The Horror Show
Area 51 (2015)
by Oren Peli
When it takes the creator of Paranormal Activity six years to create another found-footage horror featuring alien life, one would expect that the outcome would do justice to his previous work.
But frankly, Area 51 looks nothing like the well-made and scary smash hit Paranormal Activity. Oren Peli’s latest work is shot in the found-footage style – again – but this time the outcome fails to convince and entertain on several crucial levels.
Sporting plenty of clichés but only a few tense moments, this derivative and long-delayed release follows three friends who plan on breaking into the legendary government facility rumoured to hold evidence and solid proof of extra-terrestrial existence.
The leader of the group, and alien enthusiast, Reid (Reid Warner), has an unexplainable urge to enter the facility and document the government’s secret research – an urge that became even bigger when he strangely went missing for a few hours at a party. After months of planning he convinces his closest friends Darrin (Darrin Bragg) and Ben (Ben Rovner) to accompany him on his extremely dangerous mission and we also see Jelena (Jelena Nik) by their side, the daughter of a former Area 51 employee who committed suicide after trying to reveal some of the things that are going on in the facility.
Once they break in they come face to face with the hidden underground terror that is mostly depicted with shaky camera work and night vision scenes. But that’s not the worst part of Peli’s unoriginal and weak creation.
Area 51 is devoid of any soul and yearns for a heartbeat. The first hour is a bland imitation of Bobcat Goldthwait’s Willow Creek, where the colourless cast talks to locals and focuses on extensive preparations for the raid. Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of the movie’s running time is consumed with monotonous time-killers that don’t really culminate in anything exciting.
Even though the shaky camera work is essential for this style of flick in order to create an agonising atmosphere, the outcome is rather tedious and unsatisfying. The concept itself is compelling, but Peli’s Area 51 feels poorly acted and certainly lacks the gripping quality of Paranormal Activity… even its sequels.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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