If one constructed in their mind a picture of German-born director Marcus Nispel based solely on his filmography — which includes grisly reboots of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th franchises, plus the R-rated Pathfinder — it could not possibly be more different from the reality of the man, who abhors shoes, probably owns no black clothes at all, and in person favors pastel cargo pants and billowing, open-necked cotton painter’s shirts. Looking more like a Venice Beach artist than a brooding purveyor of brutal horror and head-hacking action, Nispel has a gregarious personality seemingly at odds with his knack for wringing catharsis out of grim places. With his latest big screen effort, a new version of Conan the Barbarian, Nispel again makes sure that genre fans get their money’s worth out of his movie’s R rating. I recently had a chance to chat one-on-one with the talkative filmmaker, about his childhood Star Wars bed sheets, his experience and difficulties with reimagining popular big screen properties, and why he would likely never direct a sequel to any of his works. It’s over at ShockYa, so click here for the full read.
