Nispel began his career as an art director for the advertising agency Young & Rubicam in Frankfurt. In 1984, at the age of nineteen he received a Fulbright scholarship and moved to the US. Since 1989, he has directed many musical and commercial videos for famous clients and received many awards. As a feature film director he made his debut with the remake of the classic horror film from 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). Afterwards he made the TV film Frankenstein (2004), adventure film Pathfinder (2007) and horror Friday 13th (2009). His latest film is another remake, Conan the Barbarian (2011).