Mike Vogel

Interview By: Dan Deevy
DanDeevy@TheCinemaSource.com

On October 17th audiences everywhere will finally be able to decide for themselves whether or not Marcus Nispel had the skill and the vision necessary to bring to life the spirit of a 30 year old classic.

The modern day remake of the iconic horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is about to hit theaters and the buzz surrounding it has been heatedly mixed. Debate has been raging in both fan circles as well as among critics and those in the industry as to whether or not this film should have been made.

Whenever the remake of a movie like Chainsaw is attempted, there is always a certain amount of legitimate skepticism and concern surrounding it; just take a look at Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho and you'll understand why some things should just be left as they are.

One of the stars of this reincarnation of The Massacre, Mike Vogel, says that he too initially thought that it was a questionable idea to attempt to remake this legendary film. 'There's a lot of people who would argue that it never should have been remade,' he begins, 'that it was a classic and it should never have been touched; and I would have agreed with them at one point because it is [a classic]. It opened the door for all of the Friday the 13th's and all the other horror genre films that followed it.'

Mike's ideas of what to expect from the experience completely changed, however, when he discovered that Daniel Pearl, who served as the Director of Photography on the original movie, was going to be in place for the remake; something that had never been done before. 'He's bringing everything that he had in the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 30 years of experience since then, plus the technology that is available to him now. That made it amazing to me.'

Mike is also of course not without high praise for the man at the helm of this whole endeavor. 'When I saw Marcus Nispel's reel, I was floored. He is a visual genius in the things that he can create and the things that he sees.'

In addition to the inclusion of a brilliant D.P. and a visionary director, this new version of The Massacre also takes the relationships of the characters to new levels. 'The big flaw with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was that you don't care about the characters,' he theorizes. 'There wasn't enough emphasis placed on [their relationships]. People just start dying and at that point it becomes about who has the best death.'

To make certain that this didn't happen again, Nispel made sure that the actors portraying these characters had the time to form a real relationship off camera first. 'They brought us in two weeks ahead of time just to hang out and get close and I think that translated on screen.'

While he is well aware of the unrest among horror fans at the mere prospect of this film, Mike seems more than prepared to handle whatever comes his way following the movies release.

It's also important to note that in spite of all of the controversy surrounding it, early test screenings of the film have been pointing toward something pretty incredible. In fact, the test screenings for The Massacre have scored higher than any previous film released by New Line Cinema. 'I'm really confident that we put together a good film,' Mike says as he flashes that million dollar smile of his before concluding the interview with a genuine heartfelt, 'Thank you.'

If the movie has even half the promise and potential that this young actor does, it should be a quite film! Mike has all the makings of a highly sought after Hollywood star; he's got the looks, the familiar boy next door quality and the natural charisma that audiences look for. My guess is we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the near future!