Marcus Nispel cut his directing fangs with music videos and ads before segueing to horror on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Since then he’s gone on to switch between rugged action (Pathfinder) and scares (Friday the 13th). And while he’s been busy bringing a new version of Conan the Barbarian to muscly life, he’s now looking to get back into the fright game with Backmask.
Based on an idea by the director himself, Backmask is currently shrouded in secrecy since it’s being sold at Cannes this week. But according to Bloody Disgusting, the storyline features teenagers enjoying a rowdy party discovering a vintage record and deciding to play it backwards. In true paranoid form, it releases an evil spirit that starts to possess several of the kids, looking to deliver a warning message about one of their own... Makes sense, then, that Paranormal Activity/Insidious producer Steven Schneider is on board to get it made, looking to sell off the rights and see the $10 million production shooting in the summer.
Nispel’s work has been a bit of a mixed bag, with **Texas Chainsaw **still standing as the best film he’s made to date (we’d rather not think about Pathfinder or the dull take on Jason Voorhees.) Yet while original ideas haven’t always worked for him, we’re willing to give this one a shot. At least until we get a proper look at Conan beyond the recent, generic trailer…