Bigger-budget 'Paranormal Activity 2'

Last year's micro-budget hit "Paranormal Activity" got fantastic mileage for its money, squeezing scares out of little more than flickering lights and ominous noises. Made for about $15,000, it wasn't even the Honda Civic of horror movies - more like just a chassis and a chair. It went on to gross more than $100 million.

"Paranormal Activity 2" arrives with a bigger budget ($2.7 million, according to IMDb.com) and only slightly bigger ideas. The house is larger. Instead of one young couple confronting a ghost, there is an entire family. Instead of viewing everything through a single video camera, we get several angles from a home-surveillance system. And once again, it's all enough to get you jumping in your seat.

The victims this time are an unconventional but happy family: Daniel Rey (Brian Boland), a widower; his teenage daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim); his second wife, Kristi (Sprague Grayden); and their toddler, Hunter (played by William and Jackson Prieto at different ages). As in the first film, the little interactions of everyday life - arguments, jokes, tenderness - provide a foundation of normality, though that crumbles quickly. It turns out Kristi is the sister of Katie (Katie Featherston), who appeared in the first film. And many of you remember what happened to her.

Oren Peli, the original movie's writer-director-everythinger, has been replaced by three writers and director Tod Williams ("The Door in the Floor"), but the simple, gore-free ethos remains intact. Once again, it turns out you can never underestimate the hair-raising power of a creaking door.