While the list of those who make the transition from primarily helming music videos and commercials to directing feature films is certainly a long one, the success rate isn’t necessarily high. For every David Fincher, Mike Mills, or Spike Jonze, there’s a McG or yes, a Marcus Nispel. Still, the director who recently drudged up the better-left-dormant “Conan The Barbarian” series, is managing to find work.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nispel is now set to helm the adaptation of horror-action comic “Hack/Slash” for Relativity Media. Created by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli, “Hack/Slash” centers on Cassie Hack, the type of female heroine who’d usually survive until the last reel of your favorite slasher flick. Only now, instead of living only to be killed off in a sequel, Hack has become a killer all her own. Only Hack hunts down those who prey upon the horny teenagers of the world, slaughtering Jason, Freddy, and Michael-type slashers.
Nispel is no stranger to the slasher landscape, having already directed two mind numbingly dull Platinum Dunes horror remakes in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Friday the 13th,” so he’s definitely heading back into familiar territory with this one. Apparently the project sat at Universal Pictures old Rogue Pictures genre imprint, before being acquired by Relativity Media as a potential project. According to THR, it’s a project Nispel previously flirted with, while fellow music video director Fredrik Bond was previously attached to direct as well.
While “Hack/Slash” certainly isn’t a time-tested comic classic, it’s a fun little read for fans of the horror genre, though featuring its seemingly endless possibilities of killers for Cassie Hack to take on, it certainly does scream “FRANCHISE!” Nispel couldn’t even make the machismo ridiculousness of “Conan the Barbarian” work, so we don’t see much hope for the film adaptation here.
Let's be honest… "The Texas Chainsaw" remake was good. Also, Conan is a great character! It was unfortunately a really bad script. The film itself looked visually cool. I think some of the blame has to go to the production company. Nu image is notoriously cheap…Just look at the films they have made. It was produced by the Lerner who also wrote and directed such classics as the "Shark in Venice".
"the better-left-dormant âConan The Barbarianâ series"
Why better-left-dormant? I would think a property with as much success as Conan in books, comics and other media would be ripe for a good film. Emphasis on good, of course.
Just goes to show you how creatively bankrupt Hollywood is–and how the moneymen have no idea who has talent and who doesn't. Marcus totally screwed up a $90 million, poorly conceived and visualized unappealing "Conan"–that has earned back only have it's production costs (the marketing costs drives up this flop's price by many more millions), and some idiot is still willing to hire him. At least he's back in the minor league where he belongs. Ewww!