View source for Area 51 (film)



{{Infobox film
| name           = Area 51
| image          = Area_51_Film_Poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Oren Peli]]
| producer       = [[Jason Blum]]
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* Oren Peli
* [[Christopher Denham]]
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* Reid Warner
* Darrin Bragg
* Ben Rovner
* Jelena Nik
}}
| cinematography = Oren Peli
| editing        = {{Plainlist|
* Blake Maniquis
* Jake York
}}
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Insurge Pictures]]
* [[Blumhouse Productions]]
* [[IM Global]]
* Incentive Filmed Entertainment
* Solana Films
* Room 101
}}
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|2015|05|15}}
| runtime        = 91 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $5 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/34729/paramount-and-oren-peli-taking-us-area-51|title=Paramount and Oren Peli Taking Us to Area 51|date=November 30, 2009|first=Steve|last=Barton|work=[[Dread Central]] }}</ref>
| gross          = $7,556<ref name="boxofficemojo.com">{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=area51.htm|title=Area 51 (2015) |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] }}</ref>
}}
'''''Area 51''''' is a 2015 American [[Found footage (film technique)|found footage]] [[Science fiction film|science fiction]] [[horror film]] directed and shot by [[Oren Peli]] and co-written by Peli and [[Christopher Denham]]. The film stars Reid Warner, Darrin Bragg, Ben Rovner, and Jelena Nik. The film was produced by [[Jason Blum]] under his [[Blumhouse Productions]] banner, and was released in a [[limited release]] and through [[video on demand]] on May 15, 2015, by [[Paramount Insurge]]. It is the second and most recent film directed by Peli, and unlike the original ''[[Paranormal Activity]]'' film, it was panned by both critics and audiences.

==Plot==
Three close friends, Reid, Darrin, and Ben, attend a party together, during which Reid vanishes. Unable to locate him, Ben and Darrin leave. Driving home on a dark, secluded road, the two nearly run over Reid, who is inexplicably standing in the roadway in a daze.

After the incident, Reid becomes fascinated with [[Extraterrestrial life|aliens]] and [[Area 51]], and spends the next three months planning to infiltrate Area 51 to uncover the base's secrets. However, Reid's obsessive research leaves him detached from his family and causes him to lose his job. Reid recruits Darrin and Ben to help him, along with Jelena, another conspiracy theorist whose deceased father worked at Area 51. They plan to sneak onto the military base using signal jammers, [[night vision goggles]], [[Freon]]-laced jumpsuits, and pills to mask their [[ammonia]] levels. Jelena theorizes that her father was murdered for seeking too much information about the base, and advises the group to investigate a man who holds a high-level position there. Ben, Reid, and Darrin follow the man home from the airport, sneak into his house, and steal his security badge.

Late at night, Ben drops the others off in the desert outside the base and waits for their return. Reid, Darrin, and Jelena manage to bypass the base's perimeter defenses, and use the stolen security badge to enter the complex. While exploring the base, the trio descend deep underground and discover a lab containing [[Anti gravity|anti-gravity]] material and a lifelike liquid substance. They also find an [[Flying saucer|alien spacecraft]] in a hangar, which only Reid can enter or interact with. The three reach the 'S4' level of Area 51, which houses the complex's most secret information and experiments. They trigger an alarm and are swarmed by guards, causing Darrin to become separated from his friends. Eluding the guards, Darrin narrowly escapes a predatory alien and retreats to the higher levels of the base.

Reid and Jelena venture deeper into the complex and discover a cavern-like structure beneath Area 51. There, they find [[Alien abduction|articles of clothing, toys]], and later, pods containing human blood and organs. The two stumble upon a colony of sleeping aliens. An alien awakens and chases them out of the cave into a different section of the complex, where they find themselves in a white chamber. As Reid examines a series of [[Alien language|alien symbols]], Jelena is suddenly dragged away by an unseen force. Reid locates her, but she is unresponsive and in a trance. The chamber suddenly loses gravity, revealing that they are on board a silver alien spacecraft, from which Reid's camera falls and plummets to the ground.

Darrin successfully escapes the complex and learns that all base personnel are evacuating Area 51. He exits back into the desert, where he finds Ben waiting. Darrin explains that their group was separated and frantically urges Ben to drive away; however, the car's engine dies. The camcorder captures the pair's abduction from the car.

In a post-credits scene, an old man whom the group previously interviewed finds Reid's camcorder, which is still recording.

==Cast==
* Reid Warner as Reid 
* Darrin Bragg as Darrin
* Jelena Nik as Jelena
* Ben Rovner as Ben
* Sandra Staggs as Mother
* [[Roy Abramsohn]] as Father
* [[Frank Novak]] as himself
* David Saucedo as Town Local
* Glenn Campbell as himself
* Jamel King as Jamel Bragg
* Nikka Far as Nikki
* [[Norio Hayakawa]] as himself

==Production==
Production for the film began in the fall of 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paramount lands 'Area 51' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=November 29, 2009 |first=Michael |last=Fleming |url=https://variety.com/2009/film/features/paramount-lands-area-51-1118011925/ }}</ref> In April 2011, [[CBS Films]] hired director and actor [[Christopher Denham]] to do some rewrites on ''Area 51''.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|title=[Remember This?] Oren Peli's 'Area 51'|date=February 13, 2013 |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3218774/remember-this-oren-pelis-area-51/}}</ref> Peli filmed re-shoots in 2013. In August 2013, Jason Blum stated that the film had finished production and that Peli was "tinkering" with the film in post production.<ref>{{cite web |work=[[/Film]] |url=http://www.slashfilm.com/jason-blum-offers-update-on-oren-pelis-area-51-it-exists/ |title=Jason Blum Offers Update on Oren Peli's 'Area 51': "It Exists!" |date=August 20, 2013 |first=Angie |last=Han }}</ref> On March 14, 2015, Blum confirmed that the film was officially done and would perhaps be released on VOD.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/jason-blum-confirms-oren-pelis-area-51-finished-releasedsomeday/ |title=EXCLUSIVE: Jason Blum Confirms Oren Peli's Area 51 Is Finished And Will Be Released...Someday|date=14 March 2015 }}</ref> On April 23, 2015, it was announced the film would open exclusively in [[Alamo Drafthouse]] theaters and through [[video on demand]] platforms on May 15, 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-paranormal-activity-director-oren-pelis-long-delayed-area-51-20150423 |title=Watch: First Trailer For 'Paranormal Activity' Director O - The Playlist |author=Kevin Jagernauth |date=23 April 2015 |work=The Playlist |access-date=23 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425185207/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-paranormal-activity-director-oren-pelis-long-delayed-area-51-20150423 |archive-date=25 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Release==
===Box office and sales===
The film was released in Alamo Drafthouse theaters exclusively for a weekend-long-run, and on [[video on demand]] platforms beginning on May 15, 2015, courtesy of [[Paramount Insurge]] and [[Blumhouse|Blumhouse Tilt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3341520/long-lost-area-51-uncovered-trailer/|title=Long-Lost 'Area 51' Uncovered On VOD! (Trailer) -|work=bloody-disgusting.com|date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> The film made a total of $7,556 for its weekend long-run.<ref name="boxofficemojo.com"/>

===Reception===
''Area 51'' was heavily panned by critics. On ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]'', it has an approval rating of 13% based on reviews from eight critics.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/area_51/ |title=AREA 51 (2015) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |date=2015 |access-date=2020-05-18 }}</ref>

Brian Tallerico writing for ''[[RogerEbert.com]]'' gave the film one and half stars and mainly criticized the film's generic plot and pacing.<ref name="area51-re">{{cite news |last=Tallerico |first=Brian |url=https://rogerebert.com/reviews/area-51-2015 |title=Area 51 Movie Review and Film Summary (2015) |work=RogerEbert.com |date=2015-05-15 |access-date=2017-05-18 }}</ref> A. A. Dowd from ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' gave ''Area 51'' a 'C'-rating and criticized the film's originality when compared to [[Oren Peli]]'s previous film, ''[[Paranormal Activity]]''.<ref name="avclub">{{cite news |last=Dowd |first=A. A. |url=https://avclub.com/review/area-51-offers-close-encounter-very-familiar-kind-219513 |title=Area 51 offers a close encounter of the very familiar kind |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=2015-05-15 |access-date=2017-05-18 }}</ref> James Shotwell of ''Under the Gun Review'' gave the film a D−.<ref name="plot">{{cite news |last=Shotwell |first=James |date=May 19, 2015 |title=MOVIE REVIEW: 'AREA 51' SHOULD REMAIN OFF LIMITS |work=Under the Gun Review |url=http://underthegunreview.net/2015/05/19/movie-review-area-51-should-remain-off-limits/ |accessdate=May 18, 2017}}</ref> In a review where he gave the film no stars, Bob Brinkman of HorrorNews.net wrote: "''Area 51'' is an interesting concept, with mediocre delivery, and a scare factor of zero. It is lazy film making at its worst, and it is easy to understand why the movie sat in the can so long (six years) prior to being released. It was not worth the wait."<ref name="brinkmanhnrev">{{cite web |last1=Brinkman |first1=Bob |title=Film Review: Area 51 (2015) |url=https://horrornews.net/101623/film-review-area-51-2015/ |website=HorrorNews.net |date=5 September 2015 |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|1519461|Area 51}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area 51}}
[[Category:2015 films]]
[[Category:2015 horror films]]
[[Category:2015 science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:2015 independent films]]
[[Category:American science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Found footage horror films]]
[[Category:Blumhouse Productions films]]
[[Category:IM Global films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Jason Blum]]
[[Category:Films set in 2009]]
[[Category:Films set in Nevada]]
[[Category:2015 English-language films]]
[[Category:2015 American films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:Films about Area 51]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Area 51 (film)|access_date=2026-02-25}}