'Paranormal Activity' Director Reveals Original Audition Tapes for His Freaky Horror Movie
The 2009 haunted-house horror movie Paranormal Activity is one of the most profitable films in history, grossing $193.3 million globally after being produced for about $15,000. A big reason for that return-on-investment was director Oren Peli’s decision to cast unknowns Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat as the leads — and now, Peli has released the original audition tapes that helped the actors nab their starring roles. Watch them above.
In the video from 2006 (via Slashfilm), Featherston and Sloat first perform separately and then later, during callbacks, on a couch together — to show they could affect the laid-back marital chemistry that was crucial to the film’s success. As was the case with much of Paranormal Activity’s character interaction, their banter during the audition is completely improvised — a situation that was spelled out in the casting-call notice, which (as one can see in the clip) specified that “no script will be provided at any stage of production,” and that “all dialogue will be ad-libbed.”
While Peli’s stipulations make the film sound like a daunting project, Paranormal Activity ultimately hinged on the actors’ impressive ability to play believably freaked-out average people. To see how their horror odyssey began, check out the original audition tapes of Featherston and Sloat above.
Watch the ‘Paranormal Activity’ trailer:
