Tuesday, 20 October 2009 17:25

News

Oren Peli, a videogame designer from San Diego, is garnering nationwide attention with Paranormal Activity, a film he wrote and filmed at his home in San Diego's Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood for just $11,000. As of today, the film is raking in $26,000 per screen throughout the country and has amassed more than $34,000,000 in revenue. Initially launched in limited distribution, Paranormal saw its stock rise exponentially when over a million people went to its website to demand a broader release.

The film’s premise involves a young couple in San Diego who suspect their home is haunted by an evil presence of some sort—particularly when they try to sleep. In order to discover the source of their fright, the couple set up video surveillance in their bedroom to catch the evildoer(s). Frequently and favorably compared to The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal weaves footage of the overnight surveillance into the narrative.

Roger Ebert has called it “an ingenious horror film,” and added “it’s so well made it’s truly scary.” Rave reviews have continued to pour in from hundreds of critics, and film rating site Rotten Tomatoes currently shows it at a healthy 86% approval rating. Paramount has also won widespread praise for its inventive and successful use of social media technology.

Peli, a native of Israel who has lived in San Diego for 12 years, wrote, cast and directed the film on a high-def Sony video camera in his spare time. After impressing several studio execs on the festival circuit, Paranormal eventually landed in the hands of Steven Spielberg who, according to legend, called the DVD "haunted" after being trapped in his bedroom upon viewing it. Peli has already begun work on a follow-up film entitled Area 51. For more information on Paranormal, check out the official website.