ABSTRACT
One of the cornerstones of the found-footage horror genre, Oren Peli’s debut feature, Paranormal Activity, has been remembered as an “indie blockbuster” and textbook example of a low-budget indie flourishing commercially. With an original budget of just $15,000, Paranormal Activity was acquired and theatrically released by Paramount Pictures and generated a domestic box office of $108M. Drawing on the established conventions of found-footage horror, the film clearly relies on stylistic features distinct from traditional Hollywood filmmaking. This chapter reads the film as independent principally in relation to both the filmmaker’s vision, which is highlighted due to the centrality of the act of filmmaking within the diegesis and the film’s participatory marketing strategies.
