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Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Not a bad movie, but it will frustrate you at times
This isn't a bad movie by any means - The pacing never really dips, and it provides some solid scares from start to finish. Introducing elements like the dog and the security cameras was a wise move. However, you'll find yourself frustrated by the dumb decisions made by the characters. For example, the father is the one who had the security cameras installed, but when bad things continue to happen in his own home he completely avoids watching the footage which is captured by these cameras that are in every room in the house - It makes no sense! Any father who cared about his home and his family even a little bit would watch the footage and react accordingly. The writer's decision to make him this much of a dolt feels more like a way to fix plot holes than anything else.
Either way, if you turn your brain off and just enjoy it, there are some fun moments to be had here. It's worth watching, even if it's not as good as PA1 or PA3.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
An entertaining and well-paced horror film with some irritating flaws
I approached this movie with low expectations due to the negative reviews and the slipshod quality of Paranormal Activity 4. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised to discover that this movie did not suffer from the plodding pace of the first movie or the frustratingly unintelligent characters that were featured in PA2 and PA4 (recall that the father in the second movie had cameras installed but then refused to watch the recorded footage). This entry moves along at a brisk pace and is never boring, and you never have to wait too long for some creepy visuals or a good jump scare (yes, there are jump scares and this will turn some viewers off, but it didn't bother me as I was in the mood to be startled). The character of Mike is somewhat annoying but he's there to serve as comic relief.
Many of the visual effects are subtle and done quite well, such as the particles and shapes captured by the modified "ghost camera," but the use of CGI becomes much too heavy-handed in the latter half of the film. Whereas most of the scares are done very well, a few of the CGI effects seen near the end of the movie are more funny than scary and this is not a good thing; sparser use of computer- generated visuals would have been a wise move, but instead they were VERY liberal with its application here (especially in comparison with the previous entries). Also, without spoiling anything, there are some frustrating problems raised by the plot twists that occur near the end of the film and PA5 ultimately creates more questions than it answers.
Fans who were hoping for a neat and tidy wrap-up to the franchise will be somewhat disappointed with PA5. However, if you accept that these films have had convoluted plots from PA2 onward and you're just in the mood to be scared and entertained, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's a solid popcorn movie for a rainy night.
Just don't puzzle over the continuity of the plot too much... You'll give yourself a migraine.