Research: Paranormal Activity 2

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2

Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 psychological horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry. It is a sequel to the original film, Paranormal Activity, released in 2009.
This film interprets the horror genre, by the use of music or sound, lighting and shots. The trailer is filmed as if it is like a documentary, therefore scarier, as the audience think that is real.
The use of sound within the trailer is very dark and mysterious giving a very scary feel, as the trailer is giving a sense that it is being filmed from a home camera, therefore creating tension. The sounds that are heard are dogs barking, screams and also the noise of the camera coming in and out signal, which creates the tension and eeriness.

The lighting in this trailer is very dark and eerie throughout, having a tint of blue, from the camera. From the beginning the trailer gives a scary feel as throughout the lighting doesn’t change, and remains darks, giving a very uneasy feel to the trailer.

There are mainly establishing shots used within the trailer, showing a shots of rooms, then fading to black and then to another shot of a room. Between most shots it fades to black, so the shots are a series of shots that are unrelated but give the feel of documentary, especially with the use of the time in the corner. However, between the shots in the beginning of the trailer it fades to black, and shows reaction shots of audiences watching the previous film, Paranormal Activity. These reaction shots are shot looking onto the audience whilst they are watching the film, to give this effect the shots are in green, creating a sense again, that it is real.

The film was classified at a certificate 15, so therefore may appeal to a wider audience than the usual horror audience because it would obviously involve limits to the horror that will be shown, due to the age preventing restricted information being able to be shown. The target audience for this film is obviously aimed at 15 year olds therefore the storyline is aimed at being fully understood by those with teenage/adult sensibilities. It has a female as the main character, being possessed.

Classic Hollywood films (Le shot Americaine) remove any idea of mediation, in order to get the audience to suspend their disbelief. Paranormal Activity 2 is shot like a documentary, making the audience watching the trailer, actually have the idea of mediation. Awareness of the camera, throughout the film, by the use of the time in the corner, the quality of the film, in ways such as the camera going in and out of signal and the and the coloring of certain shots, such as blue and green tints – perhaps suggests that webcam’s have been used to create the film as well, reinforces the audience’s belief that what they are watching is actuality.