Oren Peli

Oren Peli is an Israeli filmmaker best known for creating the low‑budget horror phenomenon Paranormal Activity (2007). Born on January 21, 1970, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Peli grew up in a Jewish family and relocated to the United States at the age of nineteen, where he would later merge his technical background with a passion for storytelling. Before entering the film industry, he worked as a computer software programmer, contributing to the Amiga bitmap graphics program Photon Paint and writing networking code for the home console versions of Mortal Kombat 3 while employed at Sculptured Software. These early experiences with interactive media and visual effects informed his innovative approach to filmmaking, allowing him to craft suspense through minimalistic equipment and a found‑footage aesthetic. The concept for Paranormal Activity stemmed from Peli’s personal experience of moving into a solitary house and hearing unexplained creaks and knocks at night, an anecdote he transformed into a narrative about a family documenting supernatural occurrences with handheld cameras. The film’s unprecedented success—grossing over $190 million worldwide on a $15,000 budget—ushered in a new era of micro‑budget horror and established Peli as a pioneering producer. He subsequently produced the first five installments of the Insidious franchise alongside James Wan and Leigh Whannell, wrote and produced the 2012 disaster‑horror Chernobyl Diaries, and co‑created the television series The River for ABC in 2012 with Michael R. Perry. Beyond cinema, Peli has continued to explore interactive terror, serving as executive producer on the 2019 video game Night Terrors: Bloody Mary and appearing as himself in the 2021 documentary Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity. Throughout his career, Peli’s blend of technical expertise and narrative daring has left an indelible mark on contemporary horror.