Seeing as Vincenzo Natali‘s first — and, quite possibly, final — shot at mainstream success, Splice, didn’t take with critics or the general public, his next move only seems reasonable. While Neuromancer is moving along at a slower-than-typical pace for a modestly-budgeted sci-fi production, he’ll spend most of 2012 occupied with Haunter, a supernatural story written by Matthew Brian King.

Some of you might roll an eyeball or two at the idea of yet another ghost tale, but BloodyDisgusting‘s report makes it sound as if the project is a little outside the genre’s box. This time around, the perspective will be shifted from the haunted to the, you know, since the main character is “Lisa, who, along with her family, died in 1986 under ‘sinister circumstances’ but remain trapped in their house.” But her actions themselves aren’t sinister; Lisa haunts and possesses a young girl living in the home, Olivia, “in an attempt to save her from the same fate.” No one has been cast, though with shooting slated to kick off this March in Toronto, that should change very soon.

Here’s the thing: Splice is a film that I very much, truly hate for all the reasons you may not assume, but I feel like Natali‘s reputation — one primarily earned from earlier fare like Cube and Cypher — makes him slightly worthy of some reconsideration. And I’ll get around to that before Haunter hits theaters, which I’m guessing would happen at the end of this year or the beginning of 2013; in the meantime, this one isn’t really on my radar.

What do these Haunter details say to you? Are you a Natali fan?