What do Halloween and Entrepreneurs alike have in common this year?  The answer is Oren Peli’s film Paranormal Activity.  I’m sure many of you have heard of the blockbuster movie currently in theaters, but what many of you may not know is that the movie was actually created by one man with a budget of less than $15,000.  Oren Peli by all accounts can and should be considered a entrepreneur who recently hit success. 


Oren wrote and directed Paranormal Activity as a very small independent movie back in 2007.  After some internet buzz thanks to sites like twitter and facebook, Paramount Pictures stepped in and released the movie nationwide to all theaters just in time for the 2009 Halloween season.  The movie has since made over $66,000,000 to date!  Needless to say one can almost be certain that a sequel will be on the way with results like that.  Oren Peli worked as a video game designer prior to taking the leap into making the low budget movie turned mega success.  It’s really amazing the impact social media sites like facebook and twitter can have for someone.  This is just another example in the ever growing list of internet success stories.


For those who don’t know, Paranormal Activity is a horror movie filmed Blair Witch style with all the shaky camera angles to match.  Having just seen this movie the other night, I can say that it really helps create a intense and scary atmosphere throughout the movie.  The plot of the movie without giving out too many details revolves around a young couple who are haunted by an evil spirit in their house.  The build-up of tension and suspense is also very well done here.  The one final thing I think that is worth noting is that there is very little blood in this movie for anyone who is squeamish about that sort of thing and turned off from movies like Saw VI (for example) because of it.  So if you’re too old to be trick or treating this Halloween weekend, then I would encourage you to go see Paranormal Activity for a scary treat and you’ll be supporting your fellow entrepreneur in the process!


For a little more information on the director/writer, here is a brief video interview with Oren Peli: