Oren Peli made one of the most profitable independent films of all-time with his directorial debut Paranormal Activity, which makes it more surprising that's his only released director's credit. He promised to make a found-footage follow-up Area 51 for years, but little was known until now. It was just announced the sci-fi horror film makes its Alamo Drafthouse/VOD release on May 15.
Deadline reports Paramount Insurge teamed up with the theater chain to release Peli's new film. They also plan to distribute Drunk Wedding, which is unveiled the week after on May 22 and Mama Sherpas, the Ricki Lake-documentary which comes to Los Angeles on May 27, followed by a rollout on regional, VOD and digital platforms. The first two films have a week-long release in the theaters, which starts the same day they come out on VOD.
Area 51, produced by Jason Blum and Steve Schneider, was announced back when Peli's first film got its official released back in 2009. Since then, Peli kept quietly on the project, remaining a producer on future Paranormal Activity and Insidious films, as well as The Bay, Chernobyl Diaries and Rob Zombie's The Lord of Salem. This is the first time in years the project has been announced.
In addition to this announcement, the first footage for Area 51 was released in the form of a trailer, which can be found on Apple. It stars Reid Warner, Jamel King, Ben Rovner and Jelena Nik and centers on three young conspiracy theorists who attempt to uncover the secrets behind Area 51.
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