After last fall's The Day The Earth Stood Still, in which Jon Hamm was killed off unmercifully and pretty much everything good about the original got thrown out the door, I figured Scott Derrickson would take a break from large-scale movies, and alien movies in particular. And, depending on the actual plot of The Living, I'm probaby right. Variety is reporting that Derrickson has signed on direct The Living, a "supernatural suspense thriller" for Lakeshore Entertainment.

The plot is being kept secret, of course, which means it's entirely possible that Derrickson will sneak Klaatu in there anyway. But I doubt it-- Derrickson probably felt as burned by Earth Stood Still as we did ,and I expect him to relish the opportunity to make something a little smaller, with a little less studio money riding on the outcome. But if this one turns out badly too, he'll have no one to blame but himself.