‘Paranormal Activity’ Director Discusses Film’s Wild Ride

The micro-budget horror movie “Paranormal Activity” is burning up the box office with scares audiences can’t get enough – and director Oren Peli said it’s the fans that are helping the film’s fear factor go national.

“We had really great reaction and response from the fans,” he told Access Hollywood. “They got behind it, told their friends, and used the Internet – Twitter, Facebook, too. The studio had to keep expanding it to more and more cities, and it seems to have worked out pretty well.”

Oren also credited Eventful.com’s “Demand It” system, which has garnered over a million votes for the film in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.

“It was a big gamble,” he said. “But luckily the fans really embraced it and they were clicking the Demand It buttons.”

Horror films are known for their economical budgets, but “Paranormal Activity’s” price tag was a mere $15,000, much like “The Blair Witch Project” a decade ago. “Paranormal Activity” has grossed over $11 million so far – almost 1,000 times its cost.

“I don’t think it necessarily takes a big budget to be scary,” Oren said. “If you look at ‘Blair Witch,’ that was done on a very small budget and that was very effective. A lot of the stuff that is really scary in the movie is very subtle stuff – what happens at night, when you are asleep and you are the most vulnerable.”

And the do-it-yourself spirit behind “Blair Witch” was an inspiration for Oren, as well as the film itself.

“They raised a little bit of money, they got a camera, they got a cast and they shot a movie,” he said. “[That] made me think, well, I can buy a camera, hire a couple of people, come up with a story and if it turns out good, who knows?”

Still, it was a more established filmmaker’s blessing that helped the film get into theaters after being picked up by Paramount.

“When [Steven Spielberg] gave us the stamp of approval, then we knew this was going to get theatrically released,” Oren said, explaining the director had seen it after a successful screening for a test audience. “He loved it and then it was a done deal.”

Spielberg did make one suggestion, though – a change to the ending.

“He came up with a certain idea that we tested. The reaction was amazing,” Oren said. “Everyone screams.”