2. About Oren Peli
• Oren Peli was born in Israel in 1970.
• At the age of 19, Oren moved to
America and studied animation and
graphic design.
• Peli has been involved in many aspects
of film making including
Directing, Producing, Writing, Cinemat
ographer and Editing.
• As well as filming he is also a video
game programmer.
• He is best known for his debut film
Paranormal Activity which was a box-
office hit despite only having a $15’000
budget to work with.
3. Career
• Peli’s film career to date has been relatively short but
has created a massive impact on the horror industry
and has created some of the most effective and scary
horror films in the 21st century.
• Despite beginning his career as a computer software
programmer he took a shot at film making and was
confident he could direct a film that heavily involved
technology.
• After the first Paranormal Activity Oren has gone on to
produce eight other films under the supernatural sub-
genre, including the remaining three Paranormal films
in the series.
5. Filming Inspiration & Style
• Oren came up with the concept of his first film Paranormal Activity
through real life experience. He lived alone at his home and would
hear cracks and noises when nobody was around and thought this
was make a scary narrative.
• The film was also inspired by the style of way The Blair Witch
Project was filmed. This influenced into the way Paranormal Activity
was filmed with camera’s recording all over the house to capture
what was going on in the house.
• Peli stuck with the idea of filming in an old-style fashion and
incorporated classic suspense elements from earlier eras of horror
films.
• His mixture of classic horror and low-budget create box-office hits
with strong positive responses from audiences.
• Oren says that he can never imagine working in a massive filming
studio.
6. Filming Inspiration & Style
“The thing I find really scary about
ghosts and demons is that you don’t
really know what they are or where
they are. They’re not very well
understood. You don’t know what
they want from you. So it’s the kind of
thing you don’t even know how to
defend yourself against. Anything
that’s unknown and mysterious is
very scary.” – Oren Peli
7. Oren Peli’s Brand of Horror
“Personally I like the slow burn; I don't think
there is anything wrong with it. When I think
about the movies that were most effective on
me as a viewer I think of the original Haunting
and the Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, the Sixth
Sense, the Others. These movies are not over
the top at all, they are movies that rely on
good story telling, good acting, good premise,
good exposition and I want to stay true to that
in future projects.” – Oren Peli
8. Why Oren Peli is influential for me
• Peli is an influential character in horror film
industry as he is relevant to today’s horror
scene creating some of the scariest
supernatural films in recent times. His filming
style is genuine and creates fears for
audiences. The narratives he has created are
realistic in comparison to other horror films
which is something I want to achieve.
