We’ll be honest – we haven’t been terribly excited about the prospect of Paranormal Activity 2. For one thing, the first movie seemed pretty self-contained, and for another, it bore all the hallmarks of a cynical, rushed cash-in.

But then we saw the LA Times’ list of directors being considered by Paramount for the gig, and our interest has been officially piqued.

For the studio is considering, amongst others, Brad Anderson, Greg McLean and – prepare to be shocked – Brian DePalma as a replacement for the original’s Oren Peli (and, in turn, Kevin Greutert, who was hired as director for the sequel before being essentially hauled off the project by Lionsgate to direct Saw VII). And each of the three would be a great choice.

Anderson directed one of the most terrifying and atmospheric horrors of the last decade in Session 9 (if you haven’t seen it, check it out), for example, while McLean directed the excellent Wolf Creek. Both are experts at conjuring an unsettling tone, and would be fine choices.

But De Palma is the one that interests us. Call it an old master falling on hard times if you will, but we’d love to see what the virtuoso visualist could do with a low-budget and the technical restrictions of a found-footage movie – if, indeed, that’s the form Paranormal Activity 2 takes. It’s all up in the air at the moment, although a script has been written, with an October 22 release date cemented in.

Interestingly, Paramount apparently also had Akiva Goldsman on their shortlist, with the writer-producer apparently considering this as his directorial debut. Given that he’s the writer of The Da Vinci Code, Batman & Robin and Lost In Space, and the producer of I Am Legend, Poseidon and Mindhunters, it’s probably fair to say that Goldsman’s Paranormal Activity 2 would have been absolutely terrifying. Just maybe not for any of the right reasons.