There are many ways to look at this, and not all of them make me want to cry.
On one hand, I'm impressed with Paramount's willingness to replace the yanked-away director of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2, Kevin Greutert, with one of three immensely talented filmmakers. Undeterred by Lionsgate's colossal "fuck you" (reminder: the LG gang exercised an option on Greutert, which forced him off PA2 and back into the SAW fold for the franchise's big 3-D sendoff), Paramount seems determined to make a film that will be, if nothing else, classier than any of the SAW sequels (or the initial movie itself).
But do I need to see a "classy" PARANORMAL ACTIVITY?
Depends on the script, and whether the studio is willing to make a crazy, go-for-broke ghost flick like THE ENTITY. Because if Paramount is literally ready to unleash hell, then I want nothing more than to see Brian De Palma make his first full-on horror movie since THE FURY. And unlike Steven Zeitchick of the L.A. Times, I'm not worried about the quick turnaround; De Palma replaced Gore Verbinski at the last second on MISSION TO MARS, and still managed to deliver a visually stunning picture. Since most of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 will (I'm gussing) be set in one location, De Palma probably won't need more than a week of preproduction to cook up a number of bravura set pieces. This is what he does best, and it'd be a blast to see him do it again after a too-long layoff.
And yet the thought of Brian De Palma making a sequel to a gimmicky (if effective) low-budget horror movie depresses me a little. The man will turn seventy this year, and is one of the most respected directors living today (in the eyes of his peers, if not the critics). He should be doing whatever the fuck he wants. This is the kind of project you entrust to a rising talent, not the heir to Alfred Hitchcock.
But if this is what he has to do to (once again) earn his filmmaking freedom, then... please, Paramount, choose De Palma over the very capable Brad Anderson and Greg McLean. After three years of development futility (a good deal of which was centered on THE BOSTON STRANGLERS), I just want to see one of my heroes shoot a movie again. Let right be done. (And don't be shy about lobbying for your boy, Spielberg!)
