1 Cult Classic Film Became a Director’s Desperate Cry for Help, Made People Walk Out of the Theaters in Sheer Terror Despite Being One of the Most Profitable Films Ever Made
- Before breaking Hollywood with Paranormal Activity, the Israeli filmmaker Oren Peli was working as a computer programmer full-time.
- The movie was completed after various difficulties with Peli’s house being the sole location for most of the scenes.
- Paranormal Activity made a profit that was more than 100% of their budget even after the retouches and reshoots by Paramount.
There is one horror film franchise that manages to scare every viewer without seeming too out of the ordinary or unrealistic. The Paranormal Activity franchise started in 2009 as the director Oren Peli’s passion project. He never anticipated the movie to impress the masses or even kickstart his career as a filmmaker.
Back then, the horror genre seemed saturated with movies like Final Destination, The Ring, and the Saw franchise. All of these films focused on gory, violent action where the victims are subjected to brutality. However, Paranormal Activity completely rewrote how horror films are ideated and implemented.
How Oren Peli managed to make Paranormal Activity
Before breaking Hollywood with his incredibly scary horror franchise, the Israeli filmmaker Oren Peli was working as a computer programmer full-time. His family and friends were unaware of a passion he harbored deep within him. Peli aspired to be a filmmaker and storyteller. With a mere $15,000 budget, he embarked on an unexpected project to make a horror flick. Peli quite literally put everything he had into the project to see his dream though.
Due to a lack of resources and good actors in that budget, Peli wrote, produced, directed, and financed Paranormal Activity all on his own. The filmmaker was incredibly brave in taking such a step especially when he knew nothing of directing movies and shooting scenes. However, as passionate and driven as he was, he found his way into every aspect and made Paranormal Activity.
The movie was completed after various difficulties with Peli’s house being the sole location for most of the scenes. During the first screening of the movie, Peli saw many viewers stepping out of the movie even before the story was halfway there. He felt like a failure since he thought nobody liked his movie. However, the reality was far from it. People walked out of Paranormal Activity screening because they were too scared to continue watching. Peli had managed to make a movie so scary that viewers needed a break.
The entire negative footage as seen through night cameras works in the favor of the entire story. It adds a freaky angle to the scenes, making them scarier and more disconcerting. Paranormal Activity was acquired by Paramount and made into a franchise that continues to delight fans of the horror genre.
Paranormal Activity Box Office Performance
After Oren Peli sold the movie to Paramount, the studio suggested some changes to the movie including a better climax and some scenes shot in a better manner. From $15,000, these changes took the budget of the movie to $215,000. Not only did the movie make Oren Peli a famous filmmaker, but it also helped Paramount mint money through the consequent franchise.
Paranormal Activity made a profit that was more than 100% of their budget even after the retouches and reshoots. Consequently, the box office performance of Paranormal Activity stood at $194.2 million, awakening the masses and the industry to the potential of good horror movies.
Paranormal Activity is streaming on Prime Video.
