It seems like just yesterday that the much-ballyhooed sequel to last year’s smash horror hit Paranormal Activity was in mortal danger. Last month, Kevin Greutert, the director of Saw VI, had been tapped to handle the project, but through some kind of legal juggling act, Lionsgate roped him back into spearheading this October’s Saw VII 3D, leaving the Paranormal sequel without a clear leader.
Now, Paramount Pictures, the distributors of the original Paranormal Activity, have unleashed upon the blogosphere a shortlist of filmmakers to whom they would be comfortable handing the reigns. The most left-field selection? Brian De Palma.
De Palma, most famous for his heavily-stylized 80′s classics like Dressed To Kill, Blow Out, and of course Scarface, is definitely an odd and unexpected choice for a franchise horror picture, but he does have experience in the genre. Remember Carrie?
In addition to De Palma, two other directors are reportedly being considered, both a little more familiar with modern scare-fare.
Greg Mclean, the man behind the Australian gorefest Wolf Creek, is apparently being looked at by the studio, and his style may best fit the brutal, real-world-style scares that helped make Activity a worldwide phenomenon.
Also reportedly being sized-up for the director’s chair is indie-thriller maestro Brad Anderson, who is responsible for such psychological creepers as The Machinist, TransSiberian, and the masterful Session 9. Anderson is definitely my preferred choice for the film, as I would love to see more cerebral horror, as opposed to a lot of quick, violent scares (I was a much bigger fan of Paranormal Activity‘s original ending.)
But what about the horror-loving masses? Do you crave blood and guts or quiet, atmospheric creepiness? In our comments section, we CAN hear you scream!
