Michael CunninghamWhenever I hear about esteemed literary or
cinematic figures dipping their toes into horror waters, I
always picture them holding their noses as they're running to
the bank to cash their checks. They know horror sells (as long
as it's decent), and they know horror fans are uncommonly
broadminded, so I always feel like they're invading our
territory just to try and take advantage of us and make a buck.
On the other hand, who'd think that a high-minded director like
Stanley Kubrick could make a spooky picture, or that Martin
Stinkin' Scorsese might have made a ghost story out of Shutter
Island?  All that to say, I'm keeping an open mind about Michael
Cunningham's original script for Beautiful Girl, "a scary genre
thriller," according to Variety, about a "shy but brainy high
school girl who returns for senior year after having slimmed
down six dress sizes. She finds herself flirting with the
handsome English lit teacher, but the mutual crush turns deadly
when the teacher's obsession with the st