Plot Details for Oren Peli’s Area 51

I don’t know how the boys over at Latino Review does it, but I do know that they’re one of the more trustworthy movie sites out there when it comes to scripts. Their latest find is the shooting script for “Paranormal Activity” director Oren Peli’s “Area 51″, his latest “found footage” follow-up to “Activity”, which continues to clean up at the box office and turning a tidy (re: humongous) profit from its $11,000 dollar budget. Obviously, “Area 51″ is going to be enjoying a significantly higher budget, which will come in handy because, it would appear, aliens will definitely be making an appearance. Read on below to see how the movie begins. POTENTIAL SPOILERS.

Here’s the film’s set-up:

The film begins much like Paranormal Activity with a dude testing out his brand new handycam. In Area 51, this dude’s name is Chris and he appears to be a typical geek. He has various alien paraphernalia and random computer parts strewn around his garage, but defying all odds, he is still cool enough to fist bump his bro’s as they get set to spend some time at the casinos in Vegas. These bro’s are Paul, the stereotypical skeptic, and Rob, the stereotypical follower. We also are introduced to Natalie, the strong female in the script, whose father swears he was abducted by aliens. Chris goes over to her place to check the data from a telescope that he installed on their roof to look for extraterrestrial activity. He seriously has a telescope installed on this family’s house and it never comes across in the script as being the slightest bit odd.

The next day, the three guys make their way to Vegas and it quickly becomes apparent that the trip is not just for gambling. Chris has arraigned a meeting with a former Area 51 employee named Novak who, while working there, heard rumblings of government cooperation on human/alien experiments in exchange for alien technology. Novak knows the security measures of the compound inside and out, but never got any proof of the extraterrestrial rumors. His apparent goal in life is to get the video proof that confirms his suspicions. Being the skeptic, Paul doesn’t buy any of it, but Chris is 100% committed to bring back the video evidence.

Through some ragtag sleuthing, the gang discovers more about the military base’s impenetrable system of motion detectors, thermal imaging, ammonia detectors, armed guards, as well as “ray guns.” Undeterred, Chris puts a plan into motion worthy of Danny Ocean. Ultimately, Natalie joins in on the fun because her goal in life is to prove that he father was abducted.

From there, the characters break into the military facility and, we’re told, alien hijinks ensue. The movie, like “Activity”, will consist of a lot of adlibbing by the actors onset, which is usually a crapshoot. If you get good actors, they’ll make it work; if not, it might be like pulling teeth.

In any case, hopefully this will be the last “found footage” movie from Peli. Really, how many times can you pull the same gag before people start thinking you’re a one-trick pony?