Excellent, a Must See

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I was not a fan of this film first time around, and while it improved upon rewatch, there are things that irked me as they would any viewer eager to see some intelligent and sane adult's reaction to...well, occurrences as they were presented.Unlike some reviewers I do NOT believe molestation has taken place in this film, nor there are supernatural forces at work, rather a case of rotten apples. 2 for 2, as far-fetched as it sounds. But, these are twins, with their weird little ways and enclosed little world, so there you go.Seriously, how oblivious parents can be? From overbearing, over-enthusiastic father - the pastor, to child psychiatrist of a mom who does not recognize her kids are unwell, then extremely violent, and when she does just does not address it properly? The fact we have two opposing factors here - science vs religion was never properly used, eventually tackled in a shallow manner, shall we exorcise them or fill them up with pills? None of those approaches worked, cause parents in this film haven't the slightest idea how to deal with their kids' alarming behavioral problem.It could have helped it we had some prospect of how the kids acted before moving into the house. Have they always been this weird, or did it happen suddenly, and unexpectedly? Since parents show no reaction to their kids' lack of human reaction I'm inclined to think they'd always been a couple of weirdos, it's just they got fed up with the parents and decided to put a stop to their annoying, happy-go-lucky holiday routine.I won't go into tech aspects, basically, found footage tropes are present as expected, sometimes little annoying but for the fans of subgenre shouldn't be too much of an obstacle. My bigger gripe is the story (basic idea is fine) and how far fetched many parts of it actually were.

What have I just watched? I'm not even sure how to rate this movie. In some ways it succeeds brilliantly as a horror film. I won't forget it, that's for sure. But it fails miserably as storytelling because it's as if you are watching the definition of nihilism. The message of this movie is that everything is meaningless and, as such, it's pretty hard to enjoy. Basically the premise is the meeting of three things: religious faith (the father is a Lutheran pastor who believes in demonic possession); scientific rationality (the mother is a child psychiatrist who believes there are no bad children only un-medicated ones) and pure evil (their twin children). The twins, Jack and Emily, are silent and surly and watchful. When this changes to downright evil (you know things are going to go bad when the multitude of family pets is introduced: goldfish, frog, cat, dog) the mother tries to treat them with drugs and the father attempts an exorcism. Well, I guess you would, given they find the family cat crucified on the wall on Christmas Day. And that is where I have my problem with this movie, I guess. I'm sorry, but I don't find it credible that any parents, however sweet and goofy they show themselves to be, would continue living in the same house as these twin f***s when they find that cat. The father even says, "But I still love them. How can I not love my son and my sweet baby girl?" Yeah, like, right... I bet the dog was thinking, "F*** that, I'm gonna be next, Fool!" And he'd have been right. He was. So, continue on together they do; dog bites the dust (nope, even severed head of beloved old pet doesn't make these parents give up on their sweet kids) and the twins inevitably turn their attentions to humans: torturing a young boy at the school. Even then the parents continue making videos to prove what a happy family they are. By the time the kids had them beaten, drugged, strapped to a table, suffocating in plastic, and ready to eat, I was thinking, "Yup, should have taken the goldfish sandwich as a hint all was not well."

A couple of naive, enthusiastic parents gradually admit there's something creepy about their twin children, so they try to fix the problem through their opposing beliefs. Will it go the way they hope?Interesting found footage horror. All the acting is fine - the tension between the parents probably should have come earlier and more subtly - camera not too shaky, and the pace is good. We have the usual woodland isolation, camera lights peering through the dark, ordinary people going off in a huff, and the startling discovery of scary things. But it's not The Blair Witch Project.The extra strength is that it raises issues of faith and science, and the question whether one is more effective than the other, but without giving an answer. Also there's a clever switch of the point of view in the climax. The weakness is the film-makers shied away from delivering real frights, every time just fading out or not carrying through. Which is a pity. And full throated screaming is always effective in this genre, but too restrained this time.Overall, not enough scares to make it more than interesting, but I'm sure this would make a great full-production horror.

I will start this review as positively as I can manage. The genre of documentary, POV, consumer-grade, hand held video films is one of my favorites. It is a direction cinema as art should be taking. Within these films, the fact that there are directors and actors involved in production is suspended. This method sustains a kernel of truth which allows for incredible levels of immersion and flow.Forgive me since I am reviewing this film from memory.This film begins with the director's Disneyland fantasy of an enthusiastic, life loving couple. The parents here are self absorbed and constantly inviting the camera into their painful attempts at enjoyment. They are caricatures, completely without wit or realism. The fact that the producer says in the extras that his 1st task was to avoid this result is evidence of the complete lack of rigor that went into the film.This product is way too glossy and hollow...the director allowing extra financing and the inept producer on helm completely destroyed whatever vision he had.Due to boredom I almost missed the key scene for the story arc: the bedtime dragon story. I did not bemoan it...pitiful writingI was rolling on the floor when the father (who is a priest for inexplicable reasons) start his chants and exorcisms. Predictable, unbelievable...the script and production on this was constantly tearing me away from the movie.Many scenes have difficultly explaining for the presence of the camera...aftermath diaries or clues would have been sufficient instead of filming every detail like an undergrad film studentFrom the beginning I was on the side of the children. Like them, the viewer is left dissociated from the entire mess and wanting revenge on the blind, stupid, and raving spectacle in front of them.