have I been this terrifyed. That said, there may not be an ending this year that has left a more sour taste in my mouth while walking out. The film works so hard at setting this tone, that, while never coming out and saying this is a true story, it works so hard to set the tone that this could be a true story, even ending with statements about the whereabouts of the two leads after what happens. However, the final 10 minutes feel so inorganic and so very "Hollywood", particularly the very last jump scare, that it just capsized the boat that was full of what the film worked so hard to collect. Tension. Sure, I jumped, but it was so manipulative and just truly out of place, that it bugged the hell out of me.

However, the film would not have worked in the slightest if the two leads did not havev some sort of chemistry. Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat are rookie actors, and if these two were not actors, I would have totally believed that these two were truly in a relationship together. Sure, they don't leave the house when that would be the easiest solution to their problem (although the film is sly about hinting that it may not truly be the best way to solve said problem), and Micah is a tad bit annoying and obnoxious, but when things get hectic, the two are completely fleshed out, making the terror all the more powerful.

I'm leaving the review there as it is really not a film that you want to ruin by reading a review. Hell, you shouldn't even see a trailer. The film is 80 minutes of brilliance, and 10-15 of Hollywood drek, so the film gets a deserving score. Honestly, just go see the damn thing already. Well, AFTER you see Where The Wild Things Are.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY - 8/10

Go see something good!