Horror movie fans may recognize this suburban San Diego property as the Paranormal Activity house. It once belonged to film-maker and director Oren Peli, who used the property for his 2007 horror film ‘Paranormal Activity’.
Paranormal Activity was a mock documentary, filmed in the style of The Blair Witch Project. It became the highest-grossing horror movie of 2009, outperforming The Final Destination and Friday the 13th.
The movie revolves around Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) who become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence in their new home. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house. However, they are not prepared for the terrifying events that follow.
The total cost for the movie was just $15,000, yet made $193 million at the box office. After the success of the first movie, a number of sequels would be released in the years following. However, these were not directed by Peli, although he did work as a producer on some of them. These films took place at different properties, generally in the California area.
THE HISTORY OF THE PARANORMAL ACTIVITY HOUSE
The house used in the movie is located at 13236 Bavarian Drive, San Diego, CA. Built in 1986, the 2,314 square foot house has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. It also has a large yard with a patio, swimming pool, and a partial basketball court.
It’s not clear when Oren Peli purchased the property, however, we do know he no longer lives there and the house was last sold in 2015 for $749,000. Oren later moved to a $6 million property in West Lake Village.
THE HOUSE IN THE MOVIE
Oren Peli used his own home in the movie to save money on the budget. The movie was filmed over seven days and nights using only five credited actors. Which is how Peli was able to keep the movie budget to just $15,000.
As the movie was filmed almost entirely inside the property, we got to see a lot of shots of the living area, kitchen, and bedroom. Much of the movie was filmed using a handheld camera, rather than your typical movie cameras. Therefore the images are not quite as clear as they would otherwise be.
THE HOUSE TODAY
As already mentioned, the Paranormal Activity house last sold in 2015 for $749,000. Below are some of the photos from that listing, while there have been some changes, much of the property looks the same.
If you are a fan of horror movie houses, then you might be interested in the Halloween movie house or the A Nightmare On Elm Street house.