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The apprentice is now the master. "Paranormal Activity", the ultra low budget spooker from 2007, was heralded both for its low-key thrills and as being heir to the throne of "The Blair Witch Project". After the travesty that was "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2", it is with understandable trepidation that one might approach "Paranormal Activity 2". So, as a fan of the original, I'm happy to report that "P.A.2" is not only a worthy follow-up to the original, but it improves upon it by adding extra depth to the story (no spoilers here, you'll have to see it to find out).

More of a prequel than a sequel, "2" takes place entirely in the spacious suburban home of Dan and Kristi. They live there with their new baby boy, Hunter, and Ali, Dan's daughter from his first marriage. The film's opening moments are told from the point-of-view of Dan's camcorder, ostensibly to document the new baby (films in this genre have long since grown tired of explaining the excuse for constantly having the camera on - as has the audience). If Kristi's sister looks familiar, it's because she's Katie Featherston, the actress from the first "Paranormal", reprising her role.

Things start to go south when the family finds the house ransacked from top to bottom. It looks like a robbery, but nothing's been stolen. The clever premise, from writer Michael R. Perry, has the family installing a series of security cameras throughout the house, and the majority of the film is told from their static, sterile POV (no fair complaining that the cameras are high-def and have audio).

In an age when horror movies attempt to out-ADD each other in the form of epilepsy-inducing jump cutting, you have to appreciate what the "Paranormal" films - and new-to-the-series director Tod Williams - are doing. The movies are told, essentially, via still shots - in "2" even more so than "1". The film traffics in slow scares rather than cheap shocks. And that it succeeds can be attributed to the fact that it's refreshing compared to what passes for horror nowadays. There are long uncut shots of living rooms, front yards, pools. And it just goes to show, there's something scary about the suburbs. In a city, you expect to look out the window at night and see life; in the suburbs, there should be nothing there.

"Para 2" follows the same basic format as the original. Quiet, unexplained noises give way to larger scares as a family unravels. The addition of a baby amps up the freaky quotient a bit. There's some light explanatory dialogue, but that's wisely kept to a minimum. And the ending has a kind of poetic obviousness to it which, again, feels refreshing.

The actors (most of whom are newcomers) do a fine job playing it natural - particular kudos should go to whoever coached the baby, not to mention Abby, the family's German Shepherd. By and large, the family behaves as any family would, until inevitably they stay in the house when the shouldn't - and keep the camcorder rolling when they wouldn't. But hey without that there'd be no movie. And for once I can say this about a sequel: I'm glad there is.