Sometimes a franchise built on a gimmick can overcome the stereotypical rut its destined to crash into, elevating future installments to such heights that the original film becomes a pale shadow of the franchise's former self. Paranormal Activity is not one of those franchises, and Cinema Sins has the video to prove it, as demonstrated below.
Knowing how much Jeremy at CinemaSins loathes lazy sequels, his 13 minute (or less) long take down of the franchise that took over where Saw left off is particularly laced with his special brand of venom. Judging by how the first film's single camera set up is mimicked by the prequel's multi-angle security camera, it's not hard to see that the most consistent problem with this movie is the fact that the "less is more" approach doesn't work when there's no obvious explanation as to why we can't see some of the non-existent action in other parts of the house.
Even more damning than the fact that Paranormal Activity 2 simultaneously ramps up and handicaps its own premise with lackluster execution, is that it robs itself of any longevity or rewatch value when you see how much it dates itself with, as Jeremy put it, "super passe" dialogue. Seriously, Clash Of The Titans hit theaters only six months before, with "Release The Kraken" being featured prominently in the film's trailer that premiered during the previous fall. Someone probably saw the trailer on set one day, and decided to throw the line in as a "timely" ad lib that only serves as a painful reminder of how long ago this film was released. Well, that, and a painful reminder that Clash Of The Titans never lived up to the promise of that singular line, but we digress.
As with most Cinema Sins videos, the funniest part comes from the riffing that Jeremy does at the end of the video. This time he's outdone himself, as he's cobbled together a loving tribute reel named "PrANkSter dEa-MOn'S FUNiest HoME ViDja'S," complete with the misspellings and abuse of caps locks that you'd find on a video bearing a similar moniker on YouTube. Not only does this coup de grace point out just how inconsequential most of the demon attacks throughout the film are, but it also reinforces the long held belief that any sort of video set to Boots Randolph's "Yakkity Sax" is automatically funnier for doing so. If you haven't laughed by this point in the video, you may as well give into the natural instincts you were programmed with and have a couple well earned chuckles at the expense of one of the most redundant franchises.
Out of all of the sound and fury that Cinema Sins invokes against the name of the Paranormal Activity franchise, it can all best be summed up with one line that should be repeated ad nauseum before the release of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension:
This franchise is like the Where's Waldo of horror movies. Tons of 'harmless' security footage, designed to make you hunt and peck for any wisp of movement or ghost activity. Fuck Waldo.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension hits theaters on October 23, because yes that's still happening. Paranormal Activity 2 is probably sitting on your friend's DVD shelf, and they'll probably end up selling it on Craig's List in the next couple of months anyway.
