Oren Peli

Found-footage horror has always been pretty hit-or-miss: for every Blair Witch Project there’s a Last Exorcism. Most of the time, it’s the low-budget efforts that succeed in utilizing the style’s greatest strengths, so it’s not surprising that Paranormal Activity, made on a budget of $15,000, became a global phenomenon. The sequels are what they are, but the first movie is still chilling to this day, in part because of its two leads, who act in such a way that it’s easy to believe it’s all real.

Like the famed government site itself, Oren Peli’s Area 51 film was something that’s existed for a while now, but has remained shrouded in secrecy and hidden from the public. The director began working on the project in 2011, and the last update we received was sometime in 2013. Since then, the film has been stuck on Paramount’s shelf, and it wasn’t clear if Area 51 would ever see the light of day. Coinciding with today’s abrupt announcement of the film’s upcoming May release date, we finally have an official trailer.

I've just returned from getting hosed down in a decontamination unit. Coincidentally, this is just what I do on Sunday nights and has nothing to do with the fact that I've just chatted with Oren Peli, writer and producer of the atomic horror flick 'Chernobyl Diaries.' Mr. Peli is the man behind the 'Paranormal Activity' films (as well as producer on 'Insidious' and the cancelled show 'The River')