The director of the critically acclaimed ghost story The Orphanage, Juan Antonio Bayona, is being touted as the most likely candidate to fill the director’s chair for the third Twilight film, Eclipse. My first thought about this is that it hardly seems necessary to expend the effort for a series of films which has such a hardcore audience already. You could get practically anyone to direct and it wouldn’t make a difference. On the other hand, maybe this is a clever ploy to get people into the theatres who wouldn’t normally give Twilight a second thought.

Unlike some other film fanatics, I think it’s great that there are so many people out there excited about the Twilight franchise, even if I don’t share their enthusiasm. If we reach back far enough I’m sure each of us can find some piece of trash that came along at just the right time to shape our interests in the future. Mark my words, this heady mixture of Anne Rice, Tiger Beat and Mary Sue wish-fulfillment will spawn a generation of horror fans. Given enough leeway, the addition of an experienced horror director like Juan Antonio Bayona may help speed up the process. If, like me, you haven’t seen Twilight, would a turn into darker territory convince you to give it a try?