Where the first Paranormal Activity sought to present hours of no movement by speeding up the clock, the sequel pressures you to examine every corner of a room for yourself.

| Aug 4, 2024

Visually, the experience is boring and repetitious.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 3, 2023

Tod Williams takes over as director here, but the switch seems pointless.

| Original Score: 2.0/4.0 | Sep 19, 2020

Is the movie scary? Well ... yes and no.

| Original Score: C+ | Aug 13, 2020

Despite its ambitions, Paranormal Activity 2 ends up demonstrating why horror sequels are so often not very sequential.

| Sep 18, 2019

This is the rare sequel that proves to not only be better than the original, but actually makes the first film better as well.

| Original Score: B- | May 8, 2019

Earns some really nice chills, especially once we hit the big finale.

| Aug 26, 2015

This demon is more like a lousy roommate, turning the lights on, leaving the cabinets open and making loud noises in the kitchen while everybody's trying to sleep.

Full Review | Apr 28, 2015

Paranormal Activity 2 is surprisingly boring, not scary and lazily made. This is hands down one of the worst horror movies that I've ever seen.

| Original Score: 2/10 | Nov 9, 2013

It's the scariest movie in years.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Feb 15, 2013

To put it simply, if you've seen the first film, then you've seen this film. There's nothing new offered here, so there's not much of a point in bothering with it.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 22, 2012

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 24, 2011

While the meagre rationing of shocks is undoubtedly frustrating for the bulk of the movie, this allows the final act plenty of room to crank the fear factor up to 11.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 14, 2011

The good ol' child-in-peril gimmick is the only new thing offered by Tod Williams' follow-up to Oren Peli's 2007 hit.

| Original Score: C | Apr 17, 2011

Instead of being trapped in one bedroom, this family has quite a few escape routes that they use quite a bit, which doesn't really help build a sense of dread. It just makes you think, "Get out of the house, fools. The door's right there."

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 4, 2011

The scares in Paranormal Activity 2 aren't as frequent or always as well built as the original film's, but those that exist are still pretty effective.

| Original Score: B- | Mar 9, 2011

Not only drags out too long, it fails to pay off at the end.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 20, 2011

[A] title card end[s] the film on another ominous ellipsis, ominous primarily because it guarantees the need for a third film, most likely to be released in 3D, it is assumed.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 10, 2011

For me, the meager payoff wasn't worth the effort in time and patience. The bother wasn't worth the wait.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 6, 2011

I anxiously await the third leg in the series.

| Jan 27, 2011