Director Oren Peli films actress Katie Featherston in PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

The horror movie cultural phenomenon that is PARANORMAL ACTIVITY comes to Film Fresh on DVD and DivX download. The work of first-time Israeli director Oren Peli, the film focuses on a young couple that find themselves haunted by a supernatural presence.

This low-budget, independent horror film premièred in 2007, but didn’t captivate movie audiences until this past summer. Utilizing guerilla style marketing via Twitter and Eventful.com,  PARANORMAL ACTIVITY played only in cities where people requested special midnight screenings. An aura of mystique developed around the film, creating immediate buzz and helping it earn over $140 million. This was an incredible feat for a film that had a budget of only $15,000, thus making it the most profitable film in history.

Due to its unique back-story, the press and critics covered the film extensively.  Mary Elizabeth Williams of SALON.COM chronicled the movie’s success in her review, stating, “It delivers satisfyingly gasp-out-loud scares.” (more)

While world famous critic Roger Ebert of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES wrote in his review, “PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is an ingenious little horror film, so well made it's truly scary.” (more)

See what all the hype is about and, hopefully, get the pants scared off of you.

Another film completed in 2007 that finally saw a wide release in 2009 is the horror thriller, CARRIERS. Starring Chris Pine of recent STAR TREK fame, CARRIERS focuses on four people who are fleeing a viral pandemic.

Acclaimed horror writer Stephen King calls the film “A sharp but small horror flick.” (more)

THE MARC PEASE EXPERIENCE is a smaller, indie release featuring actors Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman. Schwartzman stars as Marc Pease, a young man who reminisces the days when he starred in his high school’s stage musicals.

It's also worth mentioning that we have added the French film APRES LUI, the Italian political thriller IL DIVO, and the third release by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, THREE MONKEYS, for sale on DVD in our expanding World section. Jim Jarmusch’s latest, THE LIMITS OF CONTROL, is also available on DVD in the Film Fresh Indie section.