Oren Peli was born on 21 January 1970 in Israel. He moved to the United States in his teens.
Everyone knows Peli for Paranormal Activity. He wrote, directed, and co-produced the film. But since then, he has been a successful producer. He co-produced Insidious and The Lords of Salem. He also co-created the short-lived but well-loved TV series The River.
On the negative side, Oren is also responsible for us having 7 Paranormal Activity and 6 Insidious films.
Until today, I had never seen Paranormal Activity. I had one experience with the film. I was on the bus. And this older gentleman was speaking animatedly to two young women. He explained that while The Blair Witch Project was obviously fake, Paranormal Activity was the real thing. I rolled my eyes and continued doing Sudoku.
That is the main appeal of these films. Some faction of the audience believe it is real and want to talk about it. And much of the rest find it amusing to argue about.
Let me set the record straight. The film ends with, “Micah’s body was discovered…” And then we get, “The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious.”
But there is no doubt that this film feels real. And this is part of the power of found footage films. It is also a big part of their problems. Much of the film is tedious — the way real life usually is.
But for all this, the film is remarkably effective — even going in two decades later. And the last 15 minutes are fabulous. In this film and others, Oren Peli shows himself to be an unassuming expert at creating supernatural horror. That doesn’t mean you should watch everything he’s done. As I’ve noted, neither Salem nor Insidious are worth seeking out.
But I think all psychotronic fans should watch Paranormal Activity. It’s an effective film and it shows what filmmakers can do with almost no resources.
Paranormal Activity (2007) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
